tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post724989201602827297..comments2024-03-27T20:37:08.065+01:00Comments on Defence and Freedom: When all you have is a hammer ...Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-82564267274506330312014-04-06T21:17:27.966+02:002014-04-06T21:17:27.966+02:00There is and never was such an "alliance entr...There is and never was such an "alliance entry requirement". It's BS made up out of thin air. I've heard this long-debunked talking point too often already.<br />It invents a moral high ground for hawks who want more military spending, but there's no such requirement in the North Atlantic Treaty.<br />Hint: Founding member Iceland hasn't even an army, and Luxembourg has but one battalion.<br /><br />"to claim that he was an architect of the policies that led to Iraq"<br /><br />That's a clear straw man; I didn't do this claim.<br /><br />"it remains a patent lie that the USA ever intended to turn Iraq into a colony"<br /><br />Another obvious straw man; please refrain from commenting such nonsense.<br />A war of aggression is bad enough; I don't need to invent anything to make it look bad.<br /><br />"The USA is truly shackled to a corpse…"<br /><br />Or rather Germany is. I don't see how we could have become a terror target for AQ without our association with the US.<br />More importantly, you seem to be completely oblivious to which degree the military and political power of the US depends on harnessing its alliance relationship with Europeans. They wouldn't have a single European or Indian Ocean base without us.<br /><br />And finally to the only halfway useful part:<br />"What strength would that be"<br />The freedom of action, availability of resources, prestige and relationships which we had during the 1990's. You seem to think one dimensionally in terms of military spending (or power), though.S Ohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03359796414832859686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-386077914312449748.post-72292199124070385682014-04-06T18:21:26.011+02:002014-04-06T18:21:26.011+02:00“The NATO members had a unique opportunity to shap...“The NATO members had a unique opportunity to shape the world from a position of strength…”<br /><br />++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++<br /><br />What strength would that be - only 3 out of 27 European members of NATO live up to the alliance entry requirement to spend at least 2% of GDP for membership?<br /><br />Secretary Gates came to serve at about three–quarters of the way through the Bush administration: it is unjust to claim that he was an architect of the policies that led to Iraq. Nor can the democrats in the US Congress walk away from their votes to fund the on-going misadventure that was Iraq. Even so, it remains a patent lie that the USA ever intended to turn Iraq into a colony or some nonsense like that. <br /><br />What Russia has done is to use military force to redraw its own territorial boundaries. That is something very, very different. And I do not think that the Russians are done either.<br /><br />On this side of the Atlantic, the debate about US membership in NATO is starting to smolder. The USA no longer has national security interests that require membership in NATO, let alone justify committing U.S. lives to an alliance that disproportionately favors Europeans. The USA is truly shackled to a corpse…<br /><br />GAB<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com