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Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce
Anywho, Germany's not the only European country cutting back on military expenditure. Probably figure NATO will defend them and that means us. So the Pentagon makes a case for bigger budgets and snazzy toys. Then the Military Industrial Complex bullshits everyone by claiming they can build a Swiss-Army-knife plane that will razzle dazzle the bad guys into submission, knowing full well over budget is expected, it's a goddamn tradition. Nobody is punished, and it's, well, we've dumped so many of our eggs in this basket, we have to forge ahead.
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It's not just Germany. Britian, once a hardnosed military champion for Europe, is deciding to take a defeatist attitude under Cameron. Britian wants to reduce their military budgets to less than 2% or GDP. Imagine what fears this creates in the Baltic nations, Bulgaria, and Romania.
Of course Greece does not care as long as they can keep increasing their budget deficits to enrich the rich. Problem for them is that American banks are now required to be responsible. So Greece wants free money only to pay the interest on their '180% of GDP' debts. And, of course, also has no interest in their own defense. America will provide.
America is demanding that nations, once told by our wacko extremists that we will defend them, must now provide their own first layer of defense. Countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Japan are in turmoil because Obama has reversed the extremists rhetoric of 'we will pay for your defense'.
Abe of Japan looked like he would successfully eliminate Article 9 of their constitution so that the Japanese military can work with their neighbors in a NATO-like defense. However even that necessary change now looks unlikely.
Saudi Arabia is blaming Obama for requiring them to take responsiblity for their region. What must eventually happen? Isreal must kill off their extremists (ie Netanyahu). Then work in military alliance with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisa, the Gulf States, Kuwait, and Iraq in another NATO-like structure. Of course, with so many wacko extremists in Israel, that does not appear possible.
All changes necessary for the world to work for the advancement of mankind. Instead we spend a new record amount on the F-22 Raptor that cannot even support ground troops. And now the F-35 will cost even more for the greater glory of ... who is getting rich on these? Clearly not military and engineering types.