[LHR]

Originally Posted by Fundguy1

Muslim fundamentalists. If you didn't realize iraq, iran, yemen, ethiopia, lybia, Syria and all full of people who want us dead.

Who's "us"? And says who? So every now and then you get a nut job, you make it sound as though a U.S. invasion by a foreign country is imminent. When you say "Muslim fundamentalists" do you mean all Muslims or all Arabs? Do you propose that the U.S. just nuke 'em all? Too much BS fear mongering man, you give those POS cowards too much credit. They said the same thing about bin laden, Qadaffi, sadaam etc etc on and on and what happened to them? They died like rats in a hole. "Terrorism" can not win.

[Fundguy1]

Originally Posted by MindControl

Who's "us"? And says who? So every now and then you get a nut job, you make it sound as though a U.S. invasion by a foreign country is imminent. When you say "Muslim fundamentalists" do you mean all Muslims or all Arabs? Do you propose that the U.S. just nuke 'em all? Too much BS fear mongering man, you give those POS cowards too much credit. They said the same thing about bin laden, Qadaffi, sadaam etc etc on and on and what happened to them? They died like rats in a hole. "Terrorism" can not win.

God you make me so glad I left Jersey. Us is everyone not them. It is Christians, Jews, blacks, whites, Hindus, Buddhists, you name it. Says who? They do. Every chance they can. They declare war on us vocally and behead people saying it all the time. Do you even have a clue about who they are? Muslim fundamentalists are fanatically driven Muslims with zero tolerance for anyone else. They enslave, rape and kill even Muslims who aren't as fervent as them. There are a billion Muslims. There are a small percentage of Muslim extremists. But they world wide still number in the millions. Are we going to have to go back? Without any question we will have to have masses of troops there within a couple years. Did we have to? No. Leaving Iraq was the largest catalyst for this but obamas overall foreign policy has enabled them to climb back from the brink and grow stronger than ever. No terrorism can't win. But a few people can bring down the country into anarchy very easily.

[mxa121]

I will keep it light.

I love America. A great place to be. Rewarding for those that work hard. Diverse landscape, population, culture.

I also have not visited enough other countries to comment on 'best in the world'. I know many people that have, and from their feedback, I would not trade this country for any other one out there.

Visiting Europe, Asia, Australia, and more are on my list of things to do.

[KlausPA]

Originally Posted by M3SSY

and people griping about the US.. where else would you want to live?

In a better America. It is not about a different location or country, it is about improving where we live.

This false nationalism and the lack of self criticism is what is giving other countries the advantage to jump ahead.

[KlausPA]

So in conclusion:

America is the best country in the world because we are the world's bully who declares war to third world countries with crappy military.

Apparently we have the best economy no matter if China is the biggest and Germany has a strongest one.

We have freedom and that is why the Muslim extremists wants us dead. It doesn't matter if most of the countries in the world have equal or more freedom, but amazingly most of the attacks done by the extremists are against the countries forming the coalition.

We have a ton of work over here and that is why Mexicans are crossing the border to chase the $10/hour American dream.

We have the greatest intellectual talent which most of them are immigrants. We have the best universities in the world and that is why Americans are leading the board when it comes to math and science.

The two-party system provides us with a balanced form of government where fairness, honesty and true representation is the foundation of our system.

Did I miss anyone's post?

[einbruch10]

Originally Posted by Delta0311

Depends on what you definition of strength is. We can fairly easily beat every military on Earth expect for Russia and China in a head to head match. We can defeat the military but that is about it. Once an insurgency begins it's pretty much a done deal for us. Iraq is and was a loss and Afghanistan is about to be a huge cluster fuck now that the Taliban is changing leadership.

Russia and china arent that big of a threat. Yes it would be a long bloody "many lives lost" fight but we would come out on top as of now. We currently do not have the largest military by far. And last point insurgency is the defeater of all armies, its how we won the revolution against the british empire. The reason we have the best military cant be determined on one point alone. We're a nation that has an all volunteer force (unlike russia and china) we have a great balance of technology and individual skills at the lowest level, and we empower our NCO's to do more than earn a pay check.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by csu87

Depending on the state, I have seen figures of upper $30k/yr in benefits. You arent getting that much in cash, but in food stamps, housing assistance, healthcare assistance, welfare checks.... In a lot of the higher welfare payout states, the people on welfare make more than the minimum wage workers after you factor in all the benefits.

