The United States of America can NEVER be Truly Threatened

[rpgamerd00d]

There is no conceivable scenario, no matter how unlikely, that could jeapordize the United States of America as a country.

No forgien force could possibly invade the USA and take it over. Not possible. Too many allies would help us.
Terrorism can kill individual people, even as many as 3000 as we well know, and NOT have ANY EFFECT on our country as a whole.
Not even China, with its immense military, could POSSIBLY bring a war onto the North American continent with ANY expectation of success whatsoever.

It is PATENTLY LUDICRIOUS to assert that America is ever "threatened" by ANY ONE, at ANY TIME.

There are things in this world that could affect the economy of the USA, perhaps even dramatically, but those "things" cannot be stopped by a bullet, missile or bomb. Negotiation is the only weapon we have for this type of "threat".

Its time the GODDAMN DEMOCRATS WE ELECTED stopped acknowledging this PHONY WAR ON TERROR and simply tell the American people that ITS A SHAM and that we are not threatened IN ANY WAY.

[bryant69]

1. That's not going to work, even if they use all capitals

to underscore their points.

For one thing, the United States is not an organism, it is a collection of people. It's all very well to know that if Terrorists kill me the nation as a whole will carry on, but I'd damn well like not to be killed by terrorists all the same.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[rpgamerd00d]

2. I'd rather risk dying to a "terrorist" than give up my rights

Same goes for our forefathers.
Same goes for anyone that bravely defends our country in the military.
Same goes for anyone with an IQ over, say, 4.

[texastoast]

3. That's because you know what America was for

Freedom. A democratic republic.

The forefathers would agree heartily with you. They would also kick Bush's ass for lying, spying, being a playground bully, and for being a chickenhawk.

Unfortunately, many Americans are sheeple and sadly, would rather have the Bushites "think" for them.

[bryant69]

4. I'd agree with you, of course

But that's different than saying there is no threat from terrorism.

Consider Al Gore's speech - in it, he acknowledged the Threat of Terrorism while also saying we couldn't give up our rights.

[rpgamerd00d]

6. More people die from "simple" murder than Terrorism

Hell, more people die from improper medicine from an article I read here recently.

I hardly think Terrorism warrents its own "war", or any heightened priority over things that ACTUALLY IN REALITY kill us MORE OFTEN and are a BIGGER THREAT than Terrorism.

:D

That explaination has to go along with the rebuttal to this phony war.

[bryant69]

11. Isn't this argument about the same as

"It's more dangerous to drive on the Los Angeles Freeway system than it is to be a soldier in Iraq" that I used to hear freepers talking about?

They gave it up apparently; presumably they realized that it seemed callous, although mathmatically I'd be surprised if they weren't still right.

Bryant

[ladjf]

27. So far, we've already lost ten times more people while fighting

in Iraq than we lost on 9-11 and we are probably in worse danger than before because of our unjustified invasion of a sovereign nation.

[RATilson]

5. Are you kidding?

The US is under threat every single day by the Bushistas.

[aKinderGentlerDUer]

7. We have no friends in the world.

Haven't you heard about how despised and hated America is? We have no friends, no allies--with the possible exception of England--there would be no one come to our rescue.

I have long studied world opinion--especially here as DU is a good source for a wide variety of opinion and the latest news. It's clear that America is standing alone--and we sink or swim on our own.

We aren't liked or trusted--and every country that we have troops in want us OUT. The people that cheered at 9/11 would be dramatically increased if our whole country went down--there wouldn't be enough party hats for all who want that to happen.

A lot of other people--and not just outside this country--feel that America must go down in order for it to be reborn in the way that it should be. I don't know if THAT'S true or not because I'm not seeing the same things they do--but don't think a sizable number of Americans and others around the world don't feel that way.

[rpgamerd00d]

9. We provide too much food and monetary assistance for them to abandon us

We are the worlds Sugar Daddy, none of them would let anyone jeapordize that.

[aKinderGentlerDUer]

12. Nah...

If this country was going down, that would be the best time for them to capitalize on it. Each one could take their share and be all the richer for it. They are rubbing their hands together just waiting.

[mr blur]

15. "the worlds Sugar Daddy"?

