I just hope he helps get Japan the materials to test nuclear fusion instead of Germany, part of it was supposed to be because Japan supported the Iraq war. As far as the naal base 'put on ice' in the article....look we have a huge trade deficit. We do what we want and we can affect any Country's economy we want to. I know liberals hate to hear that and that leads to "coalition of the bribed" comments but since Americans are consumers and we are the ones who consume the most - why shouldn't we be able to pick and choose to help those that help us? Pull out Army bases out of ********ing Germany and put them in Poland for one. Hell my Aunt and Uncle will cook up some keilbasa soup and peirogi's for the troops (they love Americans). Reward any feasible contracts to the UK, Italy, Poland, Japan, etc. It might makew things even more "icey" between us and France, Germany, etc but they'll come around real quick when their socialist governments have over 20% unemployment and the Italians are laughing and eating large bowls of Pasta. I know our left wing friends hate to hear this kind of talk but so be it.
We're already planning on pulling troops out of Germany and redeploying them eastward. It has the Germans, Putin and Kerry all in a tizzy. Sachin
I'd like to see those troops out of Germany ASAP. Putin isn't likely to send 50 divisions through the Fulda Gap anytime soon, and it's just a waste of money. And if we have to spend the dough, let's spend it in Poland, where they think having all those Americans around would be just ducky. They spent 50 years under the Russian heel and aren't quite as starry-eyed as the NATO socialists. Same with Korea. Out of there. All they've ever been is a tripwire, and now that the South Koreans seem to think that livng under the worst dictator in the wolrd would be a grand idea, let's give 'em what they want. Enjoy the camps and Mao suits, guys. Hope you enjoy the taste of tree bark and grass. Bush is the first President we've had who doesn't act like a pledge during Hell Week, standing with his pants around his ankle while some alcohol-fuelled member belts him in the ass: "Thank you sir, may I have another?" GW doesn't play that way, and it upsets the Euros no end. The US is supposed to placidly take all the scapegoating and bitchslapping they care to dish out and keep sending the money and the goodies.
I do not think you get ahead by getting even, but I do agree that a "reevaluation" of US defense priorities in Europe and Asia is in order. As for Bush, I agree with Bill. There is a big segmnent of the US populaiton that is very insecure. I call them liberals or elitist snobs. They constantly need a European to reaffirm that they are cultured, educated, and better than the average NASCAR watching, berr swelling, Wal-Mart shopping American.
Yeah and those people only are content if France is involved. How many times have we heard that 'Europe' is angered by the war in Iraq? Apparently Europe means France and Germany. Last time I checked we had some European Countries with us: Spain (until recently) Italy Bulgaria Poland The United Kingdom Denmark Czech Republic Georgia (is this technicly Europe or Asia?) Lithuania Romania The Ukraine and probably more but those are the ones I could think of off the top of my head. So to those who talk about 'Europe' tell them that I've got two words for them: SUCK IT!!!!! (DX)
By the way Bill FYI, I've been to Poland (Polska) three times since 1981 and I went last year. There is no anti-American feeling there like in other Euro countries. Everyone there really admire Americans and most of them want to move to America. I'm not just talking in my families area either (czarney dunjec) but I've been to Warszawa (aka Warsaw) and Lodz and everyone there seems to really like the United States. Whereas in France, our supposed 'ally', 1/3 of their population believes George Bush ordered planes to knock down the WTC or Germany where massive protests were staged with people burning the American flag.
The Latest: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/ops/iraq_orbat_coalition.htm And beside the US and S.Ko., here's what the UN sent to Korea: Australia: 2 infantry battalions, 9 naval vessels, 1 fighter squadron, 1 transport squadron Belgium/Luxembourg: 1 infantry battalion Canada: 1 infantry brigade, 8 naval vessels, 1 transport squadron Colombia: 1 infantry battalion, 6 naval vessels Ethiopia: 1 infantry battalion France: 1 infantry battalion, 1 naval vessel Greece: 1 infantry battalion, 1 transport battalion Netherlands: 1 infantry battalion, 6 naval vessels New Zealand: 1 artillery regiment, 4 naval vessels Philippines: 1 battalion combat team South Africa: 15 soldiers attached to British ground forces, 1 fighter squadron Thailand: 1 infantry battalion, 4 naval vessels, 1 transport unit Turkey: 1 infantry brigade United Kingdom: 2 infantry brigades 50 naval vessels
My father had a funny story about the Turkish forces in Korea. One day, a Turkish unit was replacing his unit on the line. As a platoon sargent (acting) he was asked to stay behind for a day to help acquaint the Turkish forces with the sector. The problem was, with the exception of one officer, none of the Turks spoke English. He noticed that all the Turks were carying around these really large knives. At dinner time, the Turks starting pulling live chickens about of somewhere and using their large knives, killing them and cooking them. My father said thanks for the offer, but ate his C rations. All the Turkish troops then started drinking and arguing, waving these really large knives around. The arguments got louder and the knives got banged around. My dad had images of getting killed by friendly fire, so even though he was supposed to stay the night, he made some excuse to leave and wandered around in the Korean darkness for several hours until he found a ride back to his unit.
I read a good "Turk" story from Korea a while back: A US General was doing the rounds of a military hospital and came across a badly wounded Turkish noncom. The General made some small talk and then said something about how "Well, I guess at least you'll be glad to be going home now" The Turk reached over to the beside table, picked up a long hypodermic needle and jabbed it clean through his hand and said "I'm not going home. I'm going back to the front. I'm a Turk"
The Turks had the best survival rate in the communist POW camps. The US had the worst. According to some authorities 50% of our POWs died.