As for unemployment, again it varies by state, but in Massachusetts, which has the highest $/wk payout, you can get up to $698/wk in unemployment which equates to $36k. In Colorado, where I live, you can get up to $27k/yr in unemployment, which is more than most new school teachers make in the state.

While you would have been making significantly more than that before you were laid off, still a decent chunk of change for not doing anything.

Yes but unemployment is only temporary.

[Fundguy1]

Originally Posted by einbruch10

Russia and china arent that big of a threat. Yes it would be a long bloody "many lives lost" fight but we would come out on top as of now. We currently do not have the largest military by far. And last point insurgency is the defeater of all armies, its how we won the revolution against the british empire. The reason we have the best military cant be determined on one point alone. We're a nation that has an all volunteer force (unlike russia and china) we have a great balance of technology and individual skills at the lowest level, and we empower our NCO's to do more than earn a pay check.

They aren't trying to liberate themselves from a ruling country. Yhis is tge bs give peace a chance kumbayah idea. They're trying to destroy all who don't follow their ideology worldwide in the name of god. That's the difference. They won't stop once their country is free of westerners. Remember, they attacked us after we left Afghanistan. It's called 9/11. It would be like the early Americans destroying the house of Commons in England in 1820. The only way to stop them is kill them. Period.

[TrevorM3]

Originally Posted by Haywood

One word: Hooters.

lol

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by einbruch10

Russia and china arent that big of a threat. Yes it would be a long bloody "many lives lost" fight but we would come out on top as of now. We currently do not have the largest military by far. And last point insurgency is the defeater of all armies, its how we won the revolution against the british empire. The reason we have the best military cant be determined on one point alone. We're a nation that has an all volunteer force (unlike russia and china) we have a great balance of technology and individual skills at the lowest level, and we empower our NCO's to do more than earn a pay check.

Having the French hungry for an excuse to kill Brits certainly didn't hurt either.

[einbruch10]

Originally Posted by Fundguy1

They aren't trying to liberate themselves from a ruling country. Yhis is tge bs give peace a chance kumbayah idea. They're trying to destroy all who don't follow their ideology worldwide in the name of god. That's the difference. They won't stop once their country is free of westerners. Remember, they attacked us after we left Afghanistan. It's called 9/11. It would be like the early Americans destroying the house of Commons in England in 1820. The only way to stop them is kill them. Period.

I understand what you're trying to say. Im a US Army veteran with 9 years of service and i did deployments in afghanistan and iraq ive been there fought the people and made great relationships with some of them. My interpreter from iraq lives in LA now and is a buisness owner who loves this country more than most in this thread (born and raised in sadams regime until he came here in 2007 at 34 years old his entire family killed by radicalistic insurgents) i just feel alot of people here who are speaking of "our military" dont know what theyre talking about. To an extent i agree with you, we dont have to kill every radical more so educate the peoples who only know what theyve been taught (extremist muslim ideology) being in the middle east, and in more than the country's ive listed theres more good than bad. The ones who have been "oppressed" by westerners are the ones who pick up a weapon. Insurgency and ideas are very hard to fight it has to be educated out of them through enlightenment (cheesy i know but best way to put it) and trust me if anyone can hold a grudge against a certain peoples i feel i should ive lost friends that i called brothers and put my best friend in a body bag in 2011, the worst thing ive evr had to do was call his father and tell him he'll never see his son again.

[fecurtis]

Originally Posted by einbruch10

I understand what you're trying to say. Im a US Army veteran with 9 years of service and i did deployments in afghanistan and iraq ive been there fought the people and made great relationships with some of them. My interpreter from iraq lives in LA now and is a buisness owner who loves this country more than most in this thread (born and raised in sadams regime until he came here in 2007 at 34 years old his entire family killed by radicalistic insurgents) i just feel alot of people here who are speaking of "our military" dont know what theyre talking about. To an extent i agree with you, we dont have to kill every radical more so educate the peoples who only know what theyve been taught (extremist muslim ideology) being in the middle east, and in more than the country's ive listed theres more good than bad. The ones who have been "oppressed" by westerners are the ones who pick up a weapon. Insurgency and ideas are very hard to fight it has to be educated out of them through enlightenment (cheesy i know but best way to put it) and trust me if anyone can hold a grudge against a certain peoples i feel i should ive lost friends that i called brothers and put my best friend in a body bag in 2011, the worst thing ive evr had to do was call his father and tell him he'll never see his son again.

