Should we be funding the US military?

[Mothra1988]

I'm not pretending like wars in far off places don't effect us or that China, Russia, or North Korea are threats (I think Iran is a little more nuanced, but that's another discussion). What exactly are you proposing is going to happen if the military budget is gutted for a few years while America sorts out it's internal problems? No nuclear-armed state is going to attack us as long as we have nukes and Russia in particular isn't in a position to do anything for awhile. South Korea is protected from North Korea by American troops at the 38th parallel acting as political tripwires and by America's nuclear umbrella. If North Korea attacks South Korea, then American soldiers will die and America will be brought into the conflict, which will be between two nuclear-armed states. That would be suicide for North Korea, so they won't do that. China could try to attack Taiwan, who is less protected than South Korea, but we could always just supply them with weapons like how we did with Ukraine. Also, you gotta keep in mind that if China attacks Taiwan, everyone will see it coming and it's going to be very difficult, because it will be an amphibious invasion of a mountainous and urbanized country. I think the US military can keep our allies in Europe and the far east out of a conventional war even if we have to reduce the budget by 30% or 40% for a few years. A few officers and commissars getting kicked out won't result in America pulling out of South Korea, Japan, Poland, and the Baltics.

I don't believe you. Nobody predicted 2020.

The military is still controlled by the federal government. In theory, congress could cut defense spending by 99% tomorrow if they wanted to.

All I am asking is that people who have the same concerns as me consider what I'm saying as potential policy. What I would like see happen (this is pure optimism, by the way) is for a new group of legislators sympathetic to my beliefs coming into power and attempting to reduce the military's budget.

I've been told that whenever there is a change in power within the federal government the military tries pander to them for more funding. When Trump was in power they released a paper describing Mexican gangs as a threat to national security and other shit that would appeal to Trump's base. Now we have Milley talking about white rage or whatever. I think that if someone tried to cut their budget then the pandering will start again.

I don't really like that, but what I think is more problematic is how certain elements of the military are trying to change it's culture and demographics. I think that, once that happens we're going to see some crazy shit. I think that even if the type of pandering changes, the stuff going on under the hood will keep happening. That's why the cuts should happen. When the purse-strings are sufficiently tightened, only what is necessary to function will be spared. I also think that this will teach the next generation military leaders that if they try to fuck around with politics, politics will fuck around with them.

Oh yeah, the nukes will protect us. What happens when that rotting infrastructure defaults because you didn't spend the money to maintain it, improve it and train people who know how to use? What happens when China produces better nukes and better safe guards against nukes? What happens when you don't have the best aircraft or submarines that can deliver the nukes either or are suddenly inferior to what China has?

Yeah, you're a raving lunatic who would throw away the future over annoyance over political correctness. It wouldn't only be Taiwan that gets gobbled up and has its shit pushed it, it would also be the place where your avatar originates from as well. After China makes Japan its colony with assistance from North Korea who has been wanting to destroy them for over half a century, all that anime and manga you like will be banned, burned and destroyed and replaced with commie propaganda that rewrites history.

Also you aren't a Trump supporter. Trump gave the military the biggest funding it had seen in decades. He considered that one of his cornerstone achievements. You're just another crank peddling dumb as dirt meme ideology that unironically sounds like a liberal 90's rock band crying about tax money paying for missiles. Of course no one wants the military to be woke and be about troons, etc. Of course no one likes neocon war mongers and nation building schemes. But the throwing the baby out with the bathwater idiom exists for a reason and is something so simple children understand it.

 

[AnimeGirlConnoisseur]

Oh yeah, the nukes will protect us. What happens when that rotting infrastructure defaults because you didn't spend the money to maintain it, improve it and train people who know how to use? What happens when China produces better nukes and better safe guards against nukes? What happens when you don't have the best aircraft or submarines that can deliver the nukes either or are suddenly inferior to what China has?

Yeah, you're a raving lunatic who would throw away the future over annoyance over political correctness. It wouldn't only be Taiwan that gets gobbled up and has its shit pushed it, it would also be the place where your avatar originates from as well. After China makes Japan its colony with assistance from North Korea who has been wanting to destroy them for over half a century, all that anime and manga you like will be banned, burned and destroyed and replaced with commie propaganda that rewrites history.

Also you aren't a Trump supporter. Trump gave the military the biggest funding it had seen in decades. He considered that one of his cornerstone achievements. You're just another crank peddling dumb as dirt meme ideology that unironically sounds like a liberal 90's rock band crying about tax money paying for missiles. Of course no one wants the military to be woke and be about troons, etc. Of course no one likes neocon war mongers and nation building schemes. But the throwing the baby out with the bathwater idiom exists for a reason and is something so simple children understand it.

Yes, nukes will protect us, at least for the time being. I specifically said that that nukes and the navy's procurement and sustainment budget should be spared.

I'm assuming that you are referring to laser-based missle defense and railguns for nuke delivery/missle defense when you talk about 'better nukes and better safe-guards against nukes'. If that's true then I guess you have a point there, but that's probably one thing that would be spared from budget cuts, since it is so essential to national security. Once one country is able to field that technology, they will be able to launch nukes with impunity. Even if we don't trust the military to do this, couldn't congress just mandate that the military spend money on research and development for that technology?

As for planes and submarines, we are already a generation ahead and these things can take many years to develop. Let's not forget that the F-35 started development in the early 1990s, had its first flight in 2006, and entered service (in the US) in the late 2010s. A year or two of hard times is by no means good, but it's not that big in the grand scheme of things (Assuming that R&D funding is going to be among the areas hit hardest).

I like some of the things the orange man has done, but I don't think I would die for him. Also Trump might have done some nice things for the US military, but what has the US military done for Trump? They denounced the January 6th protests and said they want to root out Trump's supporters in the military (https://archive.ph/jMFVq). They could have just said nothing.

As for anime (I have no idea how the fuck we got here), it's all going to get fucked anyways. Japanese fans will die out, foreign money will come in, and before you know it there won't be a difference between Japanese and American cartoons.

Finally, if I am throwing the baby out with the bathwater and if troonery and faggotry in the military is a problem, then what is your solution? I'm not trying to be an asshole, maybe you have a better idea.

 

[Gig Bucking Fun]

I reckon we should get infantrymen to livestream their firefights on Twitch. We can fund the US military through donations and chat reads.

 

[ryuichi]

Not anymore; ryan's no longer serving. so i don't care for it.
Not a rat ass shit
Sir