If I Were President, Part 2 …
Vote for me, based on the following plank in my platform:
Foreign Affairs
For more then a half-century the U.S. has been the greatest power, military and economic, in the world. This has made the U.S. the source of a great deal of largesse, from sending aid and sending troops, for various reasons, to many of the world’s trouble sites.
It is time that we recognize that times have changed. Why should a nation trillions of dollars in debt and running deficits in the hundreds of billions be expected to take on obligations outside our country? It will be tough many of Americans, but we have a short term financial problem, and have to tighten our budget.
Foreign aid has been given to many countries for various reasons, some good some bad. The types of aid include everything from AIDS vaccines to Africa (good) to propping up the militaries of several countries, including Egypt and Israel (bad).
It is time to stop all forms of foreign aid. We can have a staged withdrawal, perhaps 25% a year for my four years in office. Then each case can be treated on its own merits, if we even care to return to cash giveaways to other countries.
Even while we remain the world’s only remaining superpower, wars have changed from conflicts between countries to “retail” wars of counterinsurgency. Nuclear weapons are proliferating; countries that are on the verge of having nuclear capability include even members of the “axis of evil.”
My proposal is that, for my first term, all military intervention is suspended. This requires a rapid withdrawal of troops for Iraq, and allows for strengthening our force in Afghanistan. Exceptional situations may cause us to deviate from this policy, but only after careful consideration by the President and Congress.
In addition we are calling in all our military from South Korea and other countries that are manned for the former type of wars, and from NATO activities. We may need to keep some troops in Germany to maintain some European presence.
Is this too nationalistic? I suppose, but the world is better off with the financial stability of the United States, and we need a breather.
Foreign Affairs
For more then a half-century the U.S. has been the greatest power, military and economic, in the world. This has made the U.S. the source of a great deal of largesse, from sending aid and sending troops, for various reasons, to many of the world’s trouble sites.
It is time that we recognize that times have changed. Why should a nation trillions of dollars in debt and running deficits in the hundreds of billions be expected to take on obligations outside our country? It will be tough many of Americans, but we have a short term financial problem, and have to tighten our budget.
Foreign aid has been given to many countries for various reasons, some good some bad. The types of aid include everything from AIDS vaccines to Africa (good) to propping up the militaries of several countries, including Egypt and Israel (bad).
It is time to stop all forms of foreign aid. We can have a staged withdrawal, perhaps 25% a year for my four years in office. Then each case can be treated on its own merits, if we even care to return to cash giveaways to other countries.
Even while we remain the world’s only remaining superpower, wars have changed from conflicts between countries to “retail” wars of counterinsurgency. Nuclear weapons are proliferating; countries that are on the verge of having nuclear capability include even members of the “axis of evil.”
My proposal is that, for my first term, all military intervention is suspended. This requires a rapid withdrawal of troops for Iraq, and allows for strengthening our force in Afghanistan. Exceptional situations may cause us to deviate from this policy, but only after careful consideration by the President and Congress.
In addition we are calling in all our military from South Korea and other countries that are manned for the former type of wars, and from NATO activities. We may need to keep some troops in Germany to maintain some European presence.
Is this too nationalistic? I suppose, but the world is better off with the financial stability of the United States, and we need a breather.
posted by John V at 1:01 AM
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