Resolutions 2012
As we enter 2012, let us as a nation commit ourselves to two resolutions. First, we will bring our troops home from Europe. And second, we will not support any more undeclared wars.
I've written extensively before about removing our military out of Europe. Our troops no longer serve a clearly defined purpose by standing guard in Germany, Spain and Italy. World War II ended in 1945 and the Cold War ended in the late 1980s. European countries - if they will just make the commitment - are capable of funding and manning their own armies. Why should we allow them to freeload on our dollar by depending on American soldiers stationed on European soil?
We are currently pumping billions of dollars annually into the European economy. First we pay the host countries for the privilege of protecting them. And then, US troops help those host countries by spending their paychecks in local European stores, restaurants and bars.
If we would bring these men and women home, we could first of all stop paying rent. And secondly, we could help our own economy with our own money. US bases would need to be built and/or expanded, creating construction jobs in our own country. And then, US businesses around those bases would prosper as service personnel spend their paychecks in US bars, cafes and movie houses.
Surely, in these desperate economic times, finally bringing our troops home from Europe makes sense. Let us use a larger portion of our taxpayer funded defense budget to help US businesses and to create US jobs.
The second resolution is, in many ways, related to the first. Many do not realize that World War II was our last declared war. Those wars we fought since - in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East, to name just a few locations - were undeclared wars. As a result, we often had a lack of support, both in government and on the home front, and our troops and veterans often suffered as a consequence.
Surely, if we ask a young military man or women to die for us on the battlefield, it is not too much to ask that they do so in a declared war. The next time our president - whether it be Obama or his successor - finds himself in an armed confrontation overseas, let us demand that he go before congress and request a formal declaration of war. It will help keep our future military conflicts to a more manageable number and it will help to cement our commitment, both to the war and to our troops.
I've written extensively before about removing our military out of Europe. Our troops no longer serve a clearly defined purpose by standing guard in Germany, Spain and Italy. World War II ended in 1945 and the Cold War ended in the late 1980s. European countries - if they will just make the commitment - are capable of funding and manning their own armies. Why should we allow them to freeload on our dollar by depending on American soldiers stationed on European soil?
We are currently pumping billions of dollars annually into the European economy. First we pay the host countries for the privilege of protecting them. And then, US troops help those host countries by spending their paychecks in local European stores, restaurants and bars.
If we would bring these men and women home, we could first of all stop paying rent. And secondly, we could help our own economy with our own money. US bases would need to be built and/or expanded, creating construction jobs in our own country. And then, US businesses around those bases would prosper as service personnel spend their paychecks in US bars, cafes and movie houses.
Surely, in these desperate economic times, finally bringing our troops home from Europe makes sense. Let us use a larger portion of our taxpayer funded defense budget to help US businesses and to create US jobs.
The second resolution is, in many ways, related to the first. Many do not realize that World War II was our last declared war. Those wars we fought since - in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East, to name just a few locations - were undeclared wars. As a result, we often had a lack of support, both in government and on the home front, and our troops and veterans often suffered as a consequence.
Surely, if we ask a young military man or women to die for us on the battlefield, it is not too much to ask that they do so in a declared war. The next time our president - whether it be Obama or his successor - finds himself in an armed confrontation overseas, let us demand that he go before congress and request a formal declaration of war. It will help keep our future military conflicts to a more manageable number and it will help to cement our commitment, both to the war and to our troops.
posted by dlh | 5:55 AM
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