You filthy centrist! :)
US-World Police is a mixed bag. They're a nice dog to have around when someone starts causing a ruckus.
But they are far too eager for a fight, or to interfere, to the point that one can debate if the overall effect is positive or negative.
They are a source of both stability, and instability.
The inertia of the UN and other Western nations sometimes does a reasonable job of restraining them.
It's not enough, though.
US-World Police is a mixed bag. They're a nice dog to have around when someone starts causing a ruckus. But they are far too eager for a fight, or to interfere, to the point that one can debate if the overall effect is positive or negative. They are a source of both stability, and instability.
Basically agreed with all of this. A little more measured and slightly different approaches would be a welcome change; but now we just drone our problems away. Or give a bunch of money to bad guys who crossed their fingers while signing the deal. Sneaky. :p
The post is tongue-in-cheek, but there is a legitimate point being made as well. I rather like the US having a strong military - it would be very scary indeed if a Russia or China was clearly the sole superpower and could start forcing their will on other nations. The US military is quite unique in that we can project force almost anywhere in the world extremely quickly and effectively.
I'm generally not in favor in intervention in many cases - it can be justified in some, and wars of defending allies or liberating sovereign nations are worthwhile, I think. I think all the attempted coups, assassinations, takeovers, and rebel funding the middle east has probably done more harm than good overall. I think a more neutral approach might have better results in the long run.
The number of bases we have around the world, and the amount of money this costs us, is quite extreme. We have more military bases overseas now than at the end of the Cold War. The Pentagon estimates that about 25% of all our bases serve no military purpose; you can make an argument for political purposes, but that seems like far too many.
A slow and thoughtful withdrawal of some of our bases and forces from overseas might be in order, both to improve relations somewhat, and also to save money on the home front as well.