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In fact, by most measures America has rarely been stronger relative to the rest of the world. Those who argue otherwise — who suggest that America is in decline or has seen its global leadership slip away — are either misreading history or engaged in partisan politics. Think about it. Our military has no peer.

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America continues to attract striving immigrants.

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Russia’s aggression towards former Soviet states unnerves capitals in Europe

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From Brazil to India, rising middle classes compete with us, and governments seek a greater say in global forums.

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The question we face, the question each of you will face, is not whether America will lead but how we will lead

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not just to secure our peace and prosperity but also extend peace and prosperity around the globe.

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Today, according to self-described realists, conflicts in Syria or Ukraine or the Central African Republic are not ours to solve.

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Here’s my bottom line: America must always lead on the world stage. If we don’t, no one else will. The military ... is, and always will be, the backbone of that leadership.

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This weekend, Ukrainians voted by the millions. Yesterday, I spoke to their next president. We don’t know how the situation will play out, and there will remain grave challenges ahead, but standing with our allies on behalf of international order, working with international institutions, has given a chance for the Ukrainian people to choose their future — without us firing a shot.

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... a third aspect of American leadership, and that is our effort to strengthen and enforce international order. After World War II, America had the wisdom to shape institutions to keep the peace and support human progress, from NATO and the United Nations, to the World Bank and I.M.F. These institutions are not perfect, but they have been a force multiplier. They reducing the need for unilateral American action and increase restraint among other nations.

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I believe in American exceptionalism with every fiber of my being.

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we’re putting in place new restrictions on how America collects and uses intelligence, because we will have fewer partners and be less effective if a perception takes hold that we’re conducting surveillance against ordinary citizens.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Calling for continued American "leadership" throughout the world- based on threat of military violence and economic ruin- such a downer.

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You see nothing good about this country but apparently would not like to live anywhere else either because here you stay.

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Do you hate yourself as much as you do the rest of the free world?

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Originally posted by chrisisall:

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Calling for continued American "leadership" throughout the world- based on threat of military violence and economic ruin- such a downer.

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Pretty much an all time low for this idiot. He probably doesn't get enough sleep. Sleep deprivation can cause severe mental problems in the long term.

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Originally posted by MIKER:
I don’t disagree with this statement except blaming America for all the worlds troubles. What I disagree with is all the time you spend posting what a terrible country America is.

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Originally posted by MIKER:
I get what you are saying but the selective nature of Signy's negative focus US,while defending others THEM, in situations in my eyes removes all credibility from what she says.

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Originally posted by MIKER:
I am just pointing out what a hypocrite she is. With her what’s good for the goose is not what’s good for the gander.

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Originally posted by MIKER:
I have been speaking to your hatred of this country throughout this entire thread. The fact that you don't answer that shows me to be correct.

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I have been speaking to your hatred of this country throughout this entire thread. The fact that you have so far refused to answer that but instead post around it shows me to be correct.

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Originally posted by chrisisall:
@ Jong LOL, that was pretty funny, man!!

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Originally posted by MIKER:
it appears to come from a deep seeded hatred of this country.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
Why is criticizing the wrong your country called 'hatred'?

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Originally posted by Jongsstraw:
I tried, but couldn't find the video someone did where they synched-up Obama's 'workout' with Olivia Newton-John's "Physical".

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

And you still haven't answered my questions.

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I have been speaking to your hatred of this country throughout this entire thread. The fact that you have so far refused to answer that but instead post around it shows me to be correct.

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Originally posted by AURaptor:
Sig - save for perhaps Afghanistan, where is the US military that the host country hasn't invited it ?

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Have you LOOKED AT the immigration laws of other countries??? Because I HAVE. So yeah - here I stay.

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Originally posted by 1kiki:
Working backwards?

The Ukraine (do 'advisors' count?), Libya (does bombing count?), Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Miker, I agree with your objective analysis

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In the mid-1870s ... Keith founded the Tropical Trading and Transport Company: one-half of what would later become the United Fruit Company (Chiquita Brands International, created in 1899 by corporate merger with the Boston Fruit Company and owned by Andrew Preston). By the 1930s, the international political and economic tensions of the United Fruit Company had enabled it to gain control of 80 to 90 per cent of the U.S. banana trade. Nonetheless, despite the UFC monopoly, in 1924, the Vaccaro Brothers established the Standard Fruit Company (Dole Food Company) to export Honduran bananas to the port of New Orleans in the Gulf of Mexico coast of the U.S. The fruit exporters were able to keep U.S. prices so low because the banana companies, through their manipulation of the producing countries' national land use laws, were able to cheaply buy large tracts of prime agricultural land for banana plantations in the countries of the Caribbean Basin, the Central American isthmus, and the tropical South American countries—and, having rendered the native peoples landless through a policy of legalistic dispossession, were therefore able to employ them as low-wage workers.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
There was a poster here- Geezer- who is (was?) pro-military, who challenged me along those lines. It was my estimation that the USA was directly responsible for at least as many deaths as Stalin, if not more. So I assiduously looked up, and posted, all of the "interventions" that we engaged in - not even counting the massive genocide that was the birth of my nation. EVERY nation south of the "American" border was destabilized and overthrown - if not outright invaded- by the USA. The governments that we toppled were mostly democracies: Honduras and Guatemala, the so-called banana republics

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Yep. And I showed that this was sort of like blaming the U.S. for all the deaths in WWII because we participated.

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As for the FREELY ELECTED DEMOCRACIES in South and Central America and places like Indonesia, I showed that many of them were either not freely elected, or had one free election before the folks elected decided that future elections were just too much trouble.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
But hey, feel free to bring up those threads yourself! There were three of them, as I recall.

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MOST of our "wars" we fought for control of resources. In almost all cases, we came in on the side of the rich.... corporations, plantation owners, oil sheiks, oligarchs, dictators ... anyone who would provide our corporations with a "business-friendly", non-union, impoverished source of labor or resources.

Indian Wars (genocide)
Spanish-American War
Argentina 1890 Troops, Buenos Aires interests protected
Chile, 1891 Troops, Marines clash with nationalist rebels.
Haiti, 1891 Troops Black revolt on Navassa defeated.
Hawaii, 1893 Naval, troops, Independent kingdom overthrown, annexed.
Nicaragua, 1894, Troops Month-long occupation of Bluefields.
China, 1894-95 Naval, troops Marines land in Sino-Japanese War
Korea, 1894-96 Troops Marines kept in Seoul during war.
Panama, 1895 Troops, naval Marines land in Colombian province.
Nicaragua, 1896,troops, Marines land in port of Corinto.
China, 1898-1900,Troops, Boxer Rebellion fought by foreign armies.
Philippines, 1898-1910, Naval, troops Seized from Spain, killed 600,000 Filipinos
Cuba, 1898-1902, Naval, troops Seized from Spain, still hold Navy base.
Puerto Rico, 1898, Naval, troops Seized from Spain, occupation continues.
Guam, 1898, Naval, troops Seized from Spain, still use as base.
Nicaragua, 1898 Troops Marines land at port of San Juan del Sur.
Samoa, 1899, Troops Battle over succession to throne.
Nicaragua 1899 Troops Marines land at port of Bluefields
Panama, 1901-14 Naval, troops Broke off from Colombia 1903, annexed Canal Zone 1914.
Honduras, 1903 Troops Marines intervene in revolution.
Dominican Republic, 1903-04 Troops U.S. interests protected in Revolution.
Korea, 1904-05 Troops Marines land in Russo-Japanese War.
Cuba, 1906-09 Troops Marines land in democratic election.
Nicaragua, 1907 Troops "Dollar Diplomacy" protectorate set up.
Honduras, 1907 Troops Marines land during war with Nicaragua
Panama, 1908 Troops Marines intervene in election contest.
Nicaragua, 1910 Troops Marines land in Bluefields and Corinto.
Honduras, 1911 Troops U.S. interests protected in civil war.
China 1911-41 Naval, troops Continuous occupation with flare-ups.
Cuba 1912 Troops U.S. interests protected in civil war.
Panama 1912 Troops Marines land during heated election.
Honduras 1912 Troops Marines protect U.S. economic interests.
Nicaragua 1912-33 Troops, bombing 10-year occupation, fought guerillas
Dominican Republic 1914 Naval Fight with rebels over Santo Domingo.
Mexico 1914-18 Naval, troops Series of interventions against nationalists.
Haiti 1914-34 Troops, bombing 19-year occupation after revolts.
Dominican Republic 1916-24 Troops 8-year Marine occupation.
Cuba 1917-33 Troops Military occupation, economic protectorate.
Russia 1918-22 Naval, troops landings to fight Bolsheviks
Panama 1918-20 Troops "Police duty" during unrest after elections.
Honduras 1919 Troops Marines land during election campaign.
Guatemala 1920 Troops 2-week intervention against unionists.
China 1922-27 Naval, troops Deployment during nationalist revolt.
Honduras 1924-25 Troops Landed twice during election strife.
Panama 1925 Troops Marines suppress general strike.
China 1927-34 Troops Marines stationed throughout the country.
El Salvador 1932 Naval Warships send during Marti revolt.
WASHINGTON DC 1932 Troops Army stops WWI vet bonus protest.
DETROIT 1943 Troops Army put down Black rebellion.
Uruguay 1947 Nuclear threat Bombers deployed as show of strength.
Greece 1947-49 Command operation U.S. directs extreme-right in civil war.
China 1948-49 Troops/Marines evacuate Americans before Communist victory.
Philippines 1948-54 Command operation CIA directs war against Huk Rebellion.
Puerto Rico 1950 Command operation Independence rebellion crushed in Ponce.
China/No. Korea to stalemate; A-bomb threat in 1950, and against China in 1953. Still have bases.
Iran 1953 Command Operation CIA overthrows democracy, installs Shah.
Vietnam 1954 Use of nuclear threat French offered bombs to use against seige.
Guatemala 1954 Command operation, bombing, use of nuclear threat CIA directs exile invasion after new gov't nationalized U.S. company lands; bombers based in Nicaragua.
Egypt 1956 Use of nuclear threat, troops Soviets told to keep out of Suez crisis; Marines evacuate foreigners.
Lebanon l958 Troops, naval Marine occupation against rebels.
Iraq 1958 Use of nuclear threat Iraq warned against invading Kuwait.
China l958 Use of nuclear threat China told not to move on Taiwan isles.
Panama 1958 Troops Flag protests erupt into confrontation.
Vietnam l960-75 Troops, naval, bombing, nuclear threats Fought South Vietnam revolt & North Vietnam; one million killed in longest U.S. war; atomic bomb threats in l968 and l969.
Cuba l961 Command operation CIA-directed exile invasion fails.
Laos 1962 Command operation Military buildup during guerrilla war.
Cuba l962 Use of nuclear threat, naval Blockade during missile crisis; near-war with Soviet Union.
Iraq 1963 Command operation CIA organizes coup that killed president, brings Ba'ath Party to power, and Saddam Hussein back from exile to be head of the secret service.
Panama l964 Troops Panamanians shot for urging canal's return.
Indonesia l965 Command operation Million killed in CIA-assisted army coup.
Dominican Republic 1965-66 Troops, bombing Marines land during election campaign.
Guatemala l966-67 Command operation. Green Berets intervene against rebels.
UNITED STATES l968 Troops After King is shot; over 21,000 soldiers in cities.
Cambodia l969-75 Bombing, troops, naval Up to 2 million killed in decade of bombing, starvation, and political chaos.
Oman 1970 Command operation. U.S. directs Iranian marine invasion.
Laos l971-73 Command operation. bombing U.S. directs South Vietnamese invasion; "carpet-bombs" countryside.
Chile 1973 Command operation. CIA-backed coup ousts elected marxist president.
Cambodia l975 Troops, bombing, gas. captured ship, 28 die in copter crash.
Angola l976-92 Command operation CIA assists apartheid South African-backed rebels.
El Salvador l981-92 Command operation, troops Advisors, overflights aid anti-rebel war, soldiers briefly involved in hostage clash.
Nicaragua l981-90 Command operation, naval CIA directs exile (Contra) invasions, plants harbor mines against revolution.
Lebanon l982-84 Naval, bombing, troops Marines expel PLO and back Phalangists, Navy bombs and shells Muslim positions.
Grenada l983-84 Troops, bombing Invasion four years after revolution.
Honduras l983-89Troops Maneuvers help build bases near borders.
Iran l987-88 Naval, bombing US intervenes on side of Iraq in war.
Virgin Islands 1989 Troops St. Croix Black unrest after storm.
Philippines 1989 Jets Air cover provided for government against coup.
Panama 1989 Troops, bombing. Nationalist government ousted by 27,000 soldiers, leaders arrested, 2000+ killed..
Saudi Arabia 1990-91 Troops, jets Iraq countered after invading Kuwait. 540,000 troops also stationed in Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Israel.
Iraq 1990-91 Bombing, troops, naval Blockade of Iraqi and Jordanian ports, air strikes; 200,000+ killed in invasion of Iraq and Kuwait; large-scale destruction of Iraqi military.
Iraq 1991-2003 Bombing, naval No-fly zone over Kurdish north, Shiite south; constant air strikes and naval-enforced economic sanctions
Haiti 1994 Troops, naval Blockade against military government; troops restore President Aristide to office three years after coup.
Sudan 1998 Missiles Attack on pharmaceutical plant alleged to be "terrorist" nerve gas plant.
Afghanistan 1998 Missiles Attack on former CIA training camps used by Islamic fundamentalist groups alleged to have attacked embassies.
Iraq 1998 Bombing, Missiles Four days of intensive air strikes after weapons inspectors allege Iraqi obstructions.
Afghanistan 2001-? Troops, bombing, missiles Massive U.S. mobilization to overthrow Taliban, hunt Al Qaeda fighters, install Karzai regime, and battle Taliban insurgency. More than 30,000 U.S. troops and numerous private security contractors carry our occupation.
Philippines 2002-? Troops, naval Training mission for Philippine military fighting Abu Sayyaf rebels evolves into combat missions in Sulu Archipelago, west of Mindanao.
Colombia 2003-? Troops US special forces sent to rebel zone to back up Colombian military protecting oil pipeline.
Iraq 2003-?Troops, naval, bombing, missiles Saddam regime toppled in Baghdad. More than 250,000 U.S. personnel participate in invasion. US and UK forces occupy country and battle Sunni and Shi'ite insurgencies. More than 160,000 troops and numerous private contractors carry out occupation and build large permanent bases.
Haiti 2004-05 Troops, naval Marines land after right-wing rebels oust elected President Aristide, who was advised to leave by Washington.
Pakistan 2005-? Missiles, bombing, covert operation CIA missile and air strikes and Special Forces raids on alleged Al Qaeda and Taliban refuge villages kill multiple civilians. Drone attacks also on Pakistani Mehsud network.
Somalia 2006-? Missiles, naval, covert operation Special Forces advise Ethiopian invasion that topples Islamist government; AC-130 strikes and Cruise missile attacks against Islamist rebels; naval blockade against "pirates" and insurgents.
Syria 2008 Troops Special Forces in helicopter raid 5 miles from Iraq kill 8 Syrian civilians
Yemen 2009 Missiles Cruise missile attack on Al Qaeda kills 49 civilians.


That DOESN'T include our other "interventions" which didn't involve US personnel.

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I overlook nothing. However, didn't we drop a couple of nukes on civilian cities, killing about 200,000? Not to stop the Japanese, but to show the Russians that we were crazy sons of bitches who could, and would, drop them in their tracks if they tried to advance across the Pacific? We backed "anticommunist" Gnl Suharto who killed about a million of his people. Our little Vietnames adventure killed 2.5-5 million Vietnamese civilians. In Guatemala, we armed and trained the government that killed 200,000+ Mayans, creating "the silent Holocaust"

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