Thanks for sharing your story and experience, very enlightening to hear a thoughtful response from someone with first hand experience.

[Haywood]

Originally Posted by einbruch10

I understand what you're trying to say. Im a US Army veteran with 9 years of service and i did deployments in afghanistan and iraq ive been there fought the people and made great relationships with some of them. My interpreter from iraq lives in LA now and is a buisness owner who loves this country more than most in this thread (born and raised in sadams regime until he came here in 2007 at 34 years old his entire family killed by radicalistic insurgents) i just feel alot of people here who are speaking of "our military" dont know what theyre talking about. To an extent i agree with you, we dont have to kill every radical more so educate the peoples who only know what theyve been taught (extremist muslim ideology) being in the middle east, and in more than the country's ive listed theres more good than bad. The ones who have been "oppressed" by westerners are the ones who pick up a weapon. Insurgency and ideas are very hard to fight it has to be educated out of them through enlightenment (cheesy i know but best way to put it) and trust me if anyone can hold a grudge against a certain peoples i feel i should ive lost friends that i called brothers and put my best friend in a body bag in 2011, the worst thing ive evr had to do was call his father and tell him he'll never see his son again.

I thank you for service to this country. It's people like you who are the real heroes. It's unfortunate that there many Americans that take people like yourself for granted as well as the freedoms in this country. We are not perfect by far, but no country is.

[einbruch10]

One more point i feel i should make. Ive trained with and help train many foriegn military personnel, the one thing im damn certain of is none of them know how to shoot.

At the risk of sounding ignorant, arrogant, and insulting ill put it this way.

Every one has an opinion (the whole assholes adage applies here) but before you speak (write in this sense) think about what you say and how that looks to people who have payed the ultimate sacrifice for what they believed in and where willing to fight for instead of being an internet heroe with the best opinion and "know it all" attitude. Actions speak louder than words, and that tottaly applies here. If you dont like america gtfo, otherwise do on to others as you would have them do on to you.

Edit: freedom of speech and all, continue i digress.

[einbruch10]

Originally Posted by Haywood

I thank you for service to this country. It's people like you who are the real heroes. It's unfortunate that there many Americans that take people like yourself for granted as well as the freedoms in this country. We are not perfect by far, but no country is.

Thank you for your support, it is few and far between these days.

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by einbruch10

Russia and china arent that big of a threat. Yes it would be a long bloody "many lives lost" fight but we would come out on top as of now. We currently do not have the largest military by far. And last point insurgency is the defeater of all armies, its how we won the revolution against the british empire. The reason we have the best military cant be determined on one point alone. We're a nation that has an all volunteer force (unlike russia and china) we have a great balance of technology and individual skills at the lowest level, and we empower our NCO's to do more than earn a pay check.

No you cannot beat Russia. Russia has not had its ass handed to it on its own soil since Stefan Batory's ass kicking party, back in the late 1500. Other than that Russia has and will drown anyone who tries to invade it in their own blood. Russians thrive in chaos and hellish conditions, meanwhile we damn near come to tears when ever our Iphone stops working.

[KlausPA]

Originally Posted by Fundguy1

They aren't trying to liberate themselves from a ruling country. Yhis is tge bs give peace a chance kumbayah idea. They're trying to destroy all who don't follow their ideology worldwide in the name of god. That's the difference. They won't stop once their country is free of westerners. Remember, they attacked us after we left Afghanistan. It's called 9/11. It would be like the early Americans destroying the house of Commons in England in 1820. The only way to stop them is kill them. Period.

Maybe those countries should build a wall along their borders and deport all the westerners and anyone else who is not a citizen. If they try to build a place of worship in the middle of a city that does not go with the mainstream religion they should not allow it.

