Clipping blog

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Don’t Want Our Troops? No Worries. We’ll Leave! Posted: 12 Aug 2011 08:18 PM PDT I had an idea as I read this post by Stephen Green about how our 5th Fleet may soon have to leave its base in Bahrain. See, apparently there’s a bit of governmental turmoil there and we can’t be sure our base will remain safe from attack by, well, let’s just call them it the Disaffected Lutheran Menace. I know that as a warmongering right-winger, I’m supposed to be filled with rage and warmongering, but I’m not. Not at all. Let’s go ahead and move the fleet. I’m sure there’s a country relatively nearby that could use all the money, safety, and various other perqs a U.S. military installation brings. In fact, let’s set up a new rule for where we put out soldiers, sailors, and pilots. If a country doesn’t want us there and won’t make even a minimal effort to make us feel welcome, we’re out. There is no doubt in my mind that we could move every soldier we have out of Germany, for instance, and find places in Eastern Europe where they’d be more than welcome. But we should take that rule a little bit farther. If we have to pull our troops out of a nation, then we’re done with them. They don’t get any of our protection. If their ships are attacked by pirates, too bad. If their country is menaced by a neighbor, tough luck. If they want to buy our weapons systems or have our soldiers train theirs, well tough. I realize this rule isn’t without its perils. There are other nations who will gladly step into the vacuum we leave — China and Russia come to mind. I think I can live with that. I’d rather have an ally on whom I can count than a half-willing host who will stab me in the back at the first available opportunity. It’s better, I think, that we are clear about what our friends can expect from us and what we expect from them. A little more transparency in our nation’s goals around the world isn’t a bad thing.

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