Intel Czar Blair says Economy Top Threat

D_Tully Tunnelrat

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Former Navy Commander, and now "intel czar" NID Dennis Blair says the economy is the top military threat to US. If the crisis continues for several years, it could cause several (unmentioned) nation's economies to collapse.

Intel czar: Economy is top threat to U.S. - Security- msnbc.com

This is exactly what bin Laden hoped to do, drag the US, and it's allies into prolonged, financially draining war. We, courtesy of King George II, took the bait.

Now we are on the financial and military precipice with deficits exceeding 13.5% of GDP, an overextended military, a shaky Iran wanting to develop a nuclear bomb, increasingly unstable allies with nuclear material, such as the Ukraine, and Pakistan abetting, with our money, the Taliban in Afganistan. Just today the Taliban staged a raid in Kabul, the first time since '03.

We have largely ignored internet, and WMD defenses in favor of conventional forces, but you have to wonder when we'll have to defend against attacks in these areas in earnest.

What should the US do? And given our own economic predicament, how much longer can we feed a military that eats up 1/3 of our '08 national budget?

Will the US look like Israel in 5, or 10 years with machine gun toting guards outside ice cream parlors?

Is the post WWII US military "Empire" done?
 
D

deleted15807

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China falling apart? That's funny. Show me your data.
 

Elmer Gantry

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I think he was referring to neighbours of China's (although none come to mind) rather than China itself. At least, that's the way it reads to me.

I think the greatest military threat to the USA due to economic disintegration will be internal, rather than external.
 

AllHazzardi

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Former Navy Commander, and now "intel czar" NID Dennis Blair says the economy is the top military threat to US. If the crisis continues for several years, it could cause several (unmentioned) nation's economies to collapse.

Intel czar: Economy is top threat to U.S. - Security- msnbc.com

This is exactly what bin Laden hoped to do, drag the US, and it's allies into prolonged, financially draining war. We, courtesy of King George II, took the bait.

Now we are on the financial and military precipice with deficits exceeding 13.5% of GDP, an overextended military, a shaky Iran wanting to develop a nuclear bomb, increasingly unstable allies with nuclear material, such as the Ukraine, and Pakistan abetting, with our money, the Taliban in Afganistan. Just today the Taliban staged a raid in Kabul, the first time since '03.

We have largely ignored internet, and WMD defenses in favor of conventional forces, but you have to wonder when we'll have to defend against attacks in these areas in earnest.

What should the US do? And given our own economic predicament, how much longer can we feed a military that eats up 1/3 of our '08 national budget?

Will the US look like Israel in 5, or 10 years with machine gun toting guards outside ice cream parlors?

Is the post WWII US military "Empire" done?

Honestly... I think we should just decide to work together and advance for the sake of advancement rather than profit. With everyone working together, military is less important, as are defenses, if you work with trustworthy people. People are trustworthy if you are willing to appease and speak with them.

Seriously, one group can focus on agricultural research, one can focus on transportation, another on communication (Ironically, we've actually been doing this, just not pure focus). One could focus on health-care systems, and so on. When I say group, I'm actually referring to different countries. Why do we have to make cars too when certain brands of foreign cars are SO much more durable, long-lasting, and retain their value. Let's just turn the car manufacturers(who are threatened by the economy anyway) into something else that only we provide. Or something else that only we provide in sufficient amount. This is actually standard intelligent market practice: Make a product everyone wants but nobody else supplies and you get rich quick. Alternatively, make a product others produce, but do it in larger quantity so you control the supply, and you get rich quick.

Sure, it's a big switch, but it works. Car companies would not be threatened by bankruptcy if everything they made was being bought. Electronics? Farm Equipment? Who knows.

We've been focusing more on being "competitive" in our market rather than being "effective" in our market. We make cars so not all cars purchased are foreign, but in actuality, buying a cheaper American-made vehicle which does not last as long or retain its value actually costs the consumer more money than just buying a well-made foreign vehicle. We make electronics so not all electronics...... and so on.

The idea is, instead of making EVERYTHING... let's just focus on things that WE can make, that others CANNOT. Awesome thing is, if everyone decided to follow along, each country makes a certain product, then everyone is able to sell their product to someone else. This would be the ultimate stimulus of trade, by creating a situation where trade is necessary. So long as you can create SOMETHING, you have an opportunity to trade.

Research-wise, if we decided to focus in maximizing the potential of a single field of research, or focused on solely research rather than production(which works well for some countries), we would be creating new technologies that allow us and other countries to ramp up our production ability because it's either cheaper, more efficient, or the product is enhanced. I would bet, if research were focused entirely on agriculture, our food production would be able to skyrocket in a short time. With sufficient technology, we could turn the frozen lands of Russia that are not in use into large collections of agricultural factories aeroponically growing vast amounts of food with an automated mechanical system in a carefully controlled environment.


The technology is close, we just haven't been researching it.
 

Elmer Gantry

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Seriously, one group can focus on agricultural research, one can focus on transportation, another on communication (Ironically, we've actually been doing this, just not pure focus). One could focus on health-care systems, and so on. When I say group, I'm actually referring to different countries. Why do we have to make cars too when certain brands of foreign cars are SO much more durable, long-lasting, and retain their value. Let's just turn the car manufacturers(who are threatened by the economy anyway) into something else that only we provide. Or something else that only we provide in sufficient amount. This is actually standard intelligent market practice: Make a product everyone wants but nobody else supplies and you get rich quick. Alternatively, make a product others produce, but do it in larger quantity so you control the supply, and you get rich quick.

Take your capitalistic, free market ideas elsewhere, you imperial running dog!:biggrin1::biggrin1:

Seriously, this would happen without govt intervention in a free market. But we have trade tarrifs, subsidies, etc which distort such things. But we now have Comrade Obama and Comrade Gordon and even Comrade Rudd with the centalisation solutions for all of our problems now.