[KlausPA]

Originally Posted by einbruch10

I understand what you're trying to say. Im a US Army veteran with 9 years of service and i did deployments in afghanistan and iraq ive been there fought the people and made great relationships with some of them. My interpreter from iraq lives in LA now and is a buisness owner who loves this country more than most in this thread (born and raised in sadams regime until he came here in 2007 at 34 years old his entire family killed by radicalistic insurgents) i just feel alot of people here who are speaking of "our military" dont know what theyre talking about. To an extent i agree with you, we dont have to kill every radical more so educate the peoples who only know what theyve been taught (extremist muslim ideology) being in the middle east, and in more than the country's ive listed theres more good than bad. The ones who have been "oppressed" by westerners are the ones who pick up a weapon. Insurgency and ideas are very hard to fight it has to be educated out of them through enlightenment (cheesy i know but best way to put it) and trust me if anyone can hold a grudge against a certain peoples i feel i should ive lost friends that i called brothers and put my best friend in a body bag in 2011, the worst thing ive evr had to do was call his father and tell him he'll never see his son again.

If we have to educate people as you stated, how come you were given a weapon instead of a book? How come you were trained to attack and kill? How come we conducted military operations instead of literacy campaigns? How come we go against governments and not pro-people? The US expects to change people's minds with military operations, not by enlightenment.

We have the biggest military in the world that keeps losing.

[einbruch10]

Originally Posted by Delta0311

No you cannot beat Russia. Russia has not had its ass handed to it on its own soil since Stefan Batory's ass kicking party, back in the late 1500. Other than that Russia has and will drown anyone who tries to invade it in their own blood. Russians thrive in chaos and hellish conditions, meanwhile we damn near come to tears when ever our Iphone stops working.

You speak of the average american "citizen" spoiled by comforts. That doesnt (to an extent) apply to our military. Tell me in your long life as a military commander what you base this assumption on? Speaking from experience here, hold on let me grab my soap box.

A country that is currently tearing itself into pieces due to stupid decisions made by there fantastic leader, whose made very uninformed decisions to restructure his military at the eve of possible war. Hmm, not so threatening.

The russian winter? No issue i myself was stationed in alaska for 5 years in the arctic circle not that bad ( we have plastics and shit now, no wool coat for me)

Russian armor? Eh hard fight ill give you that, but we have other things besides tanks that do damage.

Russian infantry? More than likely drunk, ill equipped (they just issued boxer briefs, while we are fielding exoskeltons to certain units), and very poorly trained ( this applies to the masses not to spetznaz or their airborne regiments)

The hardest part of that fight would be occupation. But how we handle it, it would go better than the third world countrys of late (think post war germany 1945). Itll take a generation or two to be ok with it but if we cut off all sanctions and bolstered their liberties may not be to hard. Damn if we fixed their traffic problems theyd probably love us

[KlausPA]

Originally Posted by Haywood

I thank you for service to this country. It's people like you who are the real heroes. It's unfortunate that there many Americans that take people like yourself for granted as well as the freedoms in this country. We are not perfect by far, but no country is.

NO, the government takes them for granted.

[einbruch10]

Originally Posted by KlausPA

If we have to educate people as you stated, how come you were given a weapon instead of a book? How come you were trained to attack and kill? How come we conducted military operations instead of literacy campaigns? How come we go against governments and not pro-people? The US expects to change people's minds with military operations, not by enlightenment.

We have the biggest military in the world that keeps losing.

Ill help you out a little. Google us army counterinsurgency program. We where there not to "kill" but to help. We built schools, police stations, better roads, more secure places of trade, helped build what was once a non exsistent international economy by securing minig contracts with the chinese (the list goes on). The towns/villages we put our bases next to always thrived. Again its impossible to make sure they all get those amenity's, but if youre volunteering to come up with a better plan lets hear it.

Edit: also that sapphire screen your likely typing on probably came from afghanistan via china.

[Whostheboss]

Originally Posted by mxa121

I will keep it light.

I love America. A great place to be. Rewarding for those that work hard. Diverse landscape, population, culture.

I also have not visited enough other countries to comment on 'best in the world'. I know many people that have, and from their feedback, I would not trade this country for any other one out there.

Visiting Europe, Asia, Australia, and more are on my list of things to do.

I lived in West Africa