We've Been at War for Almost 17 Years.

[The Reverend Floater]

Check, please (or payment plan). That's all.

[liv2ski]

Was listening to a NPR peice yesterday on this topic and it pretty much ruined my day.

[Harry]

Cost of last night's raid on Syria = $105 million

Cost to replace every single pipe in Flint Michigan = $55 million

[wooley12]

The National Anthem is all about war and we kick ass. It's what we do. Profitably.

[TheSilverSurfer]

As long as we continue to elect war mongers we will be at was

[DBdude]

The National Anthem is all about war and we kick ass. It's what we do. Profitably.

oye


you really are a misguided soul, or come across as a complete tool

the "military industrial complex" is not why we invaded afghanistan. second, the country does not profit from war, a sector of the economy does. overall it is a net loss.

[DBdude]

As long as we continue to elect war mongers we will be at was

i was against the afghan war. that said, do you really think any president would not have reacted militarily against afghanistan?

if they did not, they would have been perceived as weak. i think some folks are looking back with rose tinted glasses. after 9/11 anybody who was against the invasion was considered unpatriotic

I am in no way justifying the invasion of Iraq...

I wonder how the world would be different if Gore had fought Bush in court for the presidency and won Florida. For that reason alone I really dislike Gore. For all the best reasons, he made a bad decision in hind site. Not his only bad decision, he probably would have won the election if he hadn't walked away from the Clinton legacy.

[wooley12]

oye


you really are a misguided soul, or come across as a complete tool

the "military industrial complex" is not why we invaded afghanistan. second, the country does not profit from war, a sector of the economy does. overall it is a net loss.

OK. Sure. You lose and I lose. Somebody is winning. Big time. IKE was wrong. WTF did he know about suppliers of war. He was wrong to say Supply increases Demand. 1 in 10 work in defense. another 1 works in defense of defense. Bombs Bursting in Air is to die for not to kneel for. You are soooo much more experienced and hip. Call me a tool. Boohoo.

I'll bet you missed seeing the memo from the POTUS that went out to all State Dept employees telling them to ALWAYS BE SELLING OUR BOBMBS. (I paraphrased)

I was born at night but not LAST night.

[Kenny Satch]

This speech is as valid then as it is now.

[DBdude]

Call me a tool. Boohoo.

tool

eisenhower was talking about the cold war in the military industrial complex speech

second, yes war is a net loss. the loss of productivity from the killed and maimed. the increase in the national debt. the productivity gains that could have been realized if a fraction of that money had been spent on education or infrastructure, etc.

third military spending is 3.5% of GNP. hard to reconcile that number to 1 in 10 jobs

[wooley12]

You're right if you don't think too deep. 1 in 10 is correct. A lot of tattoo parlors next to military bases. And hookers.

[DBdude]

oh, the multiplier effect... then everything contributes more to the economy than it contributes to the economy

think again dim wit

oh and you are so funny... not

[wooley12]

Not trying to be funny. Sarcastic is better. You could count a portion of foreign aid as "defense" spending if you can think globally as opposed to locally.

Going back to your original assertion. "military industrial complex" is not why we invaded afghanistan. The MIC gives us the ability to go anywhere we want to kick someones ass and if you look at our Mission Statement that's what we are prone to do. We are going to lose, or at best, not win in Afghanistan BTW. Like Nam. An Afghan fighter explained it to me. Truth. Take it to the bank.

[DBdude]

no shit... there is no win in Afghanistan. brilliant, you had to have that explained to you? jesus christ everybody knows there is no win

what ever you are babbling about foreign aid makes no sense as discussing military spending as part of our economy

[wooley12]

Ha. I had just heard that about foreign aid from an ex state department guy on the radio. But wtf would he know. Think globally. Not in a geographical way. As a way to think.

