To help you recall, here are the five neoconservative commitments associated with US foreign policy that I mentioned in the last blogg:
1. Internationalism: The US should play an active role in world politics today by maintaining and extending the current global order that is in line with our national interests.
2. Primacy: American dominance in world politics is a stroke of good fortune for the world and for the US. US global dominance should therefore be maintained and no other power should be able to militarily and economically rival the US.
3. Unilateralism: American power is the source of global stability, not the UN Security Council, so US foreign policy should not be restrained to act unilaterally to maintain US national security interests and global stability.
4. Militarism: To unilaterally maintain US national security and democracy, global stability, and to extend democracy abroad, a strong US military is needed.
5. Democracy: Since US national identity, interest, and security are associated with democracy, and because the lack of democracy abroad is seen as a source of instability, democracy and the extension of democracy abroad is very important. Democracy at home and abroad is seen as in US interests.
In this blog, I want to talk about two possible problems: 1) the potential for excess in applying neoconservative foreign policies and 2) the potential reaction to neoconservative US foreign policies.
It seems to me that while neoconservative foreign policy commitments may have value, there is the possibility of excess. What do I mean by excess? Excessive application of neoconservative foreign policy commitments could lead to imbalances in other important policy arenas.
One example hinted at by several commenters on the last blog surround the balance between domestic and foreign problems. With such a focus on internationalism, what important domestic political issues might we overlook? Can you identify any? What are the limits of internationalism? When should domestic problems trump international problems?
Another example of excessive application centers on militerism. Currently, the US government spends over $1.03 trillion dollars on defense per year, which is used to maintain US military bases, personnel, and weapons systems in over 100 countries around the world, bases across the territorial US, and to fund wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Is there a limit to defense spending? Should there be a limit to defense spending? In the Probability Broach, Ms. Kropotkin says that military spending takes away from important issues like education. Instead of a trillion dollars in defense, should we be spending a trillion dollars in education or healthcare or domestic infrastructure (e.g. bridges, roads, train lines, communications, border defense, etc) or some other area of national interest?
Neoconservatives see nondemocracies as a source of national insecurity. In terms of the possible reactions of other countries to US foreign policies, the US effort to spread democracy abroad may cause bigger problems for the US. For instance, among Palestinians, Hamas defeated the PLO party and won a decisive majority of seats in the Palestinian Parliament. Hamas has been on the US list of terrorist organizations. Democracy, in other words, does not always go in the US's favor. Could the US's effort to spread democracy abroad backfire? Should the US focus more on establishing solid alliances with other countries (regardless of what type of government those countries have) and focus less on spreading democracy abroad?
Unilateralism is seen as a benefit to US neoconservative foreign policymakers. But US unilateral interventions sometimes hurt US national intersts. For instance, few countries signed onto the US invasion of Iraq after 11 September because it was a unilateral foreign policy decision. The US did not get the approval of the United Nations and so the US's invasion of Iraq was widely seen as an illegitimate use of force. The most recent war in Iraq contrasts with the first war in Iraq in the early 1990s, when the US had UN support and a broad coalition of countries routed the Iraqi military in around 90 days of declared combat. Should the US seek to build strong alliances to help with fighting the war and supplying the money and resources before the US intervenes in countries? Is the cost of US unilateralism too much? Are there limits to US unilateralism?
There are surely other problems that I have not noted above. Are there other problems that you can identify with neoconservative foreign policy commitments?
Take some time, think about, and answer some of the questions that I've posed above.
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ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I agree with the fact that there is an excess in applying neoconservative foreign policies. In my opinion, it does distract the people in charge from the problems that are in our own country. And I think that a lot of the $1.03 trillion spent on things in other countries could be put to good use in domestic affairs. The first thing that comes to my mind that we could be $1.03 trillion closer to being out of debt. Of course, we probably couldn't pull out all involvement in other countries, but every million dollars helps. Maybe I'm being naive, but I don't believe there's a limit to defense spending, or, it doesn't look like it. I think there should be, but I have no idea what that amount may be. Yes, it's important to have the proper defenses, but I think there comes a time when it's a little too much. As was mentioned above, there are important things that at least some of this money could be used for. Bridges and roads need a lot of attention. Apparently barely any of the bridges in this country meet satisfactory standards, or so I've heard. And I remember when the bridge collapsed in Minneapolis. A lot of roads are terrible, and quite honestly I'm sure some of those roads have done damage to my car. On a different note, I do agree that the US could manage just fine without trying so hard to spread democracy. It's pretty much a waste of time if people in the other countries don't want it. I think it would be a lot more helpful if we did just align ourselves with other countries, no matter what their form of government may be.
ReplyDeleteNathan Arch
In my opinion the United States does everything in excess whether it would be eating or their spending on foreign policy. I think that the defense budget could be cut if we would sop trying to spread democracy around the the world. We do not need to spread democracy around the world because when you try to change people it makes them resent us. If a country wants to change they will do it on their own noone wants to be forced into another persons way of thinking. The United States government is worried about defense but what about the school budget. We could downsize the defense budget and redistribute the money to things that really matter such as education and health care. There are many thing that we could do with 1.3 trillion dollars. I believe that we do need to protect ourselves but we do not need to try to expand our way of thinking and anger other countries.
ReplyDeleteJenica Anders
The United States does have a habit of spending in excess on foreign policy and other budgets that have become exhausted over time. In essence, domestic issues, such as the education system and infrastructure, have taken a turn for the worse. In my opinion, the United States should cut back on their defense budget and focus on developing the minds and roads of our nation. The $1.03 trillion dollars that was spent to maintain military matters could have easily solved this matter. Their is no need for the United States to force their ideas onto the people of other countries, so why spend trillions of dollars to do such? Yes, security is a necessity, but I feel that the U.S. takes this as an opportunity to assimilate other countries to think like us and to, ultimately, live like us. This is the wrong way of thinking and the United States should see themselves as an abuser rather than a peacekeeper.
