5 ms·

With all due respect to Jimmy Carter, and he is a good man at heart, but he appears naive as to what is the true core of the USA. The USA has always been a cou

by vph 13y ago

With all due respect to Jimmy Carter, and he is a good man at heart, but he appears naive as to what is the true core of the USA. The USA has always been a country of military power. Without military power, the USA would not be what it is today. Even during peace time with the Soviet and others, the underlying military power of the US serves as an important factor to maintain that peace.

adventured 13y ago
America in fact had a very modest military before the WW2 build-up, as others have noted. Before it could afford that military might, it required a substantial economy to pay for it all. Land, natural resources, enterprising & hard working immigrants, low regulation, the protections enshrined in the Constitution, ease of starting a business, labor mobility, strong judicial system, checks & balances restraining and slowing down government abuses - just a few of the actual reasons America became what it did.
drcube 13y ago
"Since WWII" is not the same thing as "always".
dragonwriter 13y ago
> Even during peace time with the Soviet and others, the underlying military power of the US serves as an important factor to maintain that peace. What makes you think that Carter, who was President during that time and initiated the large military buildup that Reagan is often credited with to maintain that peace, is too naive to recognize that?
jivatmanx 13y ago
The military-industrial complex was basically created from scratch in WWII (The U.S's industrial contribution to WWI was a joke). This was never de-mobilized because the Cold War began immediately after, and Europe was in no position to defend itself.
- coldtea 13y ago
  >The military-industrial complex was basically created from scratch in WWII (The U.S's industrial contribution to WWI was a joke). This was never de-mobilized because the Cold War began immediately after, and Europe was in no position to defend itself. Actually it was never de-mobilized because the US needed it to play the role of a world hegemonic power -- to control other places with diplomatic and military might, grab resources and such. It was its opportunity to step on to that role, since WWII had destroyed the European colonian empires. As for Europe, defend itself from what? With the exception of right wing nuts in power, Europeans didn't feel threatened by the USSR. The people of (non Eastern) Europe, were half and half in favor of communism (huge following in Italy, France, Greece, etc. In Western Germany there were lots of sympathizers too, but the communist party was crashed by Hitler (and then the country was divided post war). That would also be the case in Spain and Portugal, if it wasn't for the dictatorships.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - toyg 13y ago
    >Europeans didn't feel threatened by the USSR. Some Europeans certainly didn't, but many of them, in fact, did feel threatened by the USSR: the ruling classes. Also, opinions on the USSR were quite divided even on the left, with (Moscow-sponsored) hardcore Communist parties being on very different terms with it than traditional Socialist movements.
- Avshalom 13y ago
  Eh, while that's true of what we think of as the military-industrial complex, prior to WWII American history is still one of pretty consistent war. Or in the case of say the Monroe Doctrine, war posturing.
- m0th87 13y ago
  US military interventionism spans from far before WW2. The Spanish-American war, the Mexican-American war, the war of 1812, and the brutalities conducted under the umbrella of manifest destiny come to mind.
hga 13y ago
His surprise at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was telling as was his overreaction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Afganistan#International_reaction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Afganistan#I...), including a grain embargo and canceling our participation in the Moscow Olympics. Followed by a big military buildup in the next term of whoever was in office; quite a shift from this first year in office quote (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#Foreign_policy http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#Foreign_policy): "Being confident of our own future, we are now free of that inordinate fear of communism which once led us to embrace any dictator who joined us in that fear. I’m glad that that’s being changed."
dualboot 13y ago
I still haven't forgiven him for bringing back Selective Service.

by vph 13y ago

adventured 13y ago

America in fact had a very modest military before the WW2 build-up, as others have noted. Before it could afford that military might, it required a substantial economy to pay for it all. Land, natural resources, enterprising & hard working immigrants, low regulation, the protections enshrined in the Constitution, ease of starting a business, labor mobility, strong judicial system, checks & balances restraining and slowing down government abuses - just a few of the actual reasons America became what it did.

drcube 13y ago

"Since WWII" is not the same thing as "always".

dragonwriter 13y ago

> Even during peace time with the Soviet and others, the underlying military power of the US serves as an important factor to maintain that peace. What makes you think that Carter, who was President during that time and initiated the large military buildup that Reagan is often credited with to maintain that peace, is too naive to recognize that?

jivatmanx 13y ago

The military-industrial complex was basically created from scratch in WWII (The U.S's industrial contribution to WWI was a joke). This was never de-mobilized because the Cold War began immediately after, and Europe was in no position to defend itself.

coldtea 13y ago
>The military-industrial complex was basically created from scratch in WWII (The U.S's industrial contribution to WWI was a joke). This was never de-mobilized because the Cold War began immediately after, and Europe was in no position to defend itself. Actually it was never de-mobilized because the US needed it to play the role of a world hegemonic power -- to control other places with diplomatic and military might, grab resources and such. It was its opportunity to step on to that role, since WWII had destroyed the European colonian empires. As for Europe, defend itself from what? With the exception of right wing nuts in power, Europeans didn't feel threatened by the USSR. The people of (non Eastern) Europe, were half and half in favor of communism (huge following in Italy, France, Greece, etc. In Western Germany there were lots of sympathizers too, but the communist party was crashed by Hitler (and then the country was divided post war). That would also be the case in Spain and Portugal, if it wasn't for the dictatorships.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- toyg 13y ago
  >Europeans didn't feel threatened by the USSR. Some Europeans certainly didn't, but many of them, in fact, did feel threatened by the USSR: the ruling classes. Also, opinions on the USSR were quite divided even on the left, with (Moscow-sponsored) hardcore Communist parties being on very different terms with it than traditional Socialist movements.
Avshalom 13y ago
Eh, while that's true of what we think of as the military-industrial complex, prior to WWII American history is still one of pretty consistent war. Or in the case of say the Monroe Doctrine, war posturing.
m0th87 13y ago
US military interventionism spans from far before WW2. The Spanish-American war, the Mexican-American war, the war of 1812, and the brutalities conducted under the umbrella of manifest destiny come to mind.

hga 13y ago

His surprise at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was telling as was his overreaction (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Afganistan#International_reaction http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Afganistan#I...), including a grain embargo and canceling our participation in the Moscow Olympics. Followed by a big military buildup in the next term of whoever was in office; quite a shift from this first year in office quote (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#Foreign_policy http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter#Foreign_policy): "Being confident of our own future, we are now free of that inordinate fear of communism which once led us to embrace any dictator who joined us in that fear. I’m glad that that’s being changed."

dualboot 13y ago

I still haven't forgiven him for bringing back Selective Service.