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It has become clear during this latest crisis that if we do not have the ability to make things inside our own borders we are sitting ducks. Its not accurate to

by stx 6y ago

It has become clear during this latest crisis that if we do not have the ability to make things inside our own borders we are sitting ducks. Its not accurate to think that when we need PPE and all sorts of other medical supplies we can suddenly build factories. Its not just a matter of keeping jobs in the USA its also a matter of security. Its a matter of self sufficiency.

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
ntsplnkv2 6y ago
Absolutely. This article is simply another example of the fall of American exceptionalism. It has been assumed for a long time that the US could easily win any major conflict, but is that really so true anymore? NATO is as weak as it's ever been. Europe is less likely than ever to trust the US or to support it. Key allies are now looking more inward than outward. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were large scale blunders that cost trillions for little benefit. US manufacturing capability has gone down dramatically. There are not enough with trade no-how to support a large scale war-effort. Any war of attrition is likely a losing one - it will be too costly if it's possible at all. Key positions of government and diplomacy go unfilled because of the Trump administration's refusal to do so, severely limiting US soft-power across the globe. A captain of a capital ship was publicly relieved of command by acting SecNav (Trump has yet to fill the position permanently, still. The Secretary of the Navy. Still no permanent leader.) in embarrassing fashion after a COVID19 outbreak onboard. That is extremely telling. A huge portion of military-service eligible citizens are far too overweight to serve. Numbers more are disqualified for other reasons. Waging war requires smarter soldiers - which are not in abundant supply. Misinformation has been weaponized by Russia and China and the current leadership has done nothing about it because it benefits them. The polarization divides the country sharply - if one party or the other goes to war, would the rest of the country support it? There are significant cracks in the armor.
pas 6y ago
Stockpiling would have worked too. But PPE supply has been a known problem, yet no one really cared. Nor does anyone really care now. (At least to my knowledge there has been no serious proposal to fund a group to solve this for the long term for a state/country.)

by stx 6y ago

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

ntsplnkv2 6y ago

Absolutely. This article is simply another example of the fall of American exceptionalism. It has been assumed for a long time that the US could easily win any major conflict, but is that really so true anymore? NATO is as weak as it's ever been. Europe is less likely than ever to trust the US or to support it. Key allies are now looking more inward than outward. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were large scale blunders that cost trillions for little benefit. US manufacturing capability has gone down dramatically. There are not enough with trade no-how to support a large scale war-effort. Any war of attrition is likely a losing one - it will be too costly if it's possible at all. Key positions of government and diplomacy go unfilled because of the Trump administration's refusal to do so, severely limiting US soft-power across the globe. A captain of a capital ship was publicly relieved of command by acting SecNav (Trump has yet to fill the position permanently, still. The Secretary of the Navy. Still no permanent leader.) in embarrassing fashion after a COVID19 outbreak onboard. That is extremely telling. A huge portion of military-service eligible citizens are far too overweight to serve. Numbers more are disqualified for other reasons. Waging war requires smarter soldiers - which are not in abundant supply. Misinformation has been weaponized by Russia and China and the current leadership has done nothing about it because it benefits them. The polarization divides the country sharply - if one party or the other goes to war, would the rest of the country support it? There are significant cracks in the armor.

pas 6y ago

Stockpiling would have worked too. But PPE supply has been a known problem, yet no one really cared. Nor does anyone really care now. (At least to my knowledge there has been no serious proposal to fund a group to solve this for the long term for a state/country.)