BluePhantom
Educator (of liberals)
Nah.. I don't buy that. Our foreign policy is geared to protect "our" privileged status, no doubt, but clearly other nations aren't enthusiastic about working toward that goal. And that arrogance is costing us. I do agree that there would be plenty of people complaining if we pulled back, lots of unscrupulous people are invested in our little game, on all sides, but that's no reason not to do the right thing. The world certainly wouldn't go 'bat shit'.
We can be good neighbors, stay engaged in foreign affairs and protect ourselves without ruling the world. That will require a change in attitude that 'warfare state' Republicans (and to be frank, most Democrats) are loathe to accept, but I think it's utterly necessary if we plan to hold things together.
I respectfully disagree. Foreign policy is based upon economics. Nothing more, nothing less. World economics is one big massive game of king of the mountain. Right now, we're on top of the mountain and our job is to stay there. It's everyone else's job to knock us off. Our military dealings work in our favor AND the rest of the world's favor. If we pulled back our military and said to the rest of the world "you're on your own" it means nations like Germany would suddenly have to cover their own asses which would cost them a shitload of money. They would be pissed as hell and they would retaliate through economic means...at least to the degree that they could.