Dream Unlocker
Inactive User
haha lol i guess bush is good at dodgeball.
Shoes thrown at Bush at Iraq news conference
- Thread starter jaffa
- Start date
haha lol i guess bush is good at dodgeball.
emarald
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Sometimes you don't miss something until it's gone.
While it might be true that American power has peaked in a comprehensive way.
For those who may greet a decline in American power with glee, I admonish you: Be careful what you wish for. You'll be sorry when it's gone. Let's conjure up for a moment what a world without American mil*itary power might look like
The Korean Peninsula
Ever since the cease-fire agreement between North Korean and Chinese forces and the United Nations was concluded in 1953, the United States military has been the predominant force reducing the risk of another conflict on the divided Korean Peninsula. Indeed, even today--55 years hence--an American four-star general leads the Combined Forces Com*mand of U.S. and Republic of Korea forces that keep the peace against a North Korean regime that still harbors dreams of uniting--militarily if neces*sary--the North and South under its despotic rule.
Japan
American military might has been primarily responsible for Japanese security since the end of World War II. This has not only allowed Japan to prosper economically and politically--like South Korea and Germany, I might add--but has also kept Japan at peace with its neighbors.
The presence of U.S. forces and the American nuclear deterrent has also kept Japan from exercis*ing a nuclear option that many believe it might take, considering the rise of China, North Korea's nuclear breakout, its advanced scientific and technical capa*bilities, and indigenous nuclear power industry--a producer of a significant amount of fissile material from its reactors.
Political and historical considerations aside, many believe that Japan could quickly join the once-exclu*sive nuclear weapons club if it chose to do so, result*ing in unforetold challenges to regional security.
China and Taiwan
Further to the south, what about stability across the Taiwan Strait?
We know that China is undergoing a major mil*itary buildup, especially involving its power projec*tion forces--i.e., air force, navy, and ballistic missile forces, all aimed at Taiwan. Indeed, today Beijing has the world's third largest defense budget and the world's fastest growing peacetime defense budget, growing at over 10 percent per year for over a decade. It increased its defense budget nearly 18 percent annually over the past two years.
I would daresay that military tensions across the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and China would be much greater today if not for an implied commitment on the part of the United States to prevent a change in the political status quo via military means.
Europe, Russia, and NATO
I hope we can all agree that NATO was a critical element in the security of Europe during the Cold War. In fact, I would argue that American military power was a sine qua non of NATO's success during the Cold War.
Today, the likelihood of a major war in Europe is thankfully just about nil, but troubling issues such as Bosnia and Kosovo have required American mil*itary participation--and leadership. But what about the resurgence of Russia on the edges of NATO and the European Union? Which direction will Moscow take in the years to come? It's not fully clear, but some of the signs are quite ominous.
We do know that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has promised a nearly 30 percent increase in the Russian defense budget for 2009 for reasons that can only be associated with a desire by Moscow to exert increasing leverage in its tradition*al sphere of influence--and perhaps beyond. We also know Russia has conducted more ballistic mis*sile tests this year than any year since the end of the Cold War.
We further know that the Kremlin has planted a flag on the seabed at the North Pole, asserting claims to an area the size of France, Germany, and Italy combined--an area which may hold one-third of the world's total undiscovered energy reserves. Russian action in Georgia and threats against Ukraine aren't comforting, either.
Considering the weak defense spending in Europe, who will be able to stand up to this new Russia if necessary? I would suggest that, absent American military might, NATO--or any future European defense force--might be little more than a paper tiger in the shadow of the Russian bear.
And who will provide balance to Iran's rise in the Middle East? It's my view that Iran has grand ambi*tions for itself, including regional hegemony, attempting to exert its influence across the Middle East from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.
Which country's military is capable of projecting sufficient power into that part of the world to pre*vent such a potentially destabilizing turn of events? Only the United States.
The same is true for the U.S.-NATO operations in Afghanistan and Coalition operations in Iraq today. Few--if any--countries today could sustain power-projection operations for so long so far from their shores.
we still need America
While it might be true that American power has peaked in a comprehensive way.
For those who may greet a decline in American power with glee, I admonish you: Be careful what you wish for. You'll be sorry when it's gone. Let's conjure up for a moment what a world without American mil*itary power might look like
The Korean Peninsula
Ever since the cease-fire agreement between North Korean and Chinese forces and the United Nations was concluded in 1953, the United States military has been the predominant force reducing the risk of another conflict on the divided Korean Peninsula. Indeed, even today--55 years hence--an American four-star general leads the Combined Forces Com*mand of U.S. and Republic of Korea forces that keep the peace against a North Korean regime that still harbors dreams of uniting--militarily if neces*sary--the North and South under its despotic rule.