ReplyDeleteWe need to have diplomacy with many nations. We need to be able to have good relations for prosperity and security. Our national defense is a must in order for us to survive. If we let our guard down just a little, someone with an agenda, foreign or domestic, will attack. Pearl Harbor was a US military base on a territory now the state of Hawaii but we let our guard down and December 7, 1941 was a devastating event that cost over 3,000 deaths, military and civilian. September 11, 2001, was a day that our last three generations and generation to come, will learn the horror of letting our guard down.
ReplyDeleteFrom 1993 at the end of George H. W. Bush (President 41) under a democratic congress and post desert storm, the country was entering a recession that the USA was still feeling the effects from the Carter administration and because we spent a lot of money into a short war, President 41 had to raise taxes and reduce some military facilities. Under Bill Clinton with a democratic Congress, he shut down almost half of most strategic military operations, equipment, man power, and intelligent gathering. From 1997 and on, officials stated that an attack was eminent and that we cannot be naïve to the facts that since the iron curtain (USSR) fell, that all the satellite countries and others neighboring them will have to rebuild and reform a government. The rise of Al Qaeda and jihadist terrorist was a gloomy reality but the Clinton Administration saw that it was better to have a smaller national defense to help the debt. One great factor was that a republican congress was eventually elected in 94 that help reduce the debt and create a surplus with president Clinton but struggled to get financing approved from President Clinton for military and national defense.
We need our allies and comrades to help strengthen the world against people of all that would inflict harm or cause strife in human rights. As I have been to UAE and other Muslim nations, I have learned a great deal. Many want to adapt to the style of government we have but include religion, not sharia law. Many are against Jihadist that would misrepresent the Quran and its teachings of peace and love. I have no quarrel with other nations inhibiting their own form of government as long as it is capable of decent foreign relations and is for a global and peaceful environment were diversity is respected and learned to be acknowledged.
Leonard Francesconi
While I agree that defense spending is important, I also believe that the United States exceeds its means when it comes to the issue. I appreciate that the United States needs to maintain its military bases, provide for its personnel, and sustain weapon systems, but 1.03 trillion dollars seems a little ridiculous. It seems to me that the U.S. causes this overspending problem by combining the foreign policies of militarism and democracy. Basically, it feels like whenever a country reaches out to the Unites States for help, if that country has an alternative form of government to us, we assume that their problem lies within the fact that they are undemocratic. As a result, we try to push democracy on these countries because we believe the lack of it is the root of their problems. I believe that our defense spending could be greatly reduced if we applied the policy of unilateralism and worked within the UN in order to help these needy countries, rather than using our military influence to force an ideal that may not be in line with the thinking of these countries’ people.
ReplyDeleteErin Shaw, 100.05
I agree that there is an excess in applying neoconservative foreign policies. I feel that it tends to distract not only the leaders of this country but the residents as well of the problems that we have “at home”. I feel that we really need to cut some of our spending or stop trying to be the “police” of the whole world. The money and time that we are wasting trying to spread democracy is a lost cause, because half of the time people don’t want our help. The reason why these people don’t want our help is because we just bombard in their country like we own the place and don’t respect the people inhabiting it. The U.S. needs to learn how to respect and to be understanding when trying to spread democracy because if you don’t then you are just acting like the first settlers did to the Native Americans back in the colonial days. We also need to remember that we need to continue to build and strengthen our allies. So that means we need to go by the rule book, care about what people think about us and help others when they actually ask for it.
ReplyDeleteChristina Haag
With such a large defense budget, I believe we are just aiding in the advancement of military powers worldwide. What do I mean by this? I believe many foreign countries are in some sort of competition with us, and after the next big thing in that persepective, should an occurence come about where military action is needed. As mentioned earlier, our nation is way too focused in it's foreign policy, and in spreading democracy.
ReplyDeleteIt's time we begin to focus in on cleaning up some of the mess we have turned this country into, and possibly start paying off our national debt. We are so caught up in our "image" on the global scale, but I think it is not even dawning on many people that China is just laughing in our face. Our neoconservative foreign policies are aimed at strengthening the global economy, but in reality it is just overbearing and excessive.
Melani Lewis
Internationalism is a one of the policies of a neoconservative government. The fact that 1.03 trillion USA dollars are spent to maintain foreign US military involvement with bases, personnel, and weapon systems in over 100 countries, and immense amount of money is spent to “defend” our country. To say that this isn’t needed is wrong, but for deciding how much money should be spent or if the amount should be limited is a possibility. I do agree that military spending can take away from important homeland issues for our country, however military spending is needed to protect our country and it’s citizens. Maybe limiting the amount that’s spent is the only option for the cost of internationalism. As for the US’s effort to spread democracy this could be a sad outcome. Spreading democracy is a sensitive subject that I honestly do not know that much about. I understand that war is basically the spread of democracy but there are circumstances for everything.
ReplyDeleteCharlotte Marion
i really agree with melani, I think it's great that all the money is going into the miltary, but I do believe that we need to start cleaning up the mess we made jsut as mentioned above. It's really distracting working on everything else around us, we just need to stop and step back and take a look around us. And 1.03 trillion dollars really?
ReplyDeleteTo me, the two excessive neoconservative commitments used with US foreign policy are democracy and militarism. Government spends a lot of money in foreign nations. Like I mentioned in the last blog, if a nation needs help, they should ask for it rather than U.S always getting involved. We have our own financial problems home, why aid other nation not seeking help? Also, borrowing from China is going to eventually cease. Plus they have a lot of advantage on us by retaliating for example. Why spend a $1.03 trillion budget on defense annually? This sum of cash could be set to good use to make education better and more affordable.
ReplyDeleteWe are currently ranked below Singapore and South Korea (being the top leaders in education with 93% of high school graduating, 75% getting diplomas). That is pretty high compared to the United States, plus considers the facts that, these nations are not as wealthy as the United States with poverties exceeding our expectations. Education should be the primary issue in this nation. Then we can worry about our defense. The more people able to receive a degree, the better expectations we can have about our future.
Setting education primary doesn’t endanger us, but instead makes the United States a better nation. Likely resulting in a lot of other nations pursuing us. The only reason I believe we got attack on 9/11 was because we invaded Iraq’s privacy. The U.S should have learned its lesson after the first 1990s war with Iraq. They like their government how it is; we should only intervene when there is too much violence used by government officials, having an effect on dissolving individual’s human rights. We cannot and shouldn’t turn a country in what they don’t want it to be. It should be on the people’s decision to vote and decide what type of government they want their nation to be like.
Frank Oben
I think that we should focus on both militarnism and domestic policies at the same time. We need to cut back on somethings for the military in order to create a balance. If we can focus more on domestic things like better schooling, then we will have more people educated to help out in our society. Today you cant go to college unless you have the finicial support. If we cut back on something in the military we could afford to give out more finicial aid to students to go to school to become more educated.
ReplyDeleteI feel like our effort on spreading democracy is backfiring. We are trying to help the unwilling in this war situation. I feel that they dont want us to have anything to do with them. I think they want to set up whatever government they like. Not have us come in there and show them how we do things.
Sabina Nicewarner 03
Without a doubt we there is an excess of applying the neoconservative policies. With that in mind we must remember that there is nothing that the United States has ever done without excess. We feel such a need for control and to spread democracy we have lost our own goals. The Us is excessive in foreign policy, international trade, aid to countries in disaster, defense( 1.3 TRILLION $$) and many other areas. We are now completely dependent on countries for our goods. I cant remember the last time I saw something that said "Made in The USA". We have dug ourselves a hole so deep its unclear whether we can ever get out. That hole is the national deficit which increases by the hour.
ReplyDeleteJessica Dant 100 05
I honestly believe that we need to be worried about our own country more than others. If we are spending all of our money on military bases in foreign countries that aren't needed then what can we expect to happen to our education systems back home? We need to stop spending so much money on things that aren't necessary to us anymore. We need to pull out of Iraq, it's been too long now and we've all heard empty promises of the troops coming home. If we brought our troops home we'd be saving countless lives as well as money. If we had that extra money we could worry more about our education systems as well as upkeep on roadways, etc.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of domestic versus foreign at this point in time, I do believe that domestic should trump foreign. The US is busy taking of other countries, and not taking care of itself. Yes, I understand other countries need help, but in order to truly help them we need to take care of ourselves first. We are in debt past our heads, and can't pay our bills, and can't find the jobs to do so. With more funding and help from the government that could be fixed. Then we could afford to help other countries. Right now domestic is more important.
Well, since we've been discussing the classes in the U.S., a great example of a domestic issues that should be fixed before an international one would be the vast gap betweent the lower and middle class. There are a lot of poor people in our country that need attention and help before we help others. They need jobs and better opportunities, but more focus is put on other countries before ours. But how can we help fix other countries if ours still has problems? It doesn't exaclty make sense to me. I do think we should help out the poorer places on the globe, but we should tend to our own. It doesn't exactly make us credible if we have problems and we're trying to tell other countries how to fix theirs.
ReplyDeleteLaura Gentile 100.04
I think that $1.03 trillion dollars is a lot of money to spend on defense per year. I do believe there should be a limit because I feel it does take away from educational funds. I feel money for our military is necessary but I think there should be some limit. We could divide spending up more evenly. I feel our school systems could use a hand with finances, as could our roads and health care. If you don’t have medical insurance it is extremely expensive to have a doctor visit.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the united states does everything in exces. the defense budget could be cut if we stop trying to spread democracy. There is no need to spread democracy because it only makes them recent us. If they want to change they will do it without our help. We should downsize the defense and give more to the school systems.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the United States does do everything in excess. But the problem is, is that we are spending too much money on unnecessary things around the world more than trying to better our own country. I'm not saying that we shouldn't try and push for democracy around the world, because that would help a lot of things in certain terms, but not keep pushing for it and spending all this money seems ridiculous. If other countries don't want to comply with the ways of the US, then I don't see why we keep pushing it as much as we do. That's more money we could be spending on our own country and trying to better ourselves.
ReplyDeletei agree that america does a lot of things in excess. i feel we are spending too much money on things that dont need to be budgeted right now. like stated above some money should be put in to getting america out of debt. also as mentioned above i feel that there is a limit to what america should spend on defense. yes we need to have a strong military but there should be a spending lilmit on how much money we will dump into technology for defense. what that limit is, i have no idea but i do feel there should still be on regardless.
ReplyDeleteAlthough last week I said I thought militarism was important, I can definitely see it in excess. The United States has been a top power for over 100 years now. I'm sure we are safe enough to lessen the amount of money we use on military technology and production in order to use the money elsewhere. Primacy in excess is a war waiting to happen. Although we think we know what's best for everybody else, they may think otherwise. Although we are strong and a successful nation, we cannot push other nations around too much without expecting somebody to one day retaliate. Unilateralism taken too far will have other countries working together to make sure we don't try to push everyone around too much. We may be the strongest, but that doesn't mean we get to be in charge of other countries. If other nations get concerned about our power and decisions to use it to control others, it is likely they would join together to put us back as equals.
ReplyDeleteThe United States does spend way too much money in thigns that don't neccessarily need all that much. U.S. does pretty much everything in excess. We shouldn't be wasting time and energy with trying to make other countries into democracries. They are their own country and can deal and decide on their own government. The money we spend toward our military forces is a bit outrageous. Our government should be spending more money to improve America, not just with artillery and what not. American education is not nearly up to par as other countries are. Maybe that's where some of the trillon of dollars should be going towards.
ReplyDeleteI think it is great that the money goes to the military, but I think too much goes to the military. The military is very important and needs the money and support, but if we spend all the money at that then the other problems that need help are not getting any help. There are other things such as schooling that need some money too. If the US would balance out the money more it would be better for everybody.
ReplyDeleteMegan Williams
I think there should be a general limit on defense spending except for the case of an emergency such as september 11. That is when our primary focus should be on defense spending and international allies. The military is extremely important to our country and without it, we would not be be here but i also believe that the US needs to pay attention to education and general policies a lot more. I also believe that the US should focus more on gaining allies. Although spreading democracy is a good thing, most countries tend to resist it which just causes more problems. That is why we should be focusing more on helping our current problems in the US such as health care, and education before we go and spend trillions of dollars on another country that doesn't seem to want our help.
ReplyDeleteDue to the large quatity of activity the military engages in as you mentions supporting activity in over 100 countries 1.03 trillion in spending can be justified. Considering all of the resources used and the payroll or every individual involved that sum of money can be justified.
ReplyDeletePersonally I would consider demilitarising atleast a portion of the 100 countries we station troops in. Seeing so many as a treat and having to pay out to use resources in some of these countries does take away from money that can be spend on resouces here in the U.S. As stated many things in this Country have the potential to be improved beyond what they are today such as infrastructure and education.
I do not think that we should have troops stationed all over in the world. Personally, I do not believe that we should be involved in all domestic affairs, because that just causes more problems for the United States itself.
ReplyDeleteIssues in this country most definitely have the potential to be changed or improved, but it's the government that sometimes doesn't do anything to neither change nor improve it. Instead of spending tons and tons of dollars on issues in other countries that are unappreciative, the govt. needs to spend money on important issues in America that are suffering greatly today.
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ReplyDeleteAs mentioned above, I too, agree with Melani Lewis. The US has continuously put itself in debt over and over throughout the years, and in a way it's like we have nothing to show for it except stuff at face value. Now i am not saying that we are not a good country, nor do i believe we lack values and standards..or even things to be proud of. We have all that, but i think we focus too much on our "big bad" image and tons of external conflicts while pushing the internal struggles aside. It would be nice to see the US pay off some of our national debt, but in all honestly i have a hard time believing that will ever happen. BUT it would be nice to see an effort to pay off some of that. The US is not perfect, and there is no place i would rather live than here, but i still think the US could afford to pay a little more attention to the happenings in the US..
ReplyDeleteKristi Barrett
I agree with the fact that the United States has a lot of excess. Americans as an individual also seem it has been expanded to us that in our everyday lives we subconsciously do everything in excess; whether it is buying food, shopping for clothes, or putting our money into the $1.03 trillion dollars on the defense plan. I also agree with Ms. Kropotkin in the Probability Broach that that instead of putting our money into military spending, it should be used on things like education and other national interests.
ReplyDeleteI realize that it is wonderful that we have people that protect our nation and allow us to be “free” but the majority of the people do not serve for our country. You are always hearing that there is a lack of education or a certain district has a bad educational system and honestly it should not be that way; education is the basis of our life. Without education we cannot do very much and get very far in life.
I also feel that America should also stop focusing on spreading democracy across the nation. I feel that it should be that particular country’s decision to have the type of government they want. Now I don’t feel that if the government is running their country by killing people for no reason that is right, but I feel like they can do what they want. We do not rule the world and we never will. We should focus on what the needs are in our country and also focus on establishing solid alliances with other countries. If we continue to tell everyone how they should be ruling their country we will never have any alliances.
Jenna Benke
While last week I did admit that militarism was extremely important and necessary to maintain the safety of our country, I do see how spending too much on the funding of these operations can be quite excessive. It does cut into the funding for education and other very vital organizations. I know that healthcare does not receive nearly enough funding and many people suffer from this. There has to be a happy medium established where this is concerned. I know we need to have incredibly up dated and strong military weapons in order to insure the safety of our nation. We must have well-equipped and very well-trained individuals to take on the responsibility of performing military operations and tasks. At the same time there is a very strong need for better funding toward education and medical research. We do need an educated country as well as one that is healthy. I know there will always be sickness and some people would not accept a decent education if you handed it to them on a silver platter, but there are many individuals who desperately suffer because of the inadequacy of our nation's education and medical systems. This country does tend to stick its nose into situations where it does not necessarily belong. Spreading Democracy is a pleasant idea but many countries like how they are living and do not appreciate our input. A lot of time and money is invested in this and we never seem to get anywhere with the idea, just into deeper problems. I do love America and I am thankful for our military. I will always be patriotic but I do see how the country does overdo the funding it sets aside for the military campaign. Laura Remsburg 100-04
ReplyDeleteThere is an excess in the foreign policy budget that can be used for many thins in the country itself. Thing is the U.S. tries to force other countries into democracy, in a way pushing a standard. I don't see why waste effort on this, yes it could be used to seem more globally friendly, but it could also backfire and make the U.S. a bully. Give the countries a handout, give them a choice to help or leave them be. but FORCING the change is a pretty bad idea. Some countries would need to be helped, but financially, now how to set up governments. In a way the U.S. is stealing tradition and destroying it. I personally am not one for tradition, but regardless it's not acceptable to force change.
