[lit-ideas] Re: Bush lied, people died
- From: "Andy Amago" <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2006 07:28:18 -0500
> [Original Message]
> From: Eric <eyost1132@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 4/1/2006 3:19:41 AM
> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Bush lied, people died
>
> >>The reputation accrued by the generous victor
> of WWII is shredded, probably gone forever.
>
> "[Americans] are the great Satan, the wounded
> snake." -Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini, on NBC TV,
> December 8, 1986.
>
Say what you will, the big hearted Americans are no more. The world
protested this invasion before it happened.
Off the subject, I was watching a program called "Great Decisions" on PBS,
about current economics, the war, the military. Ronald Reagan increased
the debt more than 39 presidents before him combined. The speaker (someone
from Ronnie's admin, I didn't get the name), basically described military
Keynesiansim without using the word. He cited a $400 billion defense
budget. Rumsfeld wanted to cut a $300 million plane designed for the
Soviet era and he couldn't. A lovely plane but useless and they're $300
million per plane. There's an aircraft carrier designed for open ocean
combat that is useless in today's world being built in Georgia yet for
political reasons they have to build it. We spend $11 billion on a
national missile defense system, a highly unlikely attack scenario, and $7
billion for the Coast Guard, a likely attack scenario. The voluntary army
is also below par and shrinking. Where it used to cost $10,000 to recruit
one soldier or marine, it now costs $15,000 and 12% are below standards
compared to 2% previously. That increases discipline problems and the need
for training. The Navy and Air Force are unaffected. This Reagan man
quoted Fukuyama as saying that Iraq summarizes as: 2,000 Americans dead,
15,000 wounded, and $300 billion (not counting veterans benefits, the high
burn rate of equipment and so on which could go to a trillion) so Iraqis
can vote.
He mentioned that the MAD of the Cold War is now the Mutual Assured
Depression of today. All China needs to do in an emotional reaction to our
getting involved in Taiwan, is convert dollars to Euros and we're dead.
His idea is that people don't always act rationally. Though it's unlikely
China will do it, it's not impossible. My question.: If they threaten MAD,
do we go to Taiwan's aid? It was a very interesting show, recapped much
of what we talked about on this list.
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