US Military's Knee on the Throat of the World

[harmonica]

North Korea is some innocent little country? They invaded first.

In 1950, five years after the US military occupied southern Korea and forcibly prevented free elections in 1945:

People's Republic of Korea - Wikipedia

"The People's Republic of Korea (PRK) was a short-lived provisional government that was organized at the time of the surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of World War II..."

"The program of the PRK was presented in its 14 September twenty-seven point program.

"The program included: "the confiscation without compensation of lands held by the Japanese and collaborators; free distribution of that land to the peasants; rent limits on the non-redistributed land;'

"'nationalization of such major industries as mining, transportation, banking, and communication; state supervision of small and mid-sized companies; …'

"'guaranteed basic human rights and freedoms, including those of speech, press, assembly, and faith; universal suffrage to adults over the age of eighteen;'

"'equality for women; labor law reforms including an eight-hour day, a minimum wage, and prohibition of child labor; and 'establishment of close relations with the United States, USSR, England [sic], and China, and positive opposition to any foreign influences interfering with the domestic affairs of the state.'"

....you don't know shit about history

 

[georgephillip]

1. Not an answer to my question, where were you when they were beating the War Drums?

I haven't supported any US war of aggression during my entire lifetime (73 years) Have you?

 

[georgephillip]

3. If you want to cut military spending, we need to cut commitments. Leave Nato. End our alliance with South Korean. And/or Japan.

All of which sound good to me.

 

[georgephillip]

Why not, eh... you'd like that, wouldn't you? You Kommie Kokksukkers can be damned funny sometimes. Thanks for the morning laugh.

Your country needs you

Chickenshit.

 

[Mac-7]

Which country poses the greatest threat to global peace?
Who gets rich from that?

"JULY 3, 2020
The US Military Has Its Knee on the Throat of the World
by ELLEN TAYLOR"

"As Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, observed, 'The character of war is changing frequency'.

"The messy, scrappy, unsatisfying, asymmetrical wars in the devastated Middle East have lost the interest of our warriors, as two worthier adversaries, China and Russia, have been conjured up, and now grip their attention.

"Although our budget comprises over 40% of the world’s military spending, and China and Russia spend respectively one-sixth and one-tenth of ours, the Pentagon refers to them generously as “near-peers”.

"China and Russia are not eager for these roles.

"We have had to torment them, like reluctant bulls in a bullfight.

"We sail our warships within twelve miles of their shores, conducting vast military exercises in the South China Sea, the Black Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Japan Sea.

"Thousands of US troops marched across Europe this spring to perform military exercises along Russia’s borders.

"Arleigh-Burke class guided missile destroyers, with aerial escort, performed maneuvers this May, close to the Russian coast in the Barents Sea, to enforce 'freedom of navigation'".

Time to defund the Pentagon?

my first reaction is who is Ellen Taylor and what are her qualifications to lecture us on military spending?

 

[georgephillip]

Richard Nixon was the one that really desegregated Southern Schools. You give him credit for that, or is this just something you pretend to care about?

Give Dick credit for NOT breaking a law?
Sure, why not?

 

[Mac-7]

All of which sound good to me.

Its a recipe for disaster

the vacuum created by US withdrawal from world peacekeeping will be filled by china, russia, iran and north korea

 

[georgephillip]

There are ways to look at our military hegemony. Do we withdrawal from many bases? If so, do we lose our financial prowess over others? And what does that do to us?

Some are suggesting it would cost the US dollar its status as a world reserve currency, which, if true, would have serious economic effects on the US economy:

Dollar Recycling | Michael Hudson

"My book 'Super Imperialism' was about how the United States has gained a free lunch by establishing the dollar as international reserve currency by replacing gold.

"I also showed that the U.S. balance of payments deficit is almost entirely military related to support its 800 bases around the world.

"Ending the gold-exchange standard in 1971 created a situation in which the excess U.S. dollars thrown off by the U.S. payments deficit end up in foreign central banks."

 

[martybegan]

Always the fault of the US, never of the Communist countries we were fighting and their USSR/ChiCom backers.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opin...merican-wars/2011/12/05/gIQALCO4eP_story.html

"The major wars the United States has fought since the surrender of Japan in 1945 — in Korea, Indochina, Iraq and Afghanistan — have produced colossal carnage.