I think not. Look around the world and think about what you're saying there. I'm 50, and never before in my lifetime can I remember a time when the US as a force was so despised, resented and mocked. And, of course, your administration feared as a source of destruction, stupidity and greedy imperialism.

This is a sad thing - indeed a tragic thing, for America and the world in which America has a place.

[baby_mouse]

21. Someone else would step up, that's all... nt

[ladjf]

28. Most of the countries that are recipients of food from the U.S.

don't have significant military assets. Other than our "God child", Israel, all others are needy.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

20. I personally believe we could

depend upon Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Poland, Germany, France and all the NATO countries if we were truly invaded. Yes, they are pissed at us, but our trade ties and cultural ties are very, very deep.

But we have the ability to take out any country that threatens us with a fleet of subs, not to mention the creaky old ICBMs they are currently refurbishing int he heartland.

I agree. There is no "threat" per se. Threat of incidents, of casualties, of disruption. but not against our national security.

[Crayson]

24. Yes... don't forget Poland!

[TallahasseeGrannie]

36. The Poles are good folks

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

30. Actually, you have the best kind of friends

Namely, the ones that will try to advise and help you when you start doing things they feel are unwise -- instead of being yes-men.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

37. How true

[Individualist]

8. It not only can be,

it IS being jeopardized by the cabal in control of our government.

[BushOut06]

10. I have to disagree with that

Not that it's likely to ever happen, but China, Russia, or the European Union could threaten the US if they ever chose to. But as I said, I don't really foresee any scenario under which that could happen - just a hypothetical, the stuff of war novels.

[Silverhair]

13. That is an election loser for sure. Democrats have tried it before.

Review McGovern's campaign and the Republican ads.

Defense was a big issue in the 1980 campaign, and in the 1984 campaign.

And Democrats have been pounded as "Soft on Defense" ever since.

Rove would have an orgasm if we tried your idea - again.

[JohnnyRingo]

14. I've thought that for years....

Whenever a politician mentions "national security" the words that follow are always lies.

I endured years of hearing that "they're going to come over here and make us speak Russian, and I know no one wants to have to learn another language!

Of course it's all nonsense, an invasion force would be hard pressed to get past the street gangs of New York. The West coast has bike gangs, and even our own fed government doesn't want to mess with the militias of Montana or Michigan. Hell, Texas is already it's own country.

I'm half joking with that scenario, but a liberal teacher told me in the 60s that this country would be taken from within, if at all.

He was right, I believe

[BushOut06]

16. I don't know if we would be invaded per se...

But we sure as hell could be defeated in a major war. Right now China doesn't have the ability to really bring a war to our shores, but in another 10-15 years, that will probably change.

It's on us to try to ensure that it never comes to that.

[RaleighNCDUer]

17. Prescient, was he?

It's already happened.

[lectrobyte]

18. The threats now are economic. Will the Iranians sellling oil to China

for Euros call down our cruise missiles on their heads? Some folks think so. I personally think this economy is so overheated and fragile already that an oil shock about half the size of the one in the 1970's would be the end of us, but it may just be me.

[Crayson]

25. What would YOU do as an Iranian?

I'd probably :

a) try and get China dependant on Iranian oil, so that they need to protect Iran.

b) try and get a nuclear deterrent, so that you can protect yourself


Despite religious propaganda and all Iranians aren't silly and they know perfectly well that they sit atop of a geopolitically MOST IMPORTANT region. Either they are going to be dominated or they prove strong enough the keep the greedy away.

[lectrobyte]

29. I'd second those suggestions. Having seen what we did to a

basically unarmed country like Iraq, they have no choice but to arm themselves and make appropriate allies.

[enigma000]

19. What about US participation in WWII?

Was that unnecessary too?

[mattclearing]

22. Not true.

Bio-warfare could bring down this country very quickly. Ever read The Stand?

How about nuclear warfare? Russia could destroy us. Of course, they'd be turned to glass as well, but it wouldn't change the fact that we would be finished.

[dsc]

23. The Civil War and the War of 1812 both were pretty grave threats

While admittedly not the most likely senario on earth, we would have a much more likely chance of being harmed if we had hostile neighbors. A hostile Canada especially could be a real problem if it were combined with a real terrorist threat.

