Deadly Drone Attack in Jordan Three US Soldiers Killed 30+ Injured

[rabas]

3 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

"2023, and here is where we stand: Congress in December belatedly passed an omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal 2023 including $858 billion for national defense, roughly half of which will be dispersed in the form of contracts to the private sector."

How The Defense Industry Became A Defining Feature Of The U.S. Economy (forbes.com)

 

And the $4.3 trillion the US spends on healthcare per year? Roughly 10X the private sector support.

 

Put in perspective, that's about 573 current US aircraft carriers per year. In ten years we could have nearly 5000 aircraft carriers. We currently have 11 from the last 30 years.

 

Considering the  state of the world, US defense spending would seem worthwhile.

[FritsSikkink]

3 minutes ago, rabas said:

 

And the $4.3 trillion the US spends on healthcare per year? Roughly 10X the private sector support.

 

Put in perspective, that's about 573 current US aircraft carriers per year. In ten years we could have nearly 5000 aircraft carriers. We currently have 11 from the last 30 years.

 

Considering the  state of the world, US defense spending would seem worthwhile.

It would be nice if it was spend to defend instead of bombing other countries.

[candide]

2 hours ago, riclag said:

Stop deflecting with your nonsense!

Joey has Afghanistan , Israel/ Gaza,

Ukraine/ Russia  blood on his hands!

His expertise was in foreign affairs before he became POtus .What a mess!

 

 

 

No, he hasn't. You can post it over and over, it will not make it true!

[Morch]

2 hours ago, riclag said:

Stop deflecting with your nonsense!

Joey has Afghanistan , Israel/ Gaza,

Ukraine/ Russia  blood on his hands!

His expertise was in foreign affairs before he became POtus .What a mess!

 

 

 

 

Deflecting how?

There are such things going on all the time, regardless who's POTUS.

When it happened under Trump, it was apparently 'acceptable' (or blamed on previous Presidents)

When it's happening under Biden, you lose it.

[Morch]

53 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

It would be nice if it was spend to defend instead of bombing other countries.

 

It would be nice if you can back up your comments instead of deflect.

[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, Morch said:

 

It would be nice if you can back up your comments instead of deflect.

There you go: United States Counterterrorism Operations Under the Biden Administration, 2021-2023 | Costs of War (brown.edu)

Not so long ago: U.S. Bombed Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia in 2016 (nbcnews.com)

Edited January 30 by FritsSikkink

[Morch]

57 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

There you go: United States Counterterrorism Operations Under the Biden Administration, 2021-2023 | Costs of War (brown.edu)

Not so long ago: U.S. Bombed Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia in 2016 (nbcnews.com)

 

Yes...and?

See my previous comment about being a superpower and what it implies.

[rabas]

4 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

It would be nice if it was spend to defend instead of bombing other countries.

 

It is, a lot is spent on advanced weapons, missiles, aircraft, ships, and aircraft carriers to flaunt around so punks like Putin, the Ayatollah, Kim, and others behave. Sometimes they don't.  

 

Granted there are questionable cases and sometimes things don't work but that's part of being a superpower as Morch pointed out. 

 

If you really want to know what the military does, hold your breath and read through this Timeline of United States military operations. It's long and most you've likely never heard of. But read each one and ask why? Are they trying to help something or just being a Hitler/Putin punk. Start about 1980 for brevity. It's long.

 

Jordan is there as of 2014. Operation Prosperity Guardian is there and much of the last 20 years has been about terrorism.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 1/29/2024 at 7:09 PM, wombat said:

3 US soldiers killed (RIP) has just upped the ante🥷

Sure has ( cue drum roll ). Next step, let's invade Iran because they have been very bad boys, and deserve to be punished for not doing what the US tells them to do.

[thaibeachlovers]

11 hours ago, rabas said:

 

It is, a lot is spent on advanced weapons, missiles, aircraft, ships, and aircraft carriers to flaunt around so punks like Putin, the Ayatollah, Kim, and others behave. Sometimes they don't.  

 

Granted there are questionable cases and sometimes things don't work but that's part of being a superpower as Morch pointed out. 

 

If you really want to know what the military does, hold your breath and read through this Timeline of United States military operations. It's long and most you've likely never heard of. But read each one and ask why? Are they trying to help something or just being a Hitler/Putin punk. Start about 1980 for brevity. It's long.

 

Jordan is there as of 2014. Operation Prosperity Guardian is there and much of the last 20 years has been about terrorism.

Sooooo, if we talk about the ones we do know about, let's start with Vietnam- 50,000 dead American boys with nothing to show for it, Cambodia and Laos gone communist. Iraq- well we all know what a disaster that turned out to be and now they want to kick all the remaining US troops out. Afghanistan- a 20 year black hole and it's back under Taliban control.

