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Originally Posted by 100%CardsFan
Dont know I was was probably 10 years old when Reagan was President. I think that when Clinton decreased military spending, shut down Air Force bases and tried to cover up his BJ with a nice bombing campaign did it for me. I dont hate the guy or anything I just dont agree with almost everything he endorsed.
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Military Spending (please at least know the facts before coming to your conclusion)
At the end of the Vietnam war, U.S. citizens heard about a "peace dividend" for the first time. Although military expenditures were reduced by approximately 25 percent between 1973 and the end of the decade, there were no benefits for poor or working people. This period was marked by increasing attacks from Nixon's successor Gerald Ford and then by Jimmy Carter, a Democratic president whose most famous quote is "We have learned that more is not necessarily better, that even our great nation has its recognized limits and that we can neither answer all questions nor solve all problems."
Soon after the election of
Ronald Reagan, military spending rose dramatically. At the end of his first term, it was exceeding the amount spent during the height of the Vietnam war. By all accounts, pressure from the USA on the Soviet Union to react to initiatives such as the Strategic Defensive Initiative (Star Wars) was one of the major factors leading to the collapse of state socialism. Reagan's Vice President said "We were right to increase our defense budget. Had we acted differently, the liberalization that we are seeking today throughout the Soviet bloc would most likely not be taking place." NY Times columnist agreed that Reagan's buildup "seemed to impress the Soviets as a challenge that they might not be able to meet."
After the rise of Gorbachev and the collapse of the Berlin Wall, hopes rose again about the possibility of a peace dividend. In fact,
Defense Secretary Dick Cheney did order the military to cut $180 bn from the budget for 1992-94, about a 6 percent reduction, but his boss George Bush decided that the savings were to be used almost exclusively to reduce the Federal budget deficit .
Under Clinton, military spending decreased somewhat from the previous administration but only modestly. But by the time he left office, it was up to the same levels as under Bush the elder, namely just under $300 bn per year. Under Bush Jr. spending has increased sharply. In 2002 it was up to $360 bn, just slightly below Reagan era figures. For 2004, the amount requested from Congress is $400 bn--this does not include a supplemental request of $35 bn for the occupation of Iraq. This exceeds Reagan's largest, at a time when Soviet Union was still supposedly a threat to the USA. Now that it no longer exists, it is all the more irrational to be wasting billions with a rising unemployment rate and declining social indicators.
There still are a couple of Communist bogeyman left but the more reputedly dangerous of the two--North Korea--spends about 1/300 of the USA on its military and Cuba less than half of that. Notwithstanding this, they are represented along with Iraq as threats to the security of the USA. (Iraq's expenditures were about the same as North Korea's.)
Right now the USA accounts for more than 43 percent of military expenditures worldwide. It nearly doubles the amount spent by Japan ($41 bn), Great Britain ($35 bn), Russia ($29 bn), Germany ($23 bn) and China ($14.5 bn) combined.
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Closures of military bases scheduled for 2005
http://www.defenselink.mil/brac/
Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania
Detroit Arsenal, Michigan
Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico
Fort McPherson/Gillem, Georgia
Fort Monmouth, New Jersey
Fort Monroe, Virginia
Fort Richardson, Alaska
Fort Sam Houston, Texas
Fort Shafter, Hawaii
Lima Army Tank Plant, Ohio
Natick Soldier Center, Massachusetts
Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
Redstone Arsenal, Alabama
Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois
Sierra Army Depot, California
Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona
Ingleside Naval Station, Texas
Naval Postgraduate School, California
Naval Air Station Meridian, Mississippi
Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, New Jersey
Naval Recreation Station Solomons Island, Maryland
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane, Indiana
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division, Virginia
Navy Supply Corps School, Georgia
New Orleans Naval Support Activity, Louisiana
Pascagoula Naval Station, Mississippi
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, New Hampshire
Saratoga Springs Naval Support Unit, New York (includes Ballston Spa, Scotia)
Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany, Georgia
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California
Marine Corps Mountain Warfare School, California
Marine Reserve Support Unit, Kansas City
Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California (realign or close)
Altus AFB, Oklahoma
Bolling AFB, Washington DC
Brooks AFB, Texas
Cannon AFB, New Mexico
Columbus AFB, Mississippi
Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota
Goodfellow AFB, Texas
Grand Forks AFB, North Dakota
Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts
Kirtland AFB, New Mexico
Los Angeles AFB, California
McConnell AFB, Kansas
Nellis AFB, Nevada
Shaw AFB, South Carolina
Vance AFB, Oklahoma
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Most Lawmakers Support Clinton's Military Strikes, but some Republicans raise questions about the timing of anti-terrorist attacks
WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, Aug. 20, 1998) -- President Bill Clinton's decision Thursday to order military strikes against alleged terrorist bases in Afghanistan and Sudan received quick, but not universal, support from members of Congress.
House Speaker Newt Gingrich quickly sided with the adminstration, saying the president "did the right thing" by ordering the simultaneous attacks against facilities believed linked to terrorists suspected in the Aug. 7 bombings of U.S. embassies in east Africa. (416K wav sound)
"Just a few days ago in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, we saw what happens when people who hate America and hate freedom decide to kill Americans," Gingrich said. "They did so in a way in which we have to respond.
Sen. Dan Coats:
"We have every reason to believe that this terrorist organization will try to hurt other Americans," Gingrich said.
Other key members of Congress also quickly voiced their approval for the decisive military action, including Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas), House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.), and Sens. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah).
First he is criticized by the right for doing nothing, than he is citied for approving action. Are you really accusing him or using the military to "cover up" his affair??
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