Geaux Tigers

The EU may call us barbaric, and one could have a little trouble trying to refute this claim, but the United States IS the military for Europe. The UK, France and Germany are the only countries in Europe that have what you call substantial military power and if you combine their military spending it still won't sniff the US military budget. Europe drives the intellectual debate on the barbarism of the US, but in the event of a military threat, they would find themselves on the incapable side of defending themselves without the United States military. They bitch and complain, but they get to live peacefully and spend their money elsewhere instead of on a military, despite being densely populated and thoroughly bordered.

I really don't mind at all residing in the nation that has the worlds largest and strongest military. I despise the way in which we use it. Rwanda and Sudan have hundreds of thousands dead and the US doesn't lift a finger because the black is on top of the soil instead of underneath...but that Sadaam sure was a problem.

Also...Nimreitz posts so late at night because he wants us to think he's European.

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"Louisiana has a heritage of great players that play their high school football within the boundaries of Louisiana."

"As soon as we know exactly who we are playing and what date we will be playing on, the schedule will become more finite."

"If we're defending, come see the trophy, it's in our trophy case. We're not defending it; it's there."

- Les Miles

R-Star

What is this great military threat to Europe that America has handled for them?

As far as Afghanistan, Europe and Canada provided just as much military support as America. If Iraq wasn't just a show of America making up a war to take what they wanted, they would have received more help than they did there as well.

America is the largest, most modern military in the world. There's no debate on that. The debate is Americans always thinking you win every war and are the only ones fighting. When reality shows that the only reason you were sitting pretty compared to the rest of your allied nations for so long is because you basically sat WWII out, stock piled while your allies were losing thousands of soldiers and getting their lands bombed, and you guys show up at the end of the war when its pretty much over and try to play superman and pat yourselves on the back.

America invades and defends itself. Canada and most European countries on the other hand do far more for the world where it really needs it, in peace keeping efforts.

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Geaux Tigers

I never said that there was a great military threat that has already been handled by the US since WWII. Of course you went to the default argument of WWII, of which I almost put a paragraph saying this had nothing to do with WWII and I was basing my information on current military expenditure and economic situations within Europe that would prevent it from being able to mobilize effectively. Do you think the youth of Europe are clamoring to join the military when they have had 50+ years of military protection and absolutely no idea what it was like for their grandparents? Nope.

Europe couldn't even get their shoes tied in dealing with former Yugoslavia...in their own backyard. As far as saying Europe and Canada provided "as much" military support as the US" in Afghanistan...that is blatantly false. I doubt Canada ever had more than 3000 troops in Afghanistan. Current numbers put it at less than 1000.

EDIT: We do fight most of the wars alone...we invite the rest of you so it doesn't look like we do. I don't support this tactic at all, by the way, but its how it is. As far as winning every war, yeah there are still some rednecks and politicians that believe this, but that tide has turned among educated youthful Americans.

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"Louisiana has a heritage of great players that play their high school football within the boundaries of Louisiana."

"As soon as we know exactly who we are playing and what date we will be playing on, the schedule will become more finite."

"If we're defending, come see the trophy, it's in our trophy case. We're not defending it; it's there."

- Les Miles

Dornado

Not to feed the troll, but NATO lists the current troop contributions in Afghanistan at 508 for Canada and 90,000 for the USA.

Also, I'm fairly certain there were more US Soldiers killed in WWII than French or British Soldiers... we may have been late, but we certainly didn't sit it out.

I'm anti-war, so I really don't give a shit about the sabre rattling stuff. What's funny about this conversation is that R-Star would fit in perfectly in the USA... just come on down, ya hoser.

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R-Star

Currently at 508, because we're in the middle of basically pulling out. Look at previous numbers.

Also, I'm fairly certain you're wrong on the French or British. To say you were late to a world war and then go on to write yourselves as the heroes in history books is beyond asinine.

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R-Star

A) You just contradicted yourself. You just said there was not great threat in Europe since WWII, and then go on to say you've protected them for 50+ years. Which is it?

B) What wars have you fought alone exactly? Because to my recollection its none.

