Quote:
Originally Posted by piece-itpete
We will be missed....
Pete
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... if one attributes benevolent motives and positive outcomes (for all involved) for our international entanglements. Consider for a moment Ike's prescient warnings in 1961 about the Military-Industrial Complex:
("In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.")
I'm not certain I'm capable of assigning benign or benevolent motives to many of our foreign endeavours and I'm sure many on the receiving end of them are none too thrilled either. I believe there is a certain amount of patriotic rationalization that goes on when one talks about the positive aspects of our overseas expenditures of blood and treasure.