It's obvious to me that you know far more about military issues than I do. I'm not going to even try to answer them. I'd make a fool of myself.
Moreover, I recognize the plight we are in so I don't see any point in answering them. That's not an area of contention. Believe it or not, I want all the same things you do. But I think I'm being more realistic than you about the elephant in the room: What we both want is utterly unfeasible and is therefore irrelevant except to those who like to bury their heads in sand. The United States cannot, WILL NOT continue doing the things it has been doing. It's insanely expensive; the money isn't there; the bills already racked up are now coming due with a vengeance.
Why do you think Saudi Arabia and so many of our former "friends" are now cozying up with China? It's because the writing is on the wall. They know what's coming.
Take a look at this chart and tell me what you want to cut - no, SLASH - in order to keep defense as it is. Bear in mind that our outlays for Social Security, Medicare and interest on the debt are skyrocketing as a percentage of total spending, year-by-year.
Again, the question isn't whether we want to continue dominating the world. The question is how we possibly can ... in light of our financial situation.
How about eliminating Social Security? I'd be okay with that. DG? Micro? ribit? Beldin? Zimbler? Nemo? How would you feel about losing your Social Security in order to continue protecting Israel and Europe and beating up on Somalia and Yemen?
Or we could default on our Medicare obligations. No problem, right? You guys could probably pay for your future medical expenses, in full, no problem, and would be happy to do so!
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