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Geaux Tigers

NATO. I didn't contradict myself at all...your just ill equipped for this conversation. Even when someone basically agrees with 98% of what you are saying about America, and you see I'm from America, you still cant let your schtick go. We all know how much South Park has hurt you over the years, but try and heal.

EDIT: As far as B is concerned. Yeah I guess the 500 soldiers is a pretty healthy percentage of Canadian forces...so I concede.

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"Louisiana has a heritage of great players that play their high school football within the boundaries of Louisiana."

"As soon as we know exactly who we are playing and what date we will be playing on, the schedule will become more finite."

"If we're defending, come see the trophy, it's in our trophy case. We're not defending it; it's there."

- Les Miles

E.H. Munro

The Soviet Union (though, in fairness the US accidentally created the Soviet Union, while FDR intentionally saved it several times and handed eastern Europe to Stalin at the end of WWII to make them an even more formidable power). After the advent of the Iron Curtain the Soviets had troops within a couple of day's ride of the European coast. The French and Germans certainly weren't the ones defending Europe during the Cold War.

No western front and the Soviets go nowhere. No US and there's no western front. Also, you're ignoring the war in the Pacific. No war in the Pacific theatre and the Soviets don't get to pull 40 divisions out of Siberia to devote to fighting the Germans (because they'd be needed to defend against the Japanese).

As a good portion of the French casualties came in the German cause, do they really count? In any event he's right. The US and its colony (the Phillipines) suffered around 475,000 military casualties while the UK and its colonies came in around 385,000 and the French around 215,000.

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If everyone loves you you're doing it wrong.

"Opium is the religion of the masses." Fred Reed

The Power of 99 Press

"He thinks it's going to be fun being governor. It's only fun being governor of New York if you have money to spend, and I spent it all." Nelson Rockefeller on his successor, Hugh Carey.

Nimreitz

Well, I will say that I've heard people contend that Libya was going to be another Rwanda before we intervened and destroyed the Libyan military.

Nimreitz

Ever heard of the Cold War?

USA didn't sit World War 2 out. We missed 2 years, but fought in 4. We also had to carry the European effort (all of the mainland was in Nazi hands) while island hopping in the Pacific. If you want to say that about World War 1, then yes, we let the British, French, and Germans kill each other until they were hopeless and had no one left, then we came in and stole the glory.

Geaux Tigers

Libya has the fifth largest oil reserves in the world most of which goes directly to European markets. The US didn't want to go into Libya...NATO did, and since the US is the muscle of NATO, we do the damages.

EDIT: I cant say the US didnt really want to go into Libya, but I'm pretty sure that France, Germany, and the UK were the ones that needed it.

__________________

"Louisiana has a heritage of great players that play their high school football within the boundaries of Louisiana."

"As soon as we know exactly who we are playing and what date we will be playing on, the schedule will become more finite."

"If we're defending, come see the trophy, it's in our trophy case. We're not defending it; it's there."

- Les Miles

Nimreitz

From what I read in a fawning praise of Obama (I think it was in Vanity Fair), the Euros wanted to establish a no-fly zone which would have done nothing. Our military and state department wanted to stay out of it. Obama, and the underlings who were in the situation room are the ones who decided to intervene, and then when the decision was made he called up Sarkozy and Merkel and got them on board.

Geaux Tigers

You follow the press. I'll follow the money. 85% of Libyan oil goes to Europe...

__________________

"Louisiana has a heritage of great players that play their high school football within the boundaries of Louisiana."

"As soon as we know exactly who we are playing and what date we will be playing on, the schedule will become more finite."

"If we're defending, come see the trophy, it's in our trophy case. We're not defending it; it's there."

- Les Miles

e-monk

what's funny about libya is that the right gave obama holy hell for stepping in and now they're giving him hell for sitting on his hands with syria

Geaux Tigers

I used to get mad at the parties when they did shit like that too e-monk, but then I realized that they wouldn't do it if it didn't work so well.

__________________

"Louisiana has a heritage of great players that play their high school football within the boundaries of Louisiana."

"As soon as we know exactly who we are playing and what date we will be playing on, the schedule will become more finite."

"If we're defending, come see the trophy, it's in our trophy case. We're not defending it; it's there."

- Les Miles