Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

It's not so hard to imagine. I believe in China the whole military is in fact the Army. How smart is that?

Do we really want to copy a country such as China?

You can always learn something from someone.

Originally Posted by major liability

It's far too late for this isolationist stuff, unfortunately we live in a globalized world... I do agree with cutting off all foreign aid. Why the hell are we giving hand-outs? I sure as hell don't want my tax money going anywhere but America and our military allies if they really need it. I think we should just leave Africa alone completely. They have to solve their own problems, just as everyone else should. Want democracy? If you're not willing to fight for it yourself you're not deserving of it.

There are tons of things that money could be better spent on in America.

First of all, guess which country is the worlds largest debtor nation? It isnt anywhere in Africa, its the USA. Could you imagine what happen if China and Saudi Arabia stopped lending us money???

For the rest, the answer is that its simply better to pay em off, because not doing so could be far worse. For example a war for resources in Africa (a major one, not the tiny ones we have now) would erupt and that would certainly start would have a dramatic impact on the world economy.

Besides its peanuts anyway, compared to the money we pour away in thing like Iraq, Medical Care, and Corporate Handouts.

And lastly, our world image is really bad right now, worse than bad. Acting like we care (even though we don't) isn't a bad idea right now.

Scuttle an aircraft carrier.