The Alternative

By: 
Fritz Groszkruger

Defense, or offense
 
     The Russian threat is real if the Muslims don’t get here first. Sharia law was recently touted as imminent. But somehow it has been discovered that U.S. law, if enforced, should prevent imposition of Sharia? Now we watch the skies for a “Red Dawn” style invasion of Russian paratroopers.
     In Ukraine, the duly elected Viktor Yanukovych was ousted by a Western-supported coup and we are to believe Putin is an aggressor when he helps Ukrainians loyal to their elected leader. And Crimean citizens voted overwhelmingly to secede and align with Russia and that’s called a Russian invasion. Now the Russians are in Syria, another disaster of no value to Americans. It’s the domino theory reborn. We are so afraid I expect there will soon be lines outside IRS offices of patriots seeking to donate to our diminished military so they can defend us from the hoards of uh, invaders.
     With all these dire headlines maybe The Alternative needs to look at alternatives. I think few Americans would turn down a couple extra bucks in tax savings if they are being squandered for no good purpose. But it seems like a pundit or politician who questions military spending is as rare as hen’s teeth nowadays.
     Leftists, who we could count on in the past as peaceniks, are now on the death and destruction bandwagon as well. That always made perfect sense to me, as war is the epitome of big government and leftists are fond of government directing our every move and dollar to make things fair. They might as well direct the lives and cash of foreigners too, eh?
     It’s a mandate, a groundswell of support for the forces of good over evil, this defense spending thing. Life is a comic book: Pow! Bam! There’s a lot of action, but nothing seems to change. A large portion of our world is like a leaky bucket and there’s plenty of money to be made on those leaks.
     All this “here’s a threat, there’s a threat” stuff got me to wondering, how do we compare to other nations?
     In 2009, the most recent time for comparative numbers, the United States spent $2,140 per person on defense compared to Russia’s $430. Russia has military bases in 10 countries, the United States has military bases in 74.
     China, the next highest spender to the U.S., spends $143 billion on defense. The U.S., $711 billion.
     The U.S. has 40,000 troops in Germany on 175 bases. The numbers are similar for Japan and Korea. These are countries American workers compete with and lose to in many industries. It seems like they should be capable of furnishing their own defense.
     What is this Russian threat? Does anyone seriously think an American on our soil will be harmed by a Russian? How about a Syrian? What is the meaning of the word defense? A private sector drained to support a bloated military looks a lot like the Soviet Union before Ronald Reagan supposedly scared them into bankruptcy.
     Our military has a serious efficiency deficit.
 
     Any response or addition to The Alternative is welcome at 4selfgovernment@gmail.com, www.alternativebyfritz.com or through a letter to this paper.

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