Monday, November 4, 2013

Issue 198 World Police November 4, 2013


Are you sick of the United States acting as the world police man? Well I sure am. We give and give, and all the other countries do is take and take. Then, when we finally ask for some form of help, they spit in our face. But this is not necessarily because we are the world police men.

Who asked you?: The role of world police came out of the fires of WW II and the cold war. America was one of only two superpowers seeking control as a world hegemony. However, to achieve that role and maintain it, we had to be the protectors of Europe from the Soviet Union. America would fight proxy wars to stop the spread of Communism and its derivatives. But, the Soviet Union collapsed and Russia and its Satellite countries democratized to varying degrees. As such the United States became the sole super power on this planet. There was a catch though. The results of the U.S. becoming the sole superpower imposed responsibilities on the United States that it never asked for. We were forced to police the world.

Internal politics: Currently we have the same Democrats and Republicans in Congress and in the halls of Washington D.C. who served during the cold war. They never lost the taste for power that the other countries gave America as their protector. So the idea was hatched to continue the role of world police. But it also included the foolish concept that we could export democracy (under the assumption that democracies don't fight each other). Started in President Bush seniors’ administration and continued all the way through to the current Obama administration, we have gone to war one too many times in the name of peace. Though the result is just more death and conflict. These old guard members are your Neo-Conservatives and your progressive liberals. Both agree with the idea that "we" Americans have a duty to save the world from itself. A modern "white mans burden" if you will. They want us to interfere with anything they deem wrong, from human rights issues to lawlessness. The problem is America's values and the worlds values don't necessarily match up.

World reaction: At this point in time, the world is pissed off. We have been caught spying on our allies. This includes wire tapping the phones of allied world leaders. Our Navy is being stretched thin to serve as an interdiction force to pirates and to fend off a possible threat from China (who is economically dependant on us). Then we get bashed for our tactics in the war on terror. The government listens to those critics, changes tactics and then when more of our troops get hurt, they change them again. In short, the world complains, then we adjust, and then we either sacrifice blood and treasure or are excoriated again.

Conclusion: We are wasting our time. The Navy should project power, but not as some police force. Our Army is not cannon fodder for others wars. And some of these people really should not even get our help. Syria has Al Quada on one side and a dictator on the other. Yet we help Al Quada because they call themselves rebels. Yup, the same group who carried out the 9/11 attacks is receiving aid from our own government. All this is my opinion, but let’s stop dealing with the bull crap. Stop giving money to countries and people who plan only to make our lives miserable. Stop giving money to dictatorships and groups that want America out of the picture. If we should go to war, or to fight in general, it should be a war of defense and defense alone. Let other nations with foolish ideas of being a world power deal with the messes and see where it gets them.

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