|
| quote: | Originally posted by gerard6975
...and what the f&^k do they care if the value of the dollar goes down,they still get a larger share of the pot and still the poor get poorer. this is all about greed... |
First off, George Bush and Vice President Cheney are not omnipotent powers. They don't just create and decree laws that SUPPOSEDLY "favor" them at will. Our defense budget is approved by Democrats & Republicans alike in the Senate. They'd have to be in on this "conspiracy" too, but what are the chances Democrats are trying to secretly help make Bush and Cheney rich? I know all about Halliburton, and I don't like it either. But what's going on with the wars currently is much larger than that. We were obviously attacked on 9-11 (I'll go in to why in a second).
Our defense budget is large, true. It always has been since the end of World War Two. But it's been that way as part of the modern doctrine for war, which is all about being at a heightened state of readiness. Thus winning or losing major wars in a matter of days, unlike the wars of attrition from the past. It's actually MORE cost effective in the long-run, versus protracted wars. We basically out-spent Russia on defense until they collapsed in financial ruin. But the cold war ended SAFELY in this way, proving that the best defense is a superior offense.
But getting back to the dollar; When this war on terror started, gold was at about $300.00 per ounce. Today, it's at $900.00! Currently, the Euro is at about $1.50 to the dollar...it's been even higher than that since 9-11, when the dollar was .85 cents to the Euro! Oil prices are through the roof (although much of that has to do with good ole supply and demand, as China comes on the world stage as a growing super-power). Point being, wars are NEVER profitable if they are PROTRACTED, as this war is now. On the flip-side, we are inflating the dollar out of it's debt, but it's a serious gamble we're taking as we print more money to cover the debt. I don't think ANYONE...especially wealthier people, who stand to lose the most when currency devalues...supports war for war's sake, when it historically can, and often does, ruin a country financially.
But why are we fighting this war then? It's not hard to figure out. What had Usama Bin Laden been saying from the start? He'd been saying that he wants our military bases out of Saudi Arabia, the holy-land of Mecca...bases that were put there after the first Gulf War to deter Saddam Hussein from attacking in to Saudi Arabia, or even Kuwait again...thus the reason for UBL's "Jihad" against the Infidels.
So after 9-11, in order to remove the impetus for further Terrorist attacks, the bases needed to be closed (and due to other factors, like world oil supply and demand, which also then translates in to world safety and stability via safe and secure oil supplies). Saddam Hussein had to go!
WMD's were believed to have been there (remember, he wouldn't let the U.N. Inspectors in to his country anymore, as was part of the original agreement he made at the end of the first Gulf War...why? What was he hiding?), and there were other convincing pieces of evidence. Saddam also had 6 months to dispose of them if he had them. Who's to say he didn't?
And why would our government make up a story about WMD's, knowing that if we use that as a pretext to attack Iraq, that once we got in there, we wouldn't find any...thus creating a storm of world criticism? We too, have WMD's. If we really wanted to make up a grand conspiracy, we'd have brought some of our own along to "planted" them in Iraq!
Saddam Hussein wasn't stupid, even if he was a Dictator. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if he disposed of his WMD's, knowing that he was going to lose the war anyway, and the only way he could win the war was in the court of world opinion.
But even if it was simply as it appears to have been...a case of poor intelligence that lead us to believe he had WMD's...that war was, and still is, about oil, in the end. That's why we were even in Saudi Arabia to begin with.
But our economy helps fuel much of the world's economy. If we sink, so does much of the world. And I for one, would MUCH rather have the corporate powers that be in this country in control of our economy, as opposed to leaving it in the hands of people like Saddam Hussein, or Russia, or China, or any other of the world powers that also want to control the oil, but do not have our best interests (which BTW, translates in to YOUR best interests, Consumers!) at heart!
The world's economic wheels are greased by oil. It's as necessary a commodity as air, water and food is on a daily basis. To say you are against war for oil is at the height of hypocrisy and self-righteousness. You can no more control your need for it than you can make yourself not ever eat, breath or drink water again. Oil is just woven too tightly in to our economic fabric to be so flippantly dis-regarded.
Like I said before to Chavez; If you are REALLY against oil, then give it up COMPLETELY and move away from this form of economy we have, and go find one that doesn't rely on oil (and I wish you good luck with that!! lol).
Until then, get off your soap box about it.
___________________
The thing about money? It makes you do things that you don't want to do
Last edited by donnybrasco on Jan-15-2008 at 20:21
|