[Lisa]

35. Canada's out of practice at invading ...

Our annual snowbird exodus to Florida and Arizona is getting rather elderly now, and I'm not sure if they could see to hit the targets with their rocket launchers. I suppose they could hide weapons etc. in their RVs to supply a "fifth column" in the US.

As for marching in, it would take a much larger force to subdue such a physically-large country (let alone carry out a long-term occupation). We just haven't got enough troops! I suppose we could count Celine Dion, since people seem rather subdued after she's sung at them for awhile, but eventually her voice would give out.

But seriously -- someone asked earlier if the US had any friends. Even if we didn't have a mutual protection treaty (aside from NATO), Canada couldn't afford to lose such a large trading partner. And virtually every Canadian I've talked to has family members in the US. The War of 1812 also caused a lot of trauma and pain for Canada (in some ways it was like a civil war). Even if Canada were willing to act as a haven for terrorists (and we felt some of the effects ourselves from the Fenian raids, which were abetted by US sympathizers) -- this would likely not help bring about a "regime change" in the US (the Confederates tried this, without much success). I don't think that Canada would be passionately worked-up enough to help, anyway. (None of our own conflicts since 1814 have killed more than a couple of hundred people.)

[ladjf]

26. If the continental U.S. is ever attacked by a foreign country,

it would happen so fast and so decisively that it wouldn't matter who our allies were. Further, we might not have as many allies as you might think.

The U.S. hasn't even won the war in Iraq. Yes, we could kill everyone there with nukes, but at the same time kill millions more in surrounding areas and contaminate the atmosphere with lethal radioactivity for hundreds of thousands of years. Not a good plan.

[lectrobyte]

32. It depends on what you mean by victory...

Some would argue that having control of the oil, Iraq in a state of chaos, and a place for our permanent bases were really the goals all along.

It's kind of like people talking about *'s business failures. What they don't realize is that in most of the cases he sold his stock early or something and walked away with millions just before the shit hit the fan.

[Lisa]

31. in fact -- in a symbolic sense, it is impossible to kill the USA

Because the founders chose to base the country on ideals and on documents like the Constitution, rather than on "blood" (in the sense of genetic inheritance), even if someone rounded up and killed every single living American, the United States would continue to exist in some way, as long as people somewhere still believed in those basic principles.

It is, in theory, possible to eradicate earlier types of nation-state (destroy the administrative centers and institutions) -- or in the case of cultural nations, kill everyone with a particular ethnic background (as the Nazis tried to do). But by putting America beyond bloodlines or the government which exists at any given time, the only way the country could be entirely extinguished is if America itself does it.

At the time of the Revolution, the US had only a couple of million people (and a fraction of its current area). It was way more vulnerable back then -- in fact, the society was under British occupation, and people were executed for rebelling. I don't think they saw ahead to a time with WMDs, but the way in which the country's underpinnings were designed back then, I'm sure they imagined losing a lot of people due to conflict. And they knew that no matter how harsh the British were, they wouldn't be able to control what people hoped or believed.

[lectrobyte]

33. Didn't * announce that the Constitution was just a piece of paper? So,

from your POV (which is one I wish more people shared), the USA is already killed. It was a good run while it lasted. Maybe there is time to revive the patient. Not much time, but time to try...

[MadHound]

34. LOL, that's what they said about the Roman Empire

And we all know what happened there.

Don't get me wrong, I don't, and never have considered Iran, Iraq, and many many other countries a threat to America. But that still doesn't mean that there isn't a country, or countries, that could kick our ass. China could drive us into a deadly financial ruin by simply selling off its dollar reserve. Militarily, well, again, China has a massively large army, though it is technologicaly impaired compared to America's. Still, the Chinese wouldn't think twice about throwing all the people needed into a war. They did this during the Korean war, and it was devastating.

Or better yet, join up Russia and China. Strange bedfellow yes, but we've seen stranger. And between Russia's technology and China's manpower, we would have serious problems.

Then throw this into the mix, just to soften us up a bit before the actual war. Each and every single oil producing country refuses to do business with us. Now that would be a kicker. Can't run an army without oil.

Like I said, I don't think that Iran or Iraq is a threat. I do think this war is illegal and immoral, and that the whole War on Terror is nothing but a smokescreen for the Bushco power grab. But to state that the US can't be beaten is just foolish. We can, and will be if we continue to piss off the rest of the world at the rate we're doing.