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No more-no less. Instead of fighting the U.S.,our potential adversaries will continue fighting their traditional enemies ie their neighbours. We can not and should not police the world.
No. We could cut our defense budget in half and still out spend the rest of the world combined.
It is not defense budget cuts, that cripple us, although these do affect military morale and preparedness, but our unwillingness to commit for the long haul, no matter how costly…(Stay the course, as GW Bush, would say). Our allies and enemies know our talk is cheap, it is waying public opinion that really matters.
No.
No. there has always been turmoil in the world, and there will always be turmoil. We don't have to always be in the middle. It would be nice to keep our noses out of other peoples sh_t, as my Canadian friends say.
Yeah, but it is not the Canadians others call when they are in trouble.
In WWII the Canadians actually deployed entire armored Corps. Today they are having problems fielding a Tank company.
Time will tell, as our defense budget cuts are inevitable. Admittedly, our soft power is very influential, but events such as the "Arab Spring" are proceeding quite rapidly, spinning off consequences which do not bode well at all for global stability. Pax Americana may not have been Utopia, but the alternative?
Time will tell, and fairly quickly. Greater turmoil seems inevitable. Progress is not a linear, orderly march into the future. And American exceptionalism may be just a one-off, a harmonious marriage of liberty and science, no guarantees.
Concur.
There is a lot of fat in the defense budget that could be cut without effecting our military capabilities, however, that would require Congress to make some unpopular political decisions. What is more important is whether we are perceived as having the capablity to intervene where we choose. No, we cannot and should not, police the world, but to simply say "okay, you guys fight it out and we'll deal with the victors" could have disasterous results worldwide.
Sadly, history proves that when the US retreats from the world then turmoil increases.
Look at each of the periods fdruignwhich the US has retreated since 1919 and you will find this is inarguably the case.
1920's – the rise of the dictators in Russia, Germany, and Japan.
1946 – showed the increased aggression by the sov's.
1970's – led to increased sov aggression in Afghanistan and the Iranian aggression.
1990's – The founding of AQ and expansion of Islamo Fascism.
And now we will asee an adventurious China and recovery of the Islamo Fascists…
We have supposedly made a strategic pivot to the Pacific. For that you need a Navy, one larger than we have now. And the defense cuts will reduce what we have. We cannot compete with an emerging China with our current resources let alone with a smaller fleet.
The fall back is to develop relationships with our "Partners"… Japan, Australia, Vietnam, India, etc. Don't hold your breath.
No. Our tremendous involvements in SE Asia in the 60's – early 70's and our over-involvement in the Mid East now certainly have not quieted things down much. The first Iraq war seemed to have some effect for a while. The last was a train wreck esp. afterwords. That aid program $$ was tossed down a rat hole. Incompetent management staffed by political flunkies on the ground.