01-16-2017, 08:08 AM
(01-15-2017, 05:04 PM)Warren Dew Wrote: You mean the time when we were losing the Vietnam war? Agreed that return to that isn't really an option either.
I see the economic and foreign policy aspects as not linked.
The GIs came out of World War II thinking it necessary to block the expansion of autocratic powers early, to not let them get started on their expansion. Given how Hitler started, this seemed like a real lesson learned. Thus, the Domino Theory. They wanted to block even the smallest advance of communism, regardless of how poor the government that they were defending, with not a lot of concern on whether they had a clear path to victory. LBJ committed large numbers of troops to Vietnam knowing they wouldn't be enough if the opposition switched to insurgent tactics. He knew this could destroy is popularity. He had bought into the Domino Theory so much that he committed anyway.
After Vietnam, the Domino Theory was followed less blatantly. The Republicans still rattled sabers convincingly, but they avoided shooting wars. The Democrats became wary of quagmires. It worked, at least on a surface level. Russia and China aren't as communist anymore. There is this triumph of robber baron capitalism. I can thoroughly agree that going back to a blind absolute mid 20th Century Domino Theory would be very unlikely, but we're still spending a ton on the military, and we're still backing alliances blocking Russian and Chinese expansion. The Domino Theory isn't entirely dead.
I don't see us immune from getting caught up in another quagmire. Bush 43 got us involved in insurgent wars, and given the economic situation he could not have committed enough troops for a clear victory even if he had wanted to. There seems to be a desire to punish / destroy / contain Middle Eastern factions that export terror to the west, but no desire to put enough of our own boots on the ground to attempt a true victory. As those who live in the Middle East are more concerned with their own problems than terrorism in the West, it has proven essentially impossible to fight terror exporters via local proxies.
Trump talked as if he knew how to make military problems go away, that he knew more than the generals, that he could use our military might to win short victorious wars. I'm dubious. Typical Trump? So much empty talk? I hope so.
Anyway, yes, we can't step back into yesterday's military situations any more than we could step back into yesterday's economics.
That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.