Japan
American military might has been primarily responsible for Japanese security since the end of World War II. This has not only allowed Japan to prosper economically and politically--like South Korea and Germany, I might add--but has also kept Japan at peace with its neighbors.
The presence of U.S. forces and the American nuclear deterrent has also kept Japan from exercis*ing a nuclear option that many believe it might take, considering the rise of China, North Korea's nuclear breakout, its advanced scientific and technical capa*bilities, and indigenous nuclear power industry--a producer of a significant amount of fissile material from its reactors.
Political and historical considerations aside, many believe that Japan could quickly join the once-exclu*sive nuclear weapons club if it chose to do so, result*ing in unforetold challenges to regional security.
China and Taiwan
Further to the south, what about stability across the Taiwan Strait?
We know that China is undergoing a major mil*itary buildup, especially involving its power projec*tion forces--i.e., air force, navy, and ballistic missile forces, all aimed at Taiwan. Indeed, today Beijing has the world's third largest defense budget and the world's fastest growing peacetime defense budget, growing at over 10 percent per year for over a decade. It increased its defense budget nearly 18 percent annually over the past two years.
I would daresay that military tensions across the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait between Taiwan and China would be much greater today if not for an implied commitment on the part of the United States to prevent a change in the political status quo via military means.
Europe, Russia, and NATO
I hope we can all agree that NATO was a critical element in the security of Europe during the Cold War. In fact, I would argue that American military power was a sine qua non of NATO's success during the Cold War.
Today, the likelihood of a major war in Europe is thankfully just about nil, but troubling issues such as Bosnia and Kosovo have required American mil*itary participation--and leadership. But what about the resurgence of Russia on the edges of NATO and the European Union? Which direction will Moscow take in the years to come? It's not fully clear, but some of the signs are quite ominous.
We do know that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has promised a nearly 30 percent increase in the Russian defense budget for 2009 for reasons that can only be associated with a desire by Moscow to exert increasing leverage in its tradition*al sphere of influence--and perhaps beyond. We also know Russia has conducted more ballistic mis*sile tests this year than any year since the end of the Cold War.
We further know that the Kremlin has planted a flag on the seabed at the North Pole, asserting claims to an area the size of France, Germany, and Italy combined--an area which may hold one-third of the world's total undiscovered energy reserves. Russian action in Georgia and threats against Ukraine aren't comforting, either.
Considering the weak defense spending in Europe, who will be able to stand up to this new Russia if necessary? I would suggest that, absent American military might, NATO--or any future European defense force--might be little more than a paper tiger in the shadow of the Russian bear.
And who will provide balance to Iran's rise in the Middle East? It's my view that Iran has grand ambi*tions for itself, including regional hegemony, attempting to exert its influence across the Middle East from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea.
Which country's military is capable of projecting sufficient power into that part of the world to pre*vent such a potentially destabilizing turn of events? Only the United States.
The same is true for the U.S.-NATO operations in Afghanistan and Coalition operations in Iraq today. Few--if any--countries today could sustain power-projection operations for so long so far from their shores.
we still need America
karym6
DW Regular
We dont need America so much as we need a country that we can rely on for its huge military presence and its capacity for giving aid. It could be absolutely any country really, as long as we agreed with them.
Afterall, it has been us in the past, and it will be someone else after America.
We shouldnt forget America's presence in both the world wars either.
Afterall, it has been us in the past, and it will be someone else after America.
We shouldnt forget America's presence in both the world wars either.
maarksparky
Inactive User
I know it was hilaroius.. and he was acting cool about it..
despite that, I feel sorry for the journalist.. bet he alongwith his family would just disappear..
ever thought whats happened to him ???
despite that, I feel sorry for the journalist.. bet he alongwith his family would just disappear..
ever thought whats happened to him ???
karym6
DW Regular
he was shoe(wn) the door.....
Bush is the man! The way he dodged that stinky first shoe was super cool, almost like a boxer moving swiftly from a quick jab. He dismissed the second shoe as if were a punch thrown by a granny.
As a child that got plenty of beats from a slipper I truly have to laugh at that foolish Iraqi who disgraced his country with those pathetic throws. Anyone who has ever thrown a slipper at a child knows that you must flick your wrists as if you were throwing a boomerang (for accuracy) or roll your fingers over the sole area for that extra speed.
Mu mum would have knocked Bush the fook out with her size 4 sandal.
As a child that got plenty of beats from a slipper I truly have to laugh at that foolish Iraqi who disgraced his country with those pathetic throws. Anyone who has ever thrown a slipper at a child knows that you must flick your wrists as if you were throwing a boomerang (for accuracy) or roll your fingers over the sole area for that extra speed.
Mu mum would have knocked Bush the fook out with her size 4 sandal.
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