From the VOMITORIUM
I recently read a piece about what the UAE’s ambassador to the Us has said about the US and Iran….before I give you the quote I would like to say that I am truly sick of these sanctimonious a/holes telling us what we should do ……..
Recently in Aspen the ambassador made the following comments:
Ambassador Yousef al-Otaiba reportedly endorsed the military option if sanctions do not stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
“I think it’s a cost-benefit analysis,” Otaiba said to an audience in Aspen, Colorado. “I think despite the large amount of trade we do with Iran, which is close to $12 billion … there will be consequences, there will be a backlash and there will be problems with people protesting and rioting and very unhappy that there is an outside force attacking a Muslim country; that is going to happen no matter what.”
“If you are asking me, ‘Am I willing to live with that versus living with a nuclear Iran?,’ my answer is still the same: ‘We cannot live with a nuclear Iran.’ I am willing to absorb what takes place at the expense of the security of the UAE,” Otaiba reportedly said, in response to a question after a public interview with the Atlantic magazine. (then do it yourself!)
Okay! Enough! This is the final straw! It is time for the US to cut its defense budget to a percentage of the GDP and let the rest of the damn world fend for themselves. The rest of the world, has done just that, especially our allies in Europe and now it is time for them to STOP hiding behind our backs and learn to defend themselves.
You want to lessen the budget deficit…then that idea would go a LONG way in doing just that….it would not be too damn popular to the military-industrial complex which bribes politicians as much as Wall Street does.
I have been saying for years that it is time for the US to get out of the police business….that it is time for the rest of the world to do their part. I have said and said that foreign aid was the biggest drag on our budget and that it was beyond time to rethink that program. I am NOT speaking of the humanitarian programs that is only about 10% of our total foreign expenditures…but rather our military presence in place that NO longer need our protection from the boogie man…….
I would like to tell the ambassador to go f*ck himself…if he is that concerned then raise an army for their own protection and stop wimping out and telling the US what to do and how to do it.
Yes, I pretty much agree with that, although the world is getting ever smaller and each country’s actions affect us all.
I think the first thing the West has to stop doing is kidding itself and everyone else that so-called “limited action” that protects civilians is actually possible – the cost in terms of armed forces personnel is simply too high and the action is too drawn out.
If remote bombing, the deployment of smart weapons and similar activity will not work (as it didn’t with the technology then available in Vietnam) then forget it. If relatively surgical action as BEGAN the Iraq war can be undertaken, then only undertake it if it’s: a) in your interests too, b) you have the required intelligence to identify and locate targets accurately and, c) those directly affected (like the UAE in this case) will PAY for it!
Simple!
Damn! That is simple and to the point….way cool….
To sell the action to the people they use cover words like WMD and democracy and terrorists and……..the US spends more on military and defense then most of the world combined…time to eliminate that……our deficit cannot be controlled as long as there is an open checkbook for war….
Glad you approve and yes, of course 🙂
As our economic and political power wanes, it’s looking like we’ll be dependent on our military power much more. I suspect that’s one of the (many) reasons that Obama’s ‘defense’ policies have a high degree of continuity with Bush’s.
I’m somewhat surprised that the UAE ambassador is talking so coldly about the ‘cost-benefit analysis’ of going to war with Iran. And I think he’s drastically under-estimating the costs:
“there will be problems with people protesting and rioting and very unhappy that there is an outside force attacking a Muslim country”
Yeah, no joke. I have a feeling it would be catastrophic.
Perhaps there is a hidden agenda there? There usually is…
Clint, I think you are correct…to me it is just frustrating……soon I feel that if we are to continue all our faith in the military…..a draft may be needed.
I agree with this. If this country is so broke that it cannot afford social security, health care, medicare, and whatever entitlement du jour, then this country certainly cannot afford to be fighting yet another war. The deficit needs to be brought back under control and to think that we can do that without cutting defense spending is incredibly naive. Of course, the conservatives can always find money to kill somebody yet amazingly we do not have anything spend domestically.
So true…..like i said time for the rest of the world to step up for their own security…..we have done our part for the last 100 years…..
Hmm… of course some say that without the US and its devious and often aggresive “foreign policies” there might not BE many conflicts for others to defend themselves against…
Just a point of view for some…
Oh I agree…the US has been into adventurism for decades….time for that to stop….