|
RPutnamJr -> RE: Was Saddam Hussein a Threat to the U.S.? (3/20/2007 10:55:58 PM)
|
What cyberdude says is correct. Most wars the USA has fought in have not been truely honorable wars.
Look at the Revolutionary War...we basically invented guarrilla warfare. When we stood head to head with the British army we usually lost our ass. So what did we do, we hit and ran, then hid within the general population. Maybe not to the extent that the Iraqi's do nowdays but consider the miniute men. Simple farmers that in a minutes notice can form up a militia and then melt back into the general population. But what was the causes of the war? Taxation among other things.
Then look at the War of 1812. Again militarily speaking we usually lost on land. But still followed the tactics of the Revolutionary War. Now you could say that we did fight for the right to be independant and to be treated as such. After all it was the British that impressed our sailors into service illegally.
The Barbary Wars. It was the piracy on the high seas that we fought against. After all if you did not pay "protection" to the Barbary pirates then they would attack your ships. We chose not to pay and thus do something about it. Where as other european countries either paid or did nothing about the problem, turning a blind eye since it wasn't their problem.
The Mexican American War, was a war fought over the territorial integrity of the nation. Was the boarder at the Rio Grande river or the other river? But you could say the war was truely about American expansionism into Mexican territory. After all we did annex a huge portion of the Western US after the war. I would like to point out that Texas did get their independance prior to the war and California did declare their independance just prior to the outbreak of the war. Although both were heavily influenced by Americans, thus fulfilling the Manifest Destiny Doctrine.
Next comes the Civil War...think of the distruction caused by Sherman's march to the sea. The burning of Atlanta. The seige of Vicksburg. The maurading on both sides in Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. Nobody cried about the civilians caught up in the war. Or even how inhumanly captured prisoners were treated.
Then consider the various Indian Wars. And the saying of the only good Indian is a dead Indian. Nobody looking back would say genocide was uncommon when dealing with Indians at the time.
After that is the Spanish American War. There again we were not necessarily fighting for freedom of the world. We were fighting for our economic interests and the ability to project military power mostly into the Pacific. After all you had to have bases in order to refuel ships, both military and otherwise.
Next came WWI. We violated so many rules of neutrality especially when it came to supplying the British. WWI wasn't even started by the Germans yet they were punished the greatest because they were the best fighters during the war for the most part. The British and French economic and colonial interests to protect. To be honest though the USA did have economic interests to protect and was starting to flex our muscles as a military power. We though did not ask for anything territorial coming out of the war. Which makes us the first country to ever do so, we decided not to become a colonial power. And yes we did have colonies, Phillipines, Panama, Puerto Rico, just to name a few.
World War II, that again we did not act like a neutral power should. We spied on the Japanese, withheld vital materials while supplying their enemies, same with the Germans. Look at Lend/Lease...we gave the British and Russians and Chinese material. We even escorted the ships as far as Iceland so as to allow the British to concentrate their forces against the Germans in their home waters around Britain. These are not acts of a truely neutral country. Yet when we entered the war and won, what did we do? We again asked for nothing and in return rebuilt everything.
After that came the Korean War and Vietnam War, these were all products of the Cold War. The fear of communism. A result of Russia not giving up control of Eastern Europe, whether it was justified or not by fear of the West. Both sides feared each other and used that fear to justify our/their actions.
Genada, Panama, Gulf War I and II, Aftghanistan, etc, etc...why do we fight? For freedom? No. Because its the "right" thing to do? No. We fight for the same reasons why we fight all of our wars. We fight because it is in our countries best interest to fight the war. And in some ways you could argue that it is in the World's best interest too.
We have destroyed Colonialism. We give out freedom. And with freedom comes the ability to be free and decide your own future. What they do with it is their choice.
Are we truely in danger of being treatened? Depends upon who you ask. But to be honest, we as a nation have not truely been threatened since the War of 1812. Our second war of Independance. Was Iraq a threat? Are terrorists a threat? I would honestly say NO to both. BUT could they have been or could they be a threat in the future. YES. Given how much we are hated in some parts of the world. And how being the Big kid on the block, how everybody wants to punish us for their own country's ineptitude in providing for their basic needs.
Should we just sit by and wait? Or be proactive and try and change the world for the better? Personally I don't think we have gone far enough? But that is our country for you, only want to do things half way. Never willing ot actually go and correct a problem. After all where is the profit in actually correcting a problem? There is none, so we won't do it.
Look at the problems we have in our own country...healthcare, poverty, minimum wage, education, yet we think we can change the world for the better. Maybe we can maybe we cannot. Its our time Pax Americana to make our mark in history. Only history will tell how well we did or how much we made a mess of things. As much of a mess we have made, I would say we have done good things also. We are not perfect but we havn't been the worst either. After all we are only human.
|
|
|
|
