Poll: Does the USA Overly Abuse the Power it has?

[keyton777]

Eh, it does what any country would do if it had the power and influence America has. America seeks to protect its own interests, and often, given how far-reaching those interests are, this leads to conflict with other nations.

Yes, America oversteps its bounds at times (Iraq comes to mind), but I think it's primarily due to a zealous sense of superiority, rather than an intentionally arrogant or aggressive demeanor.

Fix't.

I quite disagree, as a matter of fact. As an American, I do not see myself as inherently superior to any other person of any other nationality, nor do I see my country as inherently superior. It simply happens to be the most powerful at the present time in history.

Exactly.

Wait, isnt that China? Arent they funding your wars? Dont you owe shit-loads of money to them?
Point being, what does POWER mean when we are trying to achieve peace?

no, i doubt we owe china shitloads of money, i think we owe the world shitloads of money, and they owe the same to everyone else

It's not that we 'owe' them a shitload of money, it's that China currently owns $700 Billion in US Treasury Bonds. That much is certainly true.

where is the US debt at now? last i looked it was at 5 trillion i think >.>

Somewhere around there yeah, but not all of that is money that other countries have invested in US Treasury Bonds. Allot of the National Debt of America is literally, money the government owes itself. Very strange I know, but it's true.

oh.....thanks for clearing that up for me, just how much does the US owe other countries anyway?

 

[Lord George]

At times yes, but we do nothing even near as bad as what Europe did

I don't think Europe as a collective has ever done anything bad except fighting itself.


But yes America abuses its power, I wouldn't mind that but it also seems to like to pretend it doesn't, at least the great empires like Rome/Britian ect. were honest about attacking and pillaging other countries.

Hmm, the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, WW2 (I'm pretty sure people in Africa were killed during WW2...I could totally be wrong though...no wait, I'm not. Hence the term 'World War 2') Shall I continue?

Thats not Europe that's England/Spain/France/Russia/Poland/Australia, you can't judge all the other countries in Europe on the actions of a few countries.

All of those countries, except for Russia and maybe...maybe Austria are considered part of Europe. You people continue to generalize Americans to suit your own ends in demonizing every single one of us. The same can and will be done to you. The collective of 'Europe' is responsible for a great many deaths, more than America really, considering several European countries help in the pacification of the Native American Indians, however, the US is responsible for a large portion of that. Next time you feel like lobbing bullshit accusations at an entire society, make sure you're without guilt also.

I love the fact you just generalised all Europeans as American hating, the irony is quite delectable I infact consider all the Americans I've met to have been quite nice people and hope to visit America in my future travels, its only its Government I have a problem with. I have no idea why you seek to argue so intently when all I stated was that Europe is not a collective like the USA and does not move as one. It is a number of countries varying drastically in culture and belief composed of members who all hate each other and thus you can't really say "Europe did" this or that because we have no ruling government and are connected by little then geographical locality. But enough of this I fear I have gone off topic enough for one thread.

Because, most of the haters on this forum, are intent on generalizing all American's in a derrogatory fashion. The broad paint brush, YOU people, paint us with, is downright disgusting. And personally, I hold you all responsible, until you all do something about it.

Fine then, can I call all Americans ignorant, racists, homophobes because I've come across some of them and until they're dealt with I'll have to assume your all like that

 

[Lexodus]

China has 180 nukes. U.S has over 4,000 nukes.

No one will ever fuck with the u.s at its doorsteps.

Crazy fuckin' idea, right here: what if China used its nukes to detonate America's nukes?

well, then the US, and her allies, will reduce china into the biggest radiated zone on earth, and all of humaninity would move into underground cities the size of canada

How, if all of them are dead (due to MASSIVE EXPLOSIONS from over 4000 nukes) and the ones that survive have no nukes left to fire.

 

[keyton777]

to anyone that is actually reading this thread like just did, if you notice i have posted an insane number of times, i dont know how to link all the quotes i did together into one post, even thou it would be a post longer than my -insert long body part here-

 

[keyton777]

China has 180 nukes. U.S has over 4,000 nukes.

No one will ever fuck with the u.s at its doorsteps.

Crazy fuckin' idea, right here: what if China used its nukes to detonate America's nukes?

well, then the US, and her allies, will reduce china into the biggest radiated zone on earth, and all of humaninity would move into underground cities the size of canada

How, if all of them are dead (due to MASSIVE EXPLOSIONS from over 4000 nukes) and the ones that survive have no nukes left to fire.

you do know how a nuke works right?
just because you hit one with a big boom doesnt mean its going to go nuclear, you have to set off the chain reaction to get the massive fireball, if not, your just blowing up plutonium and spreading the undetonated bomb everywhere, thats just one nuclear blast from the bomb that hit the other bomb, not so much to be feared, also, the Us's nukes are almost 150ft underground, how the fuck is an ICBM going to have any effect that far down?, no fireball, no fallout at that depth.

EDIT: also, the chances of 180 nukes wiping 4000 out are astronomical, so chinas fucked in a nuclear exhange.
kinda like a big base in starcraft VS 12 nukes hitting at random. god i love that tactic

 

[Zyxzy]

Ah, everyone else would do the same thing if they could.

 

[keyton777]

Eh, it does what any country would do if it had the power and influence America has. America seeks to protect its own interests, and often, given how far-reaching those interests are, this leads to conflict with other nations.

Yes, America oversteps its bounds at times (Iraq comes to mind), but I think it's primarily due to a zealous sense of superiority, rather than an intentionally arrogant or aggressive demeanor.

Fix't.

I quite disagree, as a matter of fact. As an American, I do not see myself as inherently superior to any other person of any other nationality, nor do I see my country as inherently superior. It simply happens to be the most powerful at the present time in history.

Exactly.

Wait, isnt that China? Arent they funding your wars? Dont you owe shit-loads of money to them?
Point being, what does POWER mean when we are trying to achieve peace?

no, i doubt we owe china shitloads of money, i think we owