Originally posted by DrDirtI would hope that this is one time that if a tax increase were necessary, no one would object.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Never, not with so much waste in each department and so much asinine social spending.
Amen, Grimis. The government spends so much money on such stupid things that it would be insane to even consider raising taxes right now. I can see the logic (kinda) in stopping a hefty tax cut, but raising taxes with idiotic spending would pretty much guarantee that whichever party proposes it wouldn't see the White House for decades.
Victoria's Secret Chapter 3- Coming soon to a CSSA near you.
Originally posted by StaggerLeeObviously none of you posters have ever served, or if you have served, you fail to remember two small words that prevent a mass exodus of troops. STOP LOSS. The government can, and will issue a stop loss order when it is needed, ensuring nobody can get out, or retire when thier contract is up, if there is a war, or other military requirements that would make it detrimental to the military for them to leave the service. Happened in the first Gulf War, and I am sure some people have had it happen to them this time around. If it gets to be a REAL issue, then the order comes out, and the troops stay.
Correct with actives but does that apply to the National Guard? Even if they prevent everyone form leaving when their enlistment is up, it doesn't appear we have enough personnel to realistically satisfy our commitments. One more theater of engagement and we are screwed.
Then perhaps we shouldn't engage anywhere else right now?
"There were times when I intensely wanted to walk out of the theater and into the fresh air and look at the sky and buy an apple and sigh for our civilization, but I stuck it out." -- Roger Ebert
You remember those couple hundred thousand people in Seoul who marched wanting our troops to leave your country? Well, let them know they have their wish. We could use those 50,000 troops elsewhere. Have a pleasant day.
While that article doesn't mention it specifically, I thought they also reduced the number of troops in South Korea, probably because of the war in Iraq. I know they didn't pull out completely, though.
The major thrust was redeploying south of the DMZ in order to adopt a new strategy and be better able to respond. I also believe there was some reduction in force. We shouldn't abandon South Korea. Overall it has been a decent ally and one of the few in that part of the world worth anything.
You remember those couple hundred thousand people in Seoul who marched wanting our troops to leave your country? Well, let them know they have their wish. We could use those 50,000 troops elsewhere. Have a pleasant day.
Signed, The United States Military.
I'd have no problem pulling our troops out of there and Europe today. Those protesters in Seoul would learn quickly that semi-free speech doesn't crack the top 4 billion list of allowed items by the North Korean regime. Also, congratulations SPF on becoming only the 2nd person to reach the prestigious Loser category here.
Why Pro Wrestling proves the INS cannot keep terrorists out of the United States: If a felon like Nathan Jones is allowed into the United States with no special skills (unless being totally inept in the ring counts, but I think there are enough totally inept people in the US to keep that skill from being unique or special), then how the hell can they justify keeping anyone else out?
Obviously none of you posters have ever served, or if you have served, you fail to remember two small words that prevent a mass exodus of troops. STOP LOSS.
You're right, I've never served (or does two years in the cadets count when I was a teen? ). And you're also right about stop loss. But that is a short-term solution.
Extending soldiers' service by six months in today's situation is probably understandable to those in uniform. But how about a year? Two years? What would that do to troop morale? What would that do to new recruitment rates, if the perception is that once you've signed up, you can't leave?
Not for nothing, but what would the right cause constitute these days? I mean, if someone invaded the U.S. on a full scale, you will see lots of weird people come out of the woodwork to fight (militias, etc.) Drafting for something like that wouldn't be necessary.
Not only that, but would eligibility standards for the U.S. Military change? Currently, I am 300 lbs., and am on probation for posession of marijuana (discredited by conservatives in 3, 2, 1). As such, I am not getting into the military. Would the reinstatement of a draft mean I'd be eligible, barring health reasons? (Note: My bodyfat percentage denotes I am not obese.)
Kane gets flustered that he didn't get to do something silly this week. Ho hum.
I was always under the impression that people who were called to active duty, served just as if they were active, and that the rules of Stop Loss would apply to them as well, but I may be mistaken.
As far as the Morale issue, the Army families have been crying since about the 90 day mark that they wanted thier family members home. Morale is low, and there isnt a lot that can be done about that. Some Navy ships were on station 9-10 months, which is 3-4 months longer than a routine deployment. The thing is, now that we as a nation, got ourselves into this, we need to get things set up for a speedy exodus, with as few service members as needed left behind.
Originally posted by Lexus Not only that, but would eligibility standards for the U.S. Military change? Currently, I am 300 lbs., and am on probation for posession of marijuana (discredited by conservatives in 3, 2, 1). As such, I am not getting into the military. Would the reinstatement of a draft mean I'd be eligible, barring health reasons? (Note: My bodyfat percentage denotes I am not obese.)