ReplyDeleteThe neoconservative foreign policies are beneficial at their base but an excessive amount applied could lead to problems. By containing the global order that is in line with our national interest we have less focus on those national interests in our own country. When we focus so much on others problems we feel that we don't have any problems ourselves and that there does not have to be anything done. We need to focus on the democracy we have now in America and if it follows our principles and put effort to fixing the problems. Although we do spend an excessive amount of money on military, I find it a necessary to show our strength and this provides jobs for many Americans. With this being said I do believe we can make some limits to the spending that takes place; determine which bases and such are necessary. The US spreading democracy could turn into a problem for us. If we have no struggles with a country besides the fact that they are not democratic then we should not interfere. If the fact that they are not democratic becomes a threat to the US then this is when we should interfere. The US should look to build strong alliances in most cases but maybe not all. Depending on the situation the US may find it ideal to intervene before doing so, possibily due to the time when we find fit to intervene. Building alliances would be quite beneficial for finance purposes.
ReplyDeleteI am one who thinks that the USA is too involved in other places in the world and cares a little too much. So I believe that in doing so of course some domestic issues will be overlooked. However domestic issues should be taken care of first. How can you take care of the rest of the world when you can't take care of yourself? I also think there should be a limit to military spending. Its very important to have a good defense system and feel safe but at the cost it amounts to and with giving up on other domestic needs it seems a little outrageous the way the US goes about it. As far as establishing alliances go its always good to have friends. The US just needs to be careful with the ones they choose.
ReplyDeleteThe United States always tries to impoise our values onto others because most people in our country believe it works well. therefore, we try and invlove or threaten other countries to do the same. This country does want the most power and control over other countries and that is undoubtably what this war is somewhat about. We are also known for our powerful military and for the most updated weaponry and therefore we try and keep and keep it that way so other countries will be intimidatedby our power and technology. In some instances we should just leave other countries alone and let them do as they please unless they are causing issues with our allies or us. We also don't need to be the saviors for example Haiti. We spent so much money on other people most likely for them to be on our side if some world war were to break out, no help is free after all.
ReplyDeleteSome of the biggest problems with this country stems from our excessive spending. Whether our hearts are in the right place or not (and despite my general 'love of country' on this blog, I would tend to lean towards the fact that we don't always have our 'hearts in the right place') we waste a lot of our resources overseas when I think a lot of it needs to be focused on what is going on within our own borders. We spend too much, plain and simple and I would love for someone to argue otherwise. Our debt is not only a serious issue for the future of this country, it is also a source of embarrassment. We have one of the worst economic situations we've had in a really long time and we are fighting a war that I only 'sort of' believe in. I think we've spent time in the Middle East doing things of value, I do not want to sound like I am against the war, but I also know we've wasted a lot of money and effort trying to change a government that I truly don't believe will continue to function when and if we ever pull out.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know how we spend some of the national defense budget, honestly. I believe in national defense and I believe in protecting this country, but I dont believe in putting our soldiers on the line for something we should never have gotten involved in... especially when our school systems are failing all over the place and domestic issues just keep stacking up. That money needs to be applied to our problems at home.
I do believe that diplomacy is a top priority for this country, and I certainly don't believe we should ever be at war with another nation all on our own. If for no other reason that to share the cost. I dont feel like it's a smart move to go against the UN decisions, I realize the importance of taking action after 9/11, but at the same time we went to war and then it was declared 'over'... and yet here we are still fighting. I feel like we could back off our 'spread democracy' agenda a little bit, still effectively protect our country and offer aid to others and re-route some of the extra funds towards things here. There is just so much waste, but to be honest we could re-evaluate some of our 'in-house-spending' too, not just national defense.
-Challee Blackwelder
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe US's obsession with policing the world and converting countries to democracy is ridiculous and harmful. How many nations have we pissed off because we stuck our nose in their business when that business had nothing to do with us? How long does the government think we can just try and strong arm every country that doesn't agree with us? One day we're going piss 'em off so bad they are going to start a war with us and chances are they are going to have enough support to win or at least seriously harm us. And we're not going to have anyone to blame but ourselves. Why precisely we think democracy automatically helps everything is something I've never understood either. Just because people are given the chance to vote doesn't mean everything will magically fall into place like we want it to. Democracy is not a miracle cure nor does it offer any guarantee of instilling the values or rights we are so enamored of. Our huge military is not especially helpful either. We have bases all over the world, but do we really need them? How useful are they really? I can understand wanting to make sure my country is secure and maintaining a big enough military to rebuff any invasion, attack, ect. or that should it be necessary to send troops that there are enough to get the job done (or at least hold ground while we recruit). Still I think 1 trillion is a bit much. If we managed to cut that in half do you realize what could be accomplished? Think of education reducing the cost of college, improving schools, smaller class sizes, better books and equipment. Or medical care, medical research, power research (get away from oil and find ways to supply our own power), debt, the list is practically endless. There are a lot of problems with this neoconservative foreign policy.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the US does have a problem with excess. We tend to take care of other countries instead of taking care of ourselves first. I think there should be a limit on how much money they can spend on military because to me that's entirely too much going over there. That money could be going somewhere else thats really needed in the US.
