[ExI] Trump's idea of what heavy research is

[Stuart LaForge]

BillK wrote:
>As you know the US has been at war somewhere in the world (officially
>or unofficially) for almost as long as it has existed.

Well there was that 7 year gap between the Banana Wars and World War II.
Your point is well taken, Bill. We do seem to be a warlike people. But I
like to think that at least some of our wars are justified and that we do
more good to the world than harm in the balance of history.

>When the US military drops bombs or issues drone strikes (current
>ongoing activity) the bombs are not selective. The bombing of
>vehicles, homes and wedding parties don't just kill a few alleged
>terrorists. Everyone nearby is killed and further away, serious
>injuries are inflicted. The US military calls this murder and injury
>of women and children and bystanders 'collateral damage'.

I too detest our current policy of using bombs where a single well-aimed
bullet would suffice. It troubles me that the POTUS can order those things
without any oversight. And I am worried that sooner or later a POTUS will
use them on American soil against a fellow American.

>'Collateral damage' has another effect. It creates many times more
>US-hating potential terrorists than those killed. Suicide bombers
>never, repeat *never*, occurred before US troops and bombs arrived to
>terrorise populations. Think about it - When your family, friends and
>relatives have been killed and maimed by bombs from the sky and you
>are powerless and have nothing left to lose, wouldn't you seek out any
>way possible to get revenge?

The problem is that *most* Americans are just as powerless as the targets.
The only thing protecting us from the same fate is a flimsy scroll of
paper called the Constitution and
 the integrity of our drone pilots.

Misplaced vengeance serves no purpose other than perpetuating mutual
hatred. The US government kills innocents in pursuit of the terrorists and
the terrorists kill innocents in pursuit of the US government. If only
they could just keep it between themselves, it would have been over with
years ago.

>This tragedy will never end until the US leaves these nations to fix
>their problems themselves.
>If the US manages to reduce its dependence on oil, that might even happen.

It's hard to bootstrap an alternative energy industry, when every time a
company starts to make some progress, Saudi Arabia opens up a spigot and
crashes the price of oil specifically to undermine the alternative energy
industry. By some miracle, Musk and Tesla seem to be gaining traction.
Let's wish him well.

Now that US has domestic fracking online, it might be able to start
withdrawing, but there is an old Roman adage that "only the victor can
decide when to stop fighting". If they keep hitting us, we have no choice
but to keep hitting back. Welcome to the suck that is the Nash equilibrium
of prisoner's dilemma. :-(

Stuart LaForge