"For most of them, we do not have an accurate sense of how many people died, but a conservative estimate is at least 6 million civilians and soldiers."

Korea, Indochina, Iraq, and Afghanistan collectively could not threaten the US homeland. Those "wars" were fought solely for financial gain, and that's the prime reason the latter two continue to this day.

So it would have been better if North Korea conquered South Korea?

 

[martybegan]

North Korea is some innocent little country? They invaded first.

In 1950, five years after the US military occupied southern Korea and forcibly prevented free elections in 1945:

People's Republic of Korea - Wikipedia

"The People's Republic of Korea (PRK) was a short-lived provisional government that was organized at the time of the surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of World War II..."

"The program of the PRK was presented in its 14 September twenty-seven point program.

"The program included: "the confiscation without compensation of lands held by the Japanese and collaborators; free distribution of that land to the peasants; rent limits on the non-redistributed land;'

"'nationalization of such major industries as mining, transportation, banking, and communication; state supervision of small and mid-sized companies; …'

"'guaranteed basic human rights and freedoms, including those of speech, press, assembly, and faith; universal suffrage to adults over the age of eighteen;'

"'equality for women; labor law reforms including an eight-hour day, a minimum wage, and prohibition of child labor; and 'establishment of close relations with the United States, USSR, England [sic], and China, and positive opposition to any foreign influences interfering with the domestic affairs of the state.'"

Lol are you really sucking Kim Il Sung's dick?

 

[georgephillip]

So, where were you when Bill Clinton was expanding NATO?

I wasn't paying attention.
What about you?

 

[georgephillip]

...we are no worse or better than other countries that do the same...
..the Native Americans displaced/decimated/TORTURED/stole land/warred on/etc other tribes long before the whites came
..the Africans stole land/warred on/MURDERED/etc long before the whites came

We are the only country in history killing civilians on the opposite side of the planet to prop up our global reserve currency.

 

[georgephillip]

...you don't know shit about history

Got any evidence to support your

 

[georgephillip]

my first reaction is who is Ellen Taylor and what are her qualifications to lecture us on military spending?

Her qualifications are the same as anyone else's on a political opinion message board. If you have any opposing opinions, post them.

 

[georgephillip]

you are a dumbfuck...learn some history

How many military bases does China currently garrison outside its homeland?

 

[Mac-7]

Her qualifications are the same as anyone else's on a political opinion message board.

Not really

she is writing for a national newspaper so the bar for her is higher

 

[georgephillip]

the vacuum created by US withdrawal from world peacekeeping will be filled by china, russia, iran and north korea

You're worried about North Korean troops invading your closest Walmart? The US is the only country projecting its military around the world, and we aren't doing to promote peace or democracy.

 

[Mac-7]

You're worried about North Korean troops invading your closest Walmart? The US is the only country projecting its military around the world, and we aren't doing to promote peace or democracy.

North Korea is threatening South Korea and Japan as well as US territories such as Guam

of course N Korea is just an attack dog on a leash for the real threat - red china

but both are dangerous and a threat to world peace

 

[georgephillip]

So it would have been better if North Korea conquered South Korea?

There was no "North" or "South" Korea in 1945 when US troops prevented free elections below the 38th parallel:

United States Army Military Government in Korea - Wikipedia

"The short-lived People's Republic of Korea had been established in August, in consultation with Japanese authorities, and quickly spread throughout the country.[5]

"The U.S. Military Government outlawed it in the South shortly after their arrival."

Had those elections been allowed to take place, this is one possible winner:

Lyuh Woon-hyung - Wikipedia

"Lyuh Woon-hyung or Yo Un-hyung[a] (May 25, 1886 – July 19, 1947) was a Korean politician who argued that Korean independence was essential to world peace, and a reunification activist who struggled for the independent reunification of Korea following its national division in 1945.

"His pen-name was Mongyang (몽양; 夢陽), the Hanja for 'dream' and 'the sun.'

"He is rare among politicians in modern Korean history in that he is revered in both South and North Korea.[citation needed]"

 

[Mac-7]

How many military bases does China currently garrison outside its homeland?

How many do you think?