ReplyDelete-Rebecca Harrelson
I agree that there is definitely an excess in applying neoconservative foreign policies. Our government is too involved in other countries instead of being more involved with out own. I feel that the potential reaction to this excess in neoconservative foreign policies can lead to other countries attacking us because of our interference into their ways of governing, etc. I feel that domestic issues should definitely take priority over foreign issues. The fact that we are trillions of dollars in debt, people are having a hard time finding employment, etc. shows that our government needs to start focusing more on domestic issues. I don't disagree with getting involved with foreign issues but I feel that we should decrease the amount of time we spend on it a little and focus more on our own nation. When it comes to defence spending I don't think we really have a limit to the amount we can spend each year. Looking at this I really don't have a problem with spending the money for having defence. The money that goes into that is what keeps us safe and out of harm from other countries. The effort to spread democracy abroad always has the potential to backfire. I agree that the US should spend more time with establishing more allies with other countries instead of trying to spread democracy. I think that it could be more influential later on if we get ourselves in a bad situation with another country. We will have allies that will back us up when we need it.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Challee Blackwelder with their post above.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the United States is definitely too involved in other countries, and not enough in our own; and in the end it seems that we give more than we recieve.
One thing I support very much is our military, and I feel that it's important to stand behind them through everything. I have done a number of interviews with military personel, and their responses are truly heart-rinching. Although, I agree with our military I feel that their is one thing we need to change and that is the number of troops stationed throughout the world. We should limit the amount of active troops, but should still have specific jobs for ranking in each branch. I've known people that have done countless tours, and some return home with terrible stories, battle wounds; that have left a huge impact on their lives. But a majority of them say that since the war began their opinions have changed. Freedom clearly is not free, and probably will never be.
-Elizabeth Higgins
Let me begin by saying that I do believe that defense is very important. But, I also believe that the United States has a serious problem with excess where defense is involved. I'm not opposed to the US helping other countries (and by "helping" I mean helping where it really is needed. Not interfering unwanted in the affairs of other countries), but I think we need to fix things up here at home first. We need to help our own country before we can help others. Money aside, I still believe that we are too involved with the affairs of other countries. I don't think it is the United States' job to police and control the entire world.
ReplyDeleteI do believe militarism and internationalism are important things to the US. With that said, there is a time for everything, and at the current time, the majority of the money put into those acts would be put to better use elsewhere. Re-strengthening the economy, or putting some toward the national debt would be two good places to start. As many have said above, the US is notorious for doing things in excess. The two above mentioned areas are some that the US practices in excess. I believe the country as a whole will soar higher when we do not face large domestic problems. I feel we are so caught up with assisting and proving to other countries, that we are not worried with the problems right here.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the United States is involoved to much in other countries. This is why today we are in a major debet. Why do we have a 1.03 billion dollars on military. I think we have this because this we try to get the other countries to become more deocracy.
ReplyDeleteAre there some possible ill-effects of neoconservatism and unilateralism? If we look at the way the world views Americans and the American Government, we might see a resounding YES. When we invade a country for the sake of democracy, we appear selfish and over-confident. Usually, the people of the nations we are trying to “help” do not like us. They believe we are trying to force our opinions and beliefs on them.
ReplyDeleteLaura Baker
I believe that a decent sized military is required, but the involvment in other countries should not be a top priority. There should be some military bases in other countries, but not in nearly every country that will allow us to be there. We do have our own problems at home that could be fixed. Not all of the trillion dollars could be pulled out of the military, but a hundred million or more could be used somewhere else. Forcing democracy on countries is not going to help our own national security. Most of these countries that we are forcing democracy upon are corrupt anyway and citizens are still afraid to vote. This can backfire like you stated in the initial post.
ReplyDeleteThe military is appropriately sized although we do have a big problem with excess. We are wasting too much money on military, and its money we don't have. The military seems to be using money on things we don't need. The military needs to be taken down just slightly, were sending people over seas that don't need to be there, thus wasting money and peoples time
ReplyDeleteI agree that we spend excessively. But will we ever get out of our trillion dollars of debt? I think things need to be budgeted more efficiently. Yes, the military is very important and I think in certain times it is necessary to spend on the military- when they really need it. I think the United States could budget more appropriately and worry more about our domestic problems instead of foreign problems. We really put ourselves into other countries and force our ways upon them. How do we do that? The military. I believe it all connects with each other. We need to budget and prioritize.
ReplyDeleteKelsea Weiant
100:04
I think we need to focus on militarism and democracy because they affect our country. We need to focus more of our attention there and keep to ourselves. The other neoconservative policies are directed towards other countries which I don’t think we need to consistently worry about. We spend an excess amount of money on foreign policy when we could be spending it other places. It’s important to spend money on militarism. Without militarism the safety of the country is being compromised but if we did not force our military into other countries that are not democratic we would be saving money. We spend a lot of money on other countries when the money would be better spent if we used it for internal use.
ReplyDeleteEmily Johnson
"Yo, the time has come for everyone to clean up their own backyard before they go knocking on their neighbor's door." - House of Pain, Salutations
ReplyDeleteQuestion - What do Pearl Harbor, the Gulf of Tonkin incident, September 11th, and the Reichstag fire all have in common?
Answer - They are all examples of us letting our guard down. . . er . . . . wait a sec. They don't have anything in common. Nevermind. Forget I ever typed that.
Len, do you really think that, if we let our guard down just a little, they are going to get us? Are they really out there just waiting? If they are, then why? And do you suggest we continue to fund our military by denying funding to other areas(education, healthcare or domestic infrastructure), raise taxes, or just borrow more money from China?