Obviously, the standard would change if a draft were re-instituted. I had friends get drafted who had been busted for possession. The "Go to the Army or go to jail" thing was real during the Nam. Cory Heckler, a hell-raiser in our little country town (which meant he smoked pot, drank wine and had a car with a cherry bomb muffler), was drafted and he went in, despite having one leg that was slightly longer than another. (Cory always looked like he was drunk, cause of the way he walked. It wasn't long enough to goof him up much, he just had kind of a loping gate. He stopped wearing the special shoes in high school). And he did his two years in the Navy on the Midway and came home and, last I heard, was more or less a solid citizen.
Point being, I was sure glad when they stopped the draft before I turned 18! Of course, I got a kid who is 14.
Ah, thank God I live in Canada, where the Liberals are so damned scared of losing power they never even utter anything that RHYMES with draft (which makes ordering beer interesting to say the least...)
I mean, gosh, this is really just ridiculous. We aren't even close to the point where a draft would be necessary because we're spread too thin. Three cheers for fearmongering!
P.S. We should pull out of Europe and South Korea.
Originally posted by MichromeI mean, gosh, this is really just ridiculous. We aren't even close to the point where a draft would be necessary because we're spread too thin. Three cheers for fearmongering!
P.S. We should pull out of Europe and South Korea.
P.P.S We still have troops in Kosovo. Why?
Europe, to some extent, I can understand. The red menace is dead (Thanks, President Reagan!). South Korea's a different story. It's relatively peaceful there, it's a good place to train. (I did a year there and the Eagle training exercises were tops) and the red menace is close and powerful. We need to stop communism. That's a good place. It's not costing us too much, I don't think. Assuming we were going to have the troops in uniform anyway.
Kosovo is still pretty hot, feelings-wise and we got in there for whatever reason (Genocide and racial cleansing is what was used by President Clinton, and it seems good enough as a reason to help for me). The UN is doing peacekeeping and we're part of that. That's basically what Korea's about too.
Counties often have a foriegn base or two. The Germans have a cooperative base in Goose Bay, Labrador in Canada, for example. I believe the Dutch and French train there as well. The Russians have bases in South America somewhere. To some extent, it's what you join the military for - I would have been bummed not to spend a year or more overseas (But I didn't want a tour in Germany, cause that was three years. I wanted Korea or Panama - both one year tours. Jarheads want Okinowa or Gitmo, while Air Forcies want Osan or Alaska or even Diego Garcia.
And that's what goes with being a world power.
But I hope with the new plan to pull out of Iraq that the need for a draft never comes. Like I said, I got a 14 year old
Originally posted by MichromeI mean, gosh, this is really just ridiculous. We aren't even close to the point where a draft would be necessary because we're spread too thin. Three cheers for fearmongering!
P.S. We should pull out of Europe and South Korea.
P.P.S We still have troops in Kosovo. Why?
Isolationism worked so well after WWI and scaling back did wonders after WWII. On my part it is not fear mongering, just reality. The world was, is, and will be a dangerous place. Should our allies be more responsible for their own defense.. Most of us would say yes. However, we cannot disengage. In the long run it will cost us more.
I am as glad as anyone that the USSR fell, but in reality the geopolitical world was more stable when it existed.
As far as committing a couple of years to serve your country, it should be mandatory. Everyone fresh out of high school should have to commit some time to the good old U.S. Doesn't have to be in the armed forces but somewhere. Doesn't have to be full time but service of some sort.
I am as glad as anyone that the USSR fell, but in reality the geopolitical world was more stable when it existed.
This is innately true. When there's a couple big dogs in the yard, they just fight each other. When there's only one, you have a problem. Eventually, you get extremists who want to make a name for themselves in whatever twisted reality they operate in, and right now the U.S. is the only target visible enough to get the attention of the world.
Competition is good, and I'm a firm believer that the Cold War, despite its negative impact on international relations, didn't really hurt anybody. It was an arms race, for sure, but despite a couple close calls no one fired on anyone else in a major nuclear onslaught. It was a pissing contest.
Obviously the army is over-extended, and I think this is a clear time to withdraw certain engagements.
What do you call Albert Einstein beatin' off? Give up? A stroke of genius!
Originally posted by Hogan's My DadCompetition is good, and I'm a firm believer that the Cold War, despite its negative impact on international relations, didn't really hurt anybody. It was an arms race, for sure, but despite a couple close calls no one fired on anyone else in a major nuclear onslaught. It was a pissing contest.
Um, I'm pretty sure all those dead people in Southeast Asia, Africa, Central and South America would dispute that if they could. But they can't, because they got killed as pawns in the pissing contest.
Or did you think people living in the Third World were happy with their military dictatorships and civil wars and invasions and death squads?
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