Walk Tall and Carry the Biggest Stick!

[dkhamner]

Do ya'll remember when we were the greatest country in the world.... (sigh). And Other countries feared and respected us....? (sigh)

[duckhunter578]

Yep I do. Just as soon as we get the present leadership out of office we will be again.
Thats my story and I am sticking to it.


You ALL have a great day.

[falcon]

The US ceased to be respected as a nation after numerous ill advised and botched forays into other independent countries on missions of nation building or because some presidents ego got bruised. Some well advised military excursions were not properly supported and were terminated or botched.

Beginning shortly after the end of the Viet Nam war, US administrations made many mistakes that lead radical groups and rogue countries to the conclusion that our country lacked resolve.

At the time of Desert Storm the US had the very best armed forces the world had ever seen. Many years after the ill advised invasion of Iraq we are left with a small military that is worn out physically. Most of our military equipment is worn out or parked with little maintenance while combat troops do security guard and convoy escort in Humvees.

The gutting of the US military began very shortly after the fall of eastern Europe. Political hacks on both sides of the aisle talked
about the "the peace dividend." Politicians argued about how to dispose of all that money that would be saved by gutting the US military.

Some bad political decisions that lead to the downfall of the US:

1. The decision to allow Iranian terrorists to hold US hostages for a prolonged period of time.

2. The evacuation of US Marines from Beirut after the embassy bombing and the bombing of the Marine barracks. The failure to respond with overwhelming force to those bombings.

3. The lack of a strong coordinated military response to the capture, torture and murder of USMC Col. Higgins and CIA station chief Buckley.

4. The Iran-Contra affair.

5. Support for Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war.

6. The US abandonment of Afghanistan after the Soviets withdrew.

7. The withdrawl of US troops from Somalia after the botched Mogadishu raid. The failure bomb to the socks off the Somalia war lords.

8. The failure of the Clinton administration to respond with overwhelming force to the African embassy bombings and the attack on the USS Cole.

9. The failure to take custody of Osama bin Laden.

10. The Invasion of Iraq.

11. A half-hearted effort in Afghanistan.

12. A failure to deal with Saudi Arabia for her support for Islamic terrorism.

[nodog]

Originally Posted by dkhamner

Do ya'll remember when we were the greatest country in the world.... (sigh). And Other countries feared and respected us....? (sigh)

I remember kind of when to many Americans that was the case. The guy your referring to with the stick believed it and passed that attitude on to many other Americans. Anytime a disaster like Hatti happens I remember what he did during the SF earthquake. When help was offered from outside of this country he flatly refused it saying we'll take care of ourselves. We won't "go on take" in the words of one of John Wayne's movie lines.

Greatness is in the eye of the beholder. A bunch of us were sitting around drinking some beer, warm dry and comfortable. Our wives were happy, the kids safe and warm playing and we were talking about this same thing. Looking around we realized at least for us, things were pretty great.

[kevin1]

TR died, we've gone downhill ever since.