[DBdude]

how does foreign aid increase military spending as a percentage of GNP?

you make this supposition that we profit from war. you are wrong. i don't care what johhny foggy bottom said. i am discussing your bullshit reference to eisenhower's military industrial complex statement (which is true) to our seventeen year war in afghanistan and that the US profits. we have not profited from that war. sorry dude. do not pass go and do not collect $200

you make a bullshit statement and then bring in shit that has nothing to do it with.

i'm really glad you were awake for your eleventh grade teachers discussion of the cold war and eisenhower - slow golf clap

[Meadow Skipper]

You should be arguing about policy, not the bills.

War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength

[summit]

Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia

[wooley12]

how does foreign aid increase military spending as a percentage of GNP?

you make this supposition that we profit from war. you are wrong. i don't care what johhny foggy bottom said. i am discussing your bullshit reference to eisenhower's military industrial complex statement (which is true) to our seventeen year war in afghanistan and that the US profits. we have not profited from that war. sorry dude. do not pass go and do not collect $200

you make a bullshit statement and then bring in shit that has nothing to do it with.

i'm really glad you were awake for your eleventh grade teachers discussion of the cold war and eisenhower - slow golf clap

The discussion of the cold war was in the morning paper for me. It wasn't history class , it was current events. Unless you get the fact that the people profiting from war and own the politicians do not give a fuck if the county, or you and me profit, than we can't debate.

Back to the Afghan war. I saw that a kid born while his father was incountry is getting ready to deploy to the same place. Wow!!! Let's make that normal. Like yoga pants.

[DBdude]

the country does not profit from war

do you really think we are still in afghanistan because of the military industrial complex? so o'bama was in the bag?

there are a lot of bullshit reasons why we are in afghanistan, boeing is not one of them

[gravitylover]

No win in Afghanistan unless you consider protecting the poppy fields and allowing them to grow and prosper a win for someone.

Boy wouldn't it be something if the $$ being spent on the machine could be re-appropriated to infrastructure, education and assorted other things within our borders? Clean water for everybody, roads and bridges that aren't crumbling, an educational system that isn't a total clusterfuck and a healthcare system that isn't killing us would sure be nice. I understand that defending the borders is the primary function of gov't but isn't the second most important thing to provide for the welfare of the citizenry?

[Core Shot]

This speech is as valid then as it is now.

When a celebrated 4 star general tells you the MIC is out of control, you might want to listen.

Shit has gotten way worse since then. Obama=bush Jr
Trump is controlled opposition to make you think there is an alternative.
Resist the MIC and the banks and you get Kennedey’d

[DBdude]

No win in Afghanistan unless you consider protecting the poppy fields and allowing them to grow and prosper a win for someone.

Boy wouldn't it be something if the $$ being spent on the machine could be re-appropriated to infrastructure, education and assorted other things within our borders? Clean water for everybody, roads and bridges that aren't crumbling, an educational system that isn't a total clusterfuck and a healthcare system that isn't killing us would sure be nice. I understand that defending the borders is the primary function of gov't but isn't the second most important thing to provide for the welfare of the citizenry?

i agree

afghanistan/ iraq were blunders of the highest order

give afghanistan back to the taliban - fuck it

it's not like the war has made us safer. if anything it has made us less safe by alienating the islamic world

osama bin laden is dead - let's call it day and get out

democracy and equal rights don't occur from occupation in afghanistan. the whole thing is a complete failure. let afghanistan fall like we did in vietnam. the world did not come to an end

[gravitylover]

Yeah you'd think that 1500 years of history would have told us not to bother with Afghanistan. There has never been a successful military operation there, what made us think we were going to change that? I don't even want to get started on the trainwreck that the fertile crescent has always been and will always be. IMO there are very few people in those areas that like us anyway so why don't we just put up a (virtual) fence around the whole area and let them duke it out. We don't really need their oil anymore between what's available in the western hemisphere and alternative sources that technology can provide if we let it so lets just isolate them and worry about ourselves.

[mud]

the country does not profit from war

do you really think we are still in afghanistan because of the military industrial complex? so o'bama was in the bag?

there are a lot of bullshit reasons why we are in afghanistan, boeing is not one of them

We are there for the $1 Trillon estimated in rare minerals.
https://www.livescience.com/47682-ra...ghanistan.html