I do believe that sometimes the United States gets involved with taking care of the world when it should be focusing on the issues at the home front. I do believe that the United States also likes to throw its weight around, let’s send a couple guys here to rebuild a school in Iraq well what about a school in West Virginia that needs rebuilt and what about New Orleans that still needs to be helped. I think too often U.S. government is more comfortable saying look what we did for them instead of look what we did for us. I feel that military spending is necessary but at what cost? I don’t know, is education important, absolutely, are paved roads important, sure, but if I’m one of those people that are fighting for the country I’d like to feel protected, I want to have the best resources available.
ReplyDeleteTim Zeigler
We, the United States, does get involved when we shouldn't. We always feel as if we need to be a part of everything that occurs around the world. We can't just focus on our own problems because honestly, we don't know how to fix our problems yet we come up with solutions to fix other countries issues in a heart beat, so to speak. i believe that we need our military and without we would be defenseless, but at the same time relating back to what i just said, we are involved in issues that we shouldn't be a part of and that's when we end up getting in trouble and weak, because our military is off doing it's own thing trying to be a superhero and save the world and then we, back home, end up in a mess with no backup or protection. This nation has grown so fast over the years and we are developing rapidly in many different areas. We are so spoiled now days and yet we continue to complain about not having enough. There are many things we could do without, one of them being paved roads. Traveling wasn't too hard with out smooth roads, easier on your cars but not necessarily inoperable. If we cut out the minor things that really aren't needed and focused more on the things we need every day to survive like a good education or military protection then we would possibly reduce the "hard times" of survival.
ReplyDeleteAnna Wilt
I totally agree with Anna's comment above. I feel like we are constantly going to help other countries and running to the rescue for everyone else. Which don't get me wrong I think we definitely need to be involved in some of that. But, as Anna said why can't we fix the problems here? Why is it that we can go to another country of poverty and help all those people but we can't help the people here on our own soil? I don't really get how we have a solution for everyone else except ourselves. We are the wealthest country in the world and we can't even help ourselves. I mean it seems sad to me. On another note I am a strong believer in a strong army. Although I feel at times like we are fighting a never ending battle I still think without our military this country would be nothing. We could do without a lot of things but I certainly do not believe we should cut back on or get rid of our military.
ReplyDeleteSamanthia McQuade 100.03
I believe that the government does get too involved in other country's problems. Why should it matter what kind of government other countries have, if that country is fine with the way things are going then we shouldn't "help" them. If a country were to ask us to come in and establish a democratic government i do not see a problem with that, except for the fact that we do not even have a totally democratic government. My point is before we start going into other countries and trying to fix all of thier problems we need to fix the problems in our own country: our debt we owe to other countries, our education sysytem, our health care system, our unemployment rate, our homeless rate, etc. I do not think we should interfere with other countries until we fix these problems, because to be honest I never hear of other countries helping us when they have a list of problems within their own borders.
ReplyDeleteDavid Leonard
I believe that a decent sized military is required, but the involvment in other countries should not be a top priority. We are wasting too much money on military, and its money we don't have. The military seems to be using money on things we don't need. The military needs to be taken down just slightly, were sending people over seas that don't need to be there, thus wasting money and peoples time. if we stop spending all our money on military we could have the best education in the world and we can have a higher stander of living. this country is a great country but to many politician are trying to bring united states down and not help it. as people it our job to stop them and take back our country.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the US could cut funding to the defense budget. It seems like the US gets this crazy idea that our government needs to be everywhere, leading them to decide to go into foreign countries, causing hostility and resistance of that country which could in turn lead to war. So why not just leave the rest of the world along and deal with our own problems within the US.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the defense budget is way to big. We already have the largest military in the world. The US is almost crazed with power, we shouldn't have to have units in so many countires, we don't own them so we shouldn't have and arm base there. That will only lead to hatred of the US. We shouldn't over stay our welcome and force ourselves apon other people.
ReplyDelete-Tiffany Anders
I believe in maintaining US military bases, personnel, and weapons systems are very important. However, spending $1.03 trillion dollars on defense per year is a little excessive. In a 2009 study by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the US holds 46.5% of the Global Distribution of Military Expenditures. Now after seeing those numbers, don't you think we could cut back a bit? I think that we should cut back on the $1.03 trillion dollars on defense per year and spend that money on children's education. One way to help cut back is to stop medaling in other nations trying to spread democracy. Most nations only hate us for it and instead we are loosing money that we could instead spend on education.
ReplyDeleteDomestic issues are overlooked all the time! One that I can think of that is currently happening is the protest against mountaintop removal. Since coal mining is becoming technologically out of date, companies have moved towards less expensive mountaintop detonation practices. Mountaintop removal is a literal as it gets. To produce coal, mountaintops are blown to pieces. Not only does this practice destroy the environment, but it also decreases the quality of life in areas surrounding the detonation sites. Cancer and other disease rates are skyrocketing along the appalacian mountains because of the amount of toxins that leech into the environment. Despite it all, nothing has been done and no debate has been held to address the issue. This is also an issue that people are relatively unaware of on a national scale. My cousins in Arizona and Texas had no idea about this issue until I told them. This is just one example of how domestic issues are overlooked on a regular basis because international issues (such as immigration) are paid more attention. However, domestic problems should always trump international issues unless there is a direct, foreign threat from another nation. We should follow the proverb (not sure of its origin) that states that we should help ourselves before we can become effective at helping others.
ReplyDeleteAlso, there should definitely be a limit to defense spending just like there are spending limits in most every other aspect of government. If nations spent more time on forming alliances (even with countries with contrasting governments)a limitless defense budget would be unnecessary. Instead I would like to see this money used towards domestic issues.
