4 ms·

I'm not sure that the idea that the US is more benign than china is shared outside the US or the occidental world.

FourScore 7y ago
The US gives more aid around the world than any other country on Earth. The US has been an advocate and global protector of human rights and civil freedoms around the world for over half a century. The US has toppled brutal dictators like Saddam Hussein and kept the global peace. The US has given more to the world through its scientific and industrial innovation in the last 50 years than any other nation over the same span of time. China has basically just kept to itself and has a terrible record on human rights and civil freedoms. Most of the complaints about the US focus on comparatively small mistakes the US has made which people obsess over in support of their bitter agendas.
- whatshisface 7y ago
  >The US has toppled brutal dictators like Saddam Hussein and kept the global peace Those two statements directly conflict: Saddam kept things under control a lot better than the violent mess that exists in Iraq now.
  - FourScore 7y ago
    Tell that to the Kurds and other persecuted minorities who were tortured and killed en masse by Saddam.
    - monocasa 7y ago
      Were more Kurds killed and tortured annually under Saddam, or after the US occupation?
    - FourScore 7y ago
      It was not the US that perpetrated the violence after it toppled Saddam. It was the radical elements within Iraq. They're the ones that bear responsibility.
      - monocasa 7y ago
        ..so what exactly are we supposed to be telling the Kurds? That the US isn't responsible for the indirect effects of occupations that were started on lies to begin with?
        FourScore 7y ago
        We wouldn't need to tell them, they know. The radical elements in Iraq who actually perpetrated the violence in pursuit of extremism are responsible for the violence. There is a reason why Kurdistan is one of the most peaceful and developed regions in the Middle East: they act the way you must act to be a prosperous modern people. The violent radicals who squandered the post-Saddam opportunity to build a modern Iraq are to blame for the killing and the chaos.
- __m 7y ago
  They neither give the most aid in total nor in % of gross national income.
  - nsporillo 7y ago
    https://assets.weforum.org/editor/large_hdWeyZ2KVp7f-1Coc9ssON7IWLLmCkCrRlEdARd63Ew.png https://assets.weforum.org/editor/large_hdWeyZ2KVp7f-1Coc9ss...
- Leary 7y ago
  "The US has toppled brutal dictators like Saddam Hussein and kept the global peace." John Bolton, is that you?
  - FourScore 7y ago
    The relative loss of life due to war and occurrence of war around the world since 1945 is far lower than at any other point in human history. This is directly due to the US acting as the global superpower. The Pax Americana is a widely recognized phenomenon.
    - bduerst 7y ago
      This "Whatabout WW2 deaths" has little to do with killing 180,000 Iraqi civilians over false information. This type of war mongering justification is what GP is talking about with regards to people outside the U.S. not sharing the opinion that it's benign.
- locoman88 7y ago
  Jesus! Somoza, Pinochet, Videla, etc, etc. Those were murdereos military regimes, responsible of countless horrors, and supported, if not directly managed, by the US. Whenever I read or heard comments like this I always wonder if Hollywood is not an actual CIA offshoot
- thooranpoyi 7y ago
  So much solipsism here.
- Hasknewbie 7y ago
  >> Most of the complaints about the US focus on comparatively small mistakes Taking down democracy in Iran. Supporting dictators in Latin America and Africa and assisting them in hunting down democracy activists. Financing terrorism in Angola for two decades. Fabricating an incident in order to attack North Vietnam, killing 3 millions people. Supporting "Asian Hitler" Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Tacitly supporting Pakistan's genocidal attack against Bangladesh. Selling weapons to the terrorist regime of Iran, and then using the money to support terrorists in central America. Fabricating a threat in order to invade Iraq (hundreds of thousands of dead, millions displaced). Supporting terrorist groups in Syria. Waging undeclared wars in (at least) seven countries at the moment. "Small mistakes."

The US gives more aid around the world than any other country on Earth. The US has been an advocate and global protector of human rights and civil freedoms around the world for over half a century. The US has toppled brutal dictators like Saddam Hussein and kept the global peace. The US has given more to the world through its scientific and industrial innovation in the last 50 years than any other nation over the same span of time. China has basically just kept to itself and has a terrible record on human rights and civil freedoms. Most of the complaints about the US focus on comparatively small mistakes the US has made which people obsess over in support of their bitter agendas.

whatshisface 7y ago
>The US has toppled brutal dictators like Saddam Hussein and kept the global peace Those two statements directly conflict: Saddam kept things under control a lot better than the violent mess that exists in Iraq now.
- FourScore 7y ago
  Tell that to the Kurds and other persecuted minorities who were tortured and killed en masse by Saddam.
  - monocasa 7y ago
    Were more Kurds killed and tortured annually under Saddam, or after the US occupation?
  - FourScore 7y ago
    It was not the US that perpetrated the violence after it toppled Saddam. It was the radical elements within Iraq. They're the ones that bear responsibility.
    - monocasa 7y ago
      ..so what exactly are we supposed to be telling the Kurds? That the US isn't responsible for the indirect effects of occupations that were started on lies to begin with?
      - FourScore 7y ago
        We wouldn't need to tell them, they know. The radical elements in Iraq who actually perpetrated the violence in pursuit of extremism are responsible for the violence. There is a reason why Kurdistan is one of the most peaceful and developed regions in the Middle East: they act the way you must act to be a prosperous modern people. The violent radicals who squandered the post-Saddam opportunity to build a modern Iraq are to blame for the killing and the chaos.
__m 7y ago
They neither give the most aid in total nor in % of gross national income.
- nsporillo 7y ago
  https://assets.weforum.org/editor/large_hdWeyZ2KVp7f-1Coc9ssON7IWLLmCkCrRlEdARd63Ew.png https://assets.weforum.org/editor/large_hdWeyZ2KVp7f-1Coc9ss...
Leary 7y ago
"The US has toppled brutal dictators like Saddam Hussein and kept the global peace." John Bolton, is that you?
- FourScore 7y ago
  The relative loss of life due to war and occurrence of war around the world since 1945 is far lower than at any other point in human history. This is directly due to the US acting as the global superpower. The Pax Americana is a widely recognized phenomenon.
  - bduerst 7y ago
    This "Whatabout WW2 deaths" has little to do with killing 180,000 Iraqi civilians over false information. This type of war mongering justification is what GP is talking about with regards to people outside the U.S. not sharing the opinion that it's benign.
locoman88 7y ago
Jesus! Somoza, Pinochet, Videla, etc, etc. Those were murdereos military regimes, responsible of countless horrors, and supported, if not directly managed, by the US. Whenever I read or heard comments like this I always wonder if Hollywood is not an actual CIA offshoot
thooranpoyi 7y ago
So much solipsism here.
Hasknewbie 7y ago
>> Most of the complaints about the US focus on comparatively small mistakes Taking down democracy in Iran. Supporting dictators in Latin America and Africa and assisting them in hunting down democracy activists. Financing terrorism in Angola for two decades. Fabricating an incident in order to attack North Vietnam, killing 3 millions people. Supporting "Asian Hitler" Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Tacitly supporting Pakistan's genocidal attack against Bangladesh. Selling weapons to the terrorist regime of Iran, and then using the money to support terrorists in central America. Fabricating a threat in order to invade Iraq (hundreds of thousands of dead, millions displaced). Supporting terrorist groups in Syria. Waging undeclared wars in (at least) seven countries at the moment. "Small mistakes."