Now it's a spiral into yet another disaster in the making in the Middle East.

 

Not much to be proud of, IMO.

[Morch]

@OneMoreFarang

 

It's a Glenn Greenwald piece - what would you expect from someone pushing an anti-USA, Anti-Israel, Pro-Russian, Pro-Trump agendas? 

[Morch]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Sure has ( cue drum roll ). Next step, let's invade Iran because they have been very bad boys, and deserve to be punished for not doing what the US tells them to do.

 

@thaibeachlovers

 

Other than in your imagination, nothing of the sort happened, and is not about to.

[Morch]

3 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Sooooo, if we talk about the ones we do know about, let's start with Vietnam- 50,000 dead American boys with nothing to show for it, Cambodia and Laos gone communist. Iraq- well we all know what a disaster that turned out to be and now they want to kick all the remaining US troops out. Afghanistan- a 20 year black hole and it's back under Taliban control.

Now it's a spiral into yet another disaster in the making in the Middle East.

 

Not much to be proud of, IMO.

 

@thaibeachlovers

 

Didn't you actually cheer Trump's decision (and faulty 'agreement') regarding Afghanistan?

[illisdean]

On 1/30/2024 at 10:29 AM, Morch said:

 

How much of the USA economy is 'defense' related?

 

A lot. valued at about 25% of the entire Russian economy. That's significant, wouldn't you agree?

 

"How The Defense Industry Became A Defining Feature Of The U.S. Economy"

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2023/01/18/how-the-defense-industry-became-a-defining-feature-of-the-us-economy/?sh=18853db275fc

 

https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/united-states-defense-market

[Morch]

3 hours ago, illisdean said:

A lot. valued at about 25% of the entire Russian economy. That's significant, wouldn't you agree?

 

"How The Defense Industry Became A Defining Feature Of The U.S. Economy"

 

 

 

Wow...that's a concise answer. A lot. Who would've thought.

 

The link was provided above, thanks. It does not answer the question, nor does your post.

[Morch]

29 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

IMHO he is not pushing anything. He tells the truth about many issues. But obviously some people only want to hear some truth.

 

Yeah, that's your opinion, and the reality is that he does have certain agendas he keeps harping about.

Obviously, you like to believe what he says is true, that's where it ends.

 

 

[FritsSikkink]

16 hours ago, Morch said:

 

Yes...and?

See my previous comment about being a superpower and what it implies.

Who gave you the right to be a superpower and economically punish countries who don't comply with your rules / ways?

That is being a bully.

[Morch]

7 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Who gave you the right to be a superpower and economically punish countries who don't comply with your rules / ways?

That is being a bully.

 

I am not a superpower. I'm not an American, even.

 

And maybe consult history - this is not about being 'given a right'.

[placeholder]

It looks like the threat of US retaliation might have had an effect. Time will tell.

 

After deadly drone strike, Iran-backed Iraqi militia claims its pausing attacks on US forces

A pro-Iran group in Iraq says that it will halt its attacks on US troops, after Washington pledged a “very consequential” response to a drone attack that killed three of its soldiers.

“We’re announcing the suspension of our military and security operations against the occupying forces to avoid any embarrassment for the Iraqi government,” Kataeb Hezbollah writes on its website.

The United States blamed “radical Iran-backed militant groups operating in Syria and Iraq” for Sunday’s drone strike on a remote Jordan desert base near Syria and Iraq.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/after-deadly-drone-strike-iran-backed-iraqi-militia-claims-its-pausing-attacks-on-us-forces/

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, Morch said:

 

Yeah, that's your opinion, and the reality is that he does have certain agendas he keeps harping about.

Obviously, you like to believe what he says is true, that's where it ends.

 

 

And it seems you think that he has an agenda. Does this make you right?

 

I read many articles from him since he worked for Salon. I don't like everything he says or writes. But I know he is at least 100 times better informed than I am. Whatever he talks about, it includes lots of facts and sources and he explains why he thinks what he thinks.

All in all, I don't know any other journalist who I trust like him.

 

That doesn't mean he is always right. But I am pretty sure he does his best to tell the truth. And as far as I am concerned, we can't expect more than that.

 

Edward Snowden trusted Glenn Greenwald. And Glenn Greenwald exposed the US surveillance and protected Snowden. Not many journalists are courageous like that. 

 

[placeholder]

21 hours ago, rabas said:

 

And the $4.3 trillion the US spends on healthcare per year? Roughly 10X the private sector support.

 

Put in perspective, that's about 573 current US aircraft carriers per year. In ten years we could have nearly 5000 aircraft carriers. We currently have 11 from the last 30 years.

 

Considering the  state of the world, US defense spending would seem worthwhile.