Kyra Wood
While I agree that defense spending is important, I also tend to believe that the united states does exceed its “needs” when it comes down to the real issue. We need to find a way to not spend as much, for 1.3 trillion is A LOT of money to be messing around with. In my opinion I believe we just need to simply find an easier way of spending and making sure that what we are spending is going towards things that are needed. As for the us spreading democracy, the outcome could be bad. but yet again, I don’t know enough about it to really understand it.
ReplyDeletealyssa prager
I think the money we spend on national defense is a bit extreme, but what is the alternative? Spend less on military supplies and soldiers in hopes that we will not need more security against attacks to the nation? That does not seem reasonable to me. But a way to help with the cost of a military force would be to align ourselves with other countries to help with the expense. However, in a perfect world all countries would get along and we would not need such a large military. We all know that there is nothing perfect to say about any nation, so we have to work together with countries that share the same objective or at the very least the same enemy. By joining together we will be able to accomplish more.
ReplyDeleteCatherine Pevahouse 100.03
The United States defense is very important for everyone that lives in the United States. Although the United States spends a little bit to much money on the defense it is there for the benefit of all the citizens. Sometimes our defense gets into things that they shouldn't. I don't think that United States defense doesn't have a spending budget. There are people in the United States starving in poverty and our government is spending all of our money to fix other countries problems. I mean 1.3 trillion dollars is a massive amount of money to spend on defense. What is all that money used for? Where does it go? We all as citizens should know that at least. Because the money that they are using is the citizens tax money and other donations that help.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Sawyers
I definitely believe that US defense is an important thing to maintain, and while there should be a limit to military spending, it shouldn't limit our military output.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if unilateralism is really a great idea, I feel like the US has possibly taken liberties with this, with possibly negative consequences depending how you look at it. But I feel like the US's way of flexing our muscles so to speak by doing this just may color the rest of the worlds view on the US in more of a negative light than we should be comfortable with. Like I said, its kind of a way of showing our power, and I'm not saying thats really a good thing, because you can definitely have too much of that. But the question is if the US is taking liberties with unilateralism too much, like for example the invasion in Iraq, is it really okay that we are over there? or should we just pull everyone out and let them decide it amongst themselves.
Jessica Lisk - PSCI 100:05
I believe that we should be focusing on our problems before we worry about others. We have a responsibility to our country first and when we don't do that we all wonder why there are so many who are in need. It will probably take longer to fix another country than it would be to begin fixing the U.S. now.
ReplyDeleteMeredith Blady 100.04
We need to set strong alliances with nations despite there political structure. We are only so many people, only on nation. With allies abroad, much more could be accomplished. More aid will go were its needed and more hands can pitch in to prevent disasters and wars. Perhaps if are standing was better with some key nations, so much conflict could be avoided, and with better relations abroad we wouldn't have to spend so much on are defense, and can focus more on internal issues.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the U.S. is too involved with foreign issues due to our neoconservative policy. Rather than worrying about the issues we have domestically, our government would rather focus on converting the rest of the world into democratic nations. I believe that if we focused on diplomacy with nations regardless of their governmental type that the U.S. would be able to control their defense budget, and perhaps use the money more effectively for our citizens. Also I disagree with the belief that we should view nondemocratic nations as threats. I do not believe taht America itself is even a democratic state, because when you think about it, what power do we the citizens have in deciding the fate of our country. Popular vote didn't make a difference in the 2000 and 2004 elections, and the politicians that we elect into Congress don't always work for the best interest of the people they represent. Therefore we should not focus on fighting these democratic crusades, rather focus on creating a better democracy within our own country.
ReplyDeleteThere is never too much money put into the safety of our nation and ourselves, we buy newer model cars for they are safer. Also we have alot of domestic issues that need to be addressed, for one mountain top removal in order to get to coal more cost effectively.
ReplyDeleteMy comment for the last blog said military is good to an extend. Im sticking to that and yes I believe there should be a limit on military spending. I am not saying that our safety is not important. However, do we need bases oversea too? I am just curious at why we have a base in Greenland. Do we feel treaten by Greenland? Military spending should be reasonable and not excessive.
ReplyDeleteYuet Chu
I agree with most others that said the U.S.'s budget for defense is a bit rediculous. 1.3 trillion dollars is a lot of money, and it is being spent towards something that seems to be more of a safety cushion instead of an everyday nesessity. Yes, I do think the safety of our country and the U.S. defense is of great importance, but I feel it should be cut a little. We still need the nessisties to keep our country safe; but I feel we do not need 1.3 trillion dollars for it. Like I have said in almost every blog, we need to find a "happy medium". Don't cut all budget to our national defense but take a decent portion of it and spread it out among many of the things the U.S. needs in it's poor economical situation. IE. healthcare, social security, education, roads, ect... I feel the same with forcing democracy on other countries and nations. Find the "happy medium", adevertise and explain/influence democracy but do not inforce it. I also thing it would be a good idea to unite and create strong allie bonds with other countris/nations to help with the defense budget; but then the trust factor also comes into play. Can we really trust the agreement and alliance of foreign countries/nations?
ReplyDeleteCanaan Metz
As I've said before i feel America tries too hard to police the world. I'm all for having a strong military, but we don't always have to prove it. We often preach of setting up democracy's in other countries but forcing it upon other nations is really the opposite of what we are trying to represent. I don't believe putting a budget on military spending because without a strong military we are vulnerable to attacks, but i think we shouldn't be so fast to occupy other countries. It sometimes seems we are more concerned with foreign policy than domestic. Domestic policy should be a priority. There is no point to try and fix the worlds problems when we have our own to deal with.
ReplyDelete