[Lothar5150]

BillA
not an altogether bad operating premise;
shall a list be started of those whose absence would be a boon to humanity ?

It’s funny that you should say that…my boss before Chewy was convinced that there was such a list generated after 9/11

MadHacker
So what is reasonable?

Well in some cases it might just be economic and political isolation, in the most rare extreme cases military action would be required but I think in a lot of cases the carrot might work. You have to take each situation individually; there is not cookie cuter solution. However the overriding policy is that we push for democracy through out the world.

Superart
Lothar, Afghanistan/Iraq have not fully accepted democracy.

I disagree; the majority of people obviously buy into the idea of democracy, just look at the turn in both countries. Honestly, you have to really want to vote to put up with being mortared, while waiting in line for several hours.

pHaestus
MH: If we wanted Iraqi oil then all we had to do was agree to push for dropping UN sanctions and then buy it. That would've been a lot cheaper than the money we've spent on military action. If your arguments are economic then at least make good financial sense...

Thank you

MadHacker
the US have a surplus of weapons that have to be field tested... what a better way then to have a war.
also war is what they do. if you look at their history... every 4 years or so they have to go to war with some country or other...
note... I don't hate Americans... just don't like some of the things the government does.

First I must say that the idea we go to war to field test weapons in war is preposterous. You field test weapons systems during live fire exercises. There is no economic benefit to using up surplus bombs or bullets. In fact there is No economic benefit to war. During the colonial days of your Commonwealth, a nation could become very wealthy via conquest. However, that was through the complete subjugation of the indigenous population and stripping them of natural resources. Today warfare is a very different thing. We “America” usually end up spending vast amounts of our own resources rebuilding the nations we go to war with, this can lead to bankruptcy. Rethink assumptions they are very biased on an Edwardian/Brittan model not a Pox Americana model.

Slr

The truth is that we are at this point in history we are The Super Power… (Be grateful we are a well intentioned democracy). However, by your statement on our intelligence capabilities suggests you over estimate some of our real capabilities, which have lead you to some fallacious assumptions. I’m going to leave it at that because this thread is not about bashing America. It is about a policy of spreading democracy.

It’s nice to think that war is never the answer but I think you are naive if you think that well run well organized dictatorships can’t totally suppress democracy. Example look at North Korea, honestly do you think that state will fail from the inside. People have been litterly eating bark and grass in that country for years and yet no popular up rising. Why not? BillA has it right; we (all free nations) have an obligation to help people in the pursuit of democracy. That does not mean we have to go to war each situation will requrie it own solution.