That article you linked to doesn't support the 10x figure. I'm not saying it's false but nothing there to support it. And given that the elderly are virtually universally enrolled in Medicare, you think that might have something to do with whatever disproportion exists?

And finally, the systems other countries use to keep costs down are almost invariably described as socialistic by right-wingers.

[ozimoron]

On 1/30/2024 at 10:17 AM, impulse said:

 

I think that the credibility of the information being fed to the American people that may lead us into war is a pretty relevant issue.

 

They've proven to play fast and loose with the truth in the past.  That's relevant, too.

I won't even get into Tonkin and the banana wars...  More historical lies told to the American people to get us into wars.

 

 

On this we agree but in this case America did not get us in this war. Russia got us into this war. Not standing up to Russia now will result in a repeat of the last world war with different players.

[metisdead]

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[rabas]

2 hours ago, placeholder said:

That article you linked to doesn't support the 10x figure. I'm not saying it's false but nothing there to support it. And given that the elderly are virtually universally enrolled in Medicare, you think that might have something to do with whatever disproportion exists?

And finally, the systems other countries use to keep costs down are almost invariably described as socialistic by right-wingers.

 

Second grade math if you read what I wrote with and open mind.

 

What the H does the data I presented or what I said have to do with socialism? Who the K is a right winger? You have lost the plot.

 

[placeholder]

16 minutes ago, rabas said:

 

Second grade math if you read what I wrote with and open mind.

 

What the H does the data I presented or what I said have to do with socialism? Who the K is a right winger? You have lost the plot.

 

Well, then, it shouldn't pose a problem for you to explain it instead of responding as you did.

Given that you were knocking the cost of govt provided healthcare as opposed to private health care, I think it was reasonable of me to construe the line you were following.

[rabas]

2 hours ago, placeholder said:

Well, then, it shouldn't pose a problem for you to explain it instead of responding as you did.

Given that you were knocking the cost of govt provided healthcare as opposed to private health care, I think it was reasonable of me to construe the line you were following.

 

I  neither knocked nor discussed a breakdown of US health expenditure. I gave a link to support total health expenditure. 

 

Briefly, I compared the US defense budget with total US health expenditure concluding the much smaller military expenditure is worth the cost relative to US responsibility and global problems.  If you disagree feel free to say so.

[Morch]

6 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

And it seems you think that he has an agenda. Does this make you right?

 

I read many articles from him since he worked for Salon. I don't like everything he says or writes. But I know he is at least 100 times better informed than I am. Whatever he talks about, it includes lots of facts and sources and he explains why he thinks what he thinks.

All in all, I don't know any other journalist who I trust like him.

 

That doesn't mean he is always right. But I am pretty sure he does his best to tell the truth. And as far as I am concerned, we can't expect more than that.

 

Edward Snowden trusted Glenn Greenwald. And Glenn Greenwald exposed the US surveillance and protected Snowden. Not many journalists are courageous like that. 

 

 

You can play cheerleader for the guy all you like. On topics I'm well versed in, a whole lot of what he writes is either nonsense, conspiracy theory, or stuff he clearly misunderstands/misrepresents. To say that he does not have any agendas would be....interesting, considering he pushes them on every possible opportunity. You could say that you agree with him on these things - that would not be much of a surprise - but that, by itself, doesn't improve the quality of what he's offering. When it comes to issues ME, he's as dodgy as they come. And no, he includes a whole lot of 'facts', as opposed to facts. A whole lot of stuff that relies on biased interpretation, or reliance of 'facts' sourced from less than credible sources. I don't see him as 'courageous' so much as an attention seeker, someone who needs to be 'special'. I do get the appeal, for some.

[Morch]

1 minute ago, rabas said:

 

I  neither knocked nor discussed a breakdown of US health expenditure. I gave a link to support total health expenditure. 

 

Briefly, I compared the US defense budget with total US health expenditure concluding the much smaller military expenditure is worth the cost relative to US responsibility and global problems.  If you disagree feel free to say so.

 

Never mind that the topic got nothing to do with it at all.....It's just a diversion another posted started.

[Danderman123]

9 hours ago, illisdean said:

A lot. valued at about 25% of the entire Russian economy. That's significant, wouldn't you agree?

 

"How The Defense Industry Became A Defining Feature Of The U.S. Economy"

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2023/01/18/how-the-defense-industry-became-a-defining-feature-of-the-us-economy/?sh=18853db275fc

 

https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/united-states-defense-market

Didn't Trump raise the US defense budget every year?

[candide]

9 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Who gave you the right to be a superpower and economically punish countries who don't comply with your rules / ways?

That is being a bully.

You may be right, however superpowers, as well  as not so super, always exert power. If the U.S. would stop exerting power, it would soon be replaced by others. Choose your pick: China, Russia, India, Turkey.....