downsizing US military

[DinoDoc]

Why don't you just admit that "durr sometimes we unintentionally create democracies that wouldn't exist otherwise" is a poor rationalization of US foreign policy?

The only real rationalization US foreign policy needs is if it benefits the United States. Who really gives a **** about creating democracies?

[100% Wolf]

The only real rationalization US foreign policy needs is if it benefits the United States. Who really gives a **** about creating democracies?

According to Alby it's one of the primary objectives of US foreign policy.

[Guynemer]

We don't unintentionally create democracies. Ideally, we want and have always wanted democracies.

No, Al. Our goal is to have pro-American regimes. We've never particularly cared if said regimes were democracies or not.

[C0ckney]

No, Al. Our goal is to have pro-American regimes. We've never particularly cared if said regimes were democracies or not.

yes. that anyone denies this is hard to believe.

He might be a son of a *****, but he's our son of a *****.

FDR talking about tacho somoza

[Felch]

Intelligent people can understand other people's motives without accepting them as valid, can't they? The Soviet government needed grain, they saw no other options, those farmers that stood in the way paid the price. Manifest destiny at its best.

Well they could have stopped exporting over a million tons of grain each year. Or maybe the Soviets could have permitted the import of food relief from the Ukrainian diaspora. But I guess it made more sense at the time to carry out the mass murder of millions of fellow Slavs. After all, to a Russian, a Slav is just a slave.

[Felch]

No, Al. Our goal is to have pro-American regimes. We've never particularly cared if said regimes were democracies or not.

We generally prefer democracies, since they tend to be more docile. Dictators will often break bad (like a certain Saddam Hussein fellow). But yeah, we take whatever we can get.

[onodera]

Well they could have stopped exporting over a million tons of grain each year. Or maybe the Soviets could have permitted the import of food relief from the Ukrainian diaspora. But I guess it made more sense at the time to carry out the mass murder of millions of fellow Slavs. After all, to a Russian, a Slav is just a slave.

Food relief for class enemies? Only when they are completely broken.

[Colon™]

No, Al. Our goal is to have pro-American regimes. We've never particularly cared if said regimes were democracies or not.

BS. Plenty of compromises are made but human rights and democracy are a significant factor when the US and West deals with the rest. That"s much more that can be said of China or Russia.

[Serb]

Excuse me, but do you imagine the governments in South Viet Nam were some kind of south-east Asian Social Democrats ?

Because they weren't- they had hit squads and concentration camps and detention without trial and torture, repression of Buddhists and Buddhism (Diem was a Roman Catholic parachuted in by the U.S., and had little or no support in South Viet Nam prior to his 'election') government organised drug smuggling and naturally a secret police.

Frankly it's hard to distinguish it just by that list of horrors from anywhere similar in South America, Central America or Africa that was also the recipient of U.S. support 'against Communism'.

Any questions?

[Serb]

Human rights and democracy, my ass.

[Colon™]

BS. Plenty of compromises are made but human rights and democracy are a significant factor when the US and West deals with the rest. That"s much more that can be said of China or Russia.

Libya is a case in point. Plenty of people criticized the West for turning against Khaddafi, but it was actually a reminder that there are limits to the degree we deal with autocracies.

[Serb]

O M G!!!

[Al B. Sure!]

A Russian lecturing America on human rights. That's rich.

[Colon™]

O M G!!!

Get off your as and actually do something constructive for humanity for a change. Put a man on Mars or something.

[Colon™]

Get off your as and actually do something constructive for humanity for a change. Put a man on Mars or something.

This should not be construed as support for manned spaceflight.