The Classic Liberal Blog

Look, what we're doing now, nation building, isn't working. All it's doing is costing lives and treasure.

The American military has literally mind-blowing power and capability, yet going on 9 years later, we're still in Iraq and Afghanistan ... and Germany, Poland, etc ... ?

C'mon ... something just doesn't add up here.

American taxpayers and soldiers pay for most of the world's military protection. It's global welfare on a massive scale! And guess what? Nobody likes us for it either. In fact, it pisses most of the globe off.

Glenn Beck had a great show last Friday about this subject and our unsustainable budget. We're not going to be anybody's "policemen," if (and when) we go bust.

America Is a Republic, Not an Empire

The example we set now is what pisses everyone off: We say we're going to spread democracy, but we bed dictators, we bow to Saudi princes, when it's to our advantage. George Washington wanted us to be like the Swiss: Enemy of none, friend to all. Places like Germany — hey, we're glad you are all straightened out, but we're pulling out, you're on your own. We're not staying. We need to get out of the Korean Peninsula and Japan. No longer will we be the world's loiterers.

The United States spends approximately $102 billion annually to maintain troops, equipment, fleets and bases overseas — if you count Iraq and Afghanistan it jumps to $250 billion. Well, I'm tired of being the world's policeman. And in many cases we are the world's loiterers. We need to have a "no loitering" policy.

That policy comes from the progressives. The Republicans say we'll send in the "green helmets" and just nation build our way to global security. The liberals want to do it through the United Nations; they want to send in the "blue helmets" — which we pay for.

This doesn't work. I don't want to nation build. I don't want a global government or military force.

I don't want to nation build either. Not at home, nor abroad. And when we must go into battle, we get in, defeat the enemy, then get the hell out! That's war. Not this progressive nation building nonsense.

Almost half of all military spending in the world — 47 percent — is America. The next biggest spender is Europe — that's not even a country, they spent $289 billion on military-related expenses. We almost spent that much outside our country for our own defense!

Why don't other countries spend like we do on their military? Because they don't have to, we do if for them! America's military has been turned into a welfare provider for the rest of the globe.

And when we are in a situation like Afghanistan, we fight to win it. With all of our technology today, why can't we get in and out of Afghanistan in a couple of years? Because the politicians have their grimy little fingers on everything. Take the military off the leash; if you decide to go to war, unhook those dogs and get the hell out of the way.

Exactly! We have the power and capability to get in and out quick, but "the politicians have their grimy little fingers on everything." They simply use the power of the military for their utopian grand planning schemes.

Most Americans get angry when politicians stick their grimy little fingers into our personal lives. Believe it or not, most people around the globe feel the same way too! Therefore, we shouldn't be so surprised when we suffer blowback - the unintended consequences of the government's foreign policy suffered by our civilian population.

Foreign policy doesn't exist in a vacuum. It has consequences.

If I were king for a day, here's my policy on defense:

• We mind our own business: We wouldn't be pushing anything on other countries
• The enemy of my enemy is not my friend
• Nothing is in our interest if our values and principles are gone. Why do you think they hate us in the Middle East? Maybe it's because we don't stand for anything
• Don't screw with us, because...
• When we fight, we fight to win: We'll bring the full force and might of the U.S. military and wipe you off the face of the planet
• We're coming home — and we won't waste our time rebuilding your country either. You messed with us? Your bad

Our defense budget needs to reflect that attitude. We can reduce the waste in our military and still be a lethal force.

It's time to shift our money out of foreign aid and long-standing commitments. We are not an empire, we are a republic. And it's time we start acting like the republic that we were meant to be.

Beck is right! It's time to get our money out of foreign aid, bring our brothers and sisters home, and start acting like the republic we were founded as ... instead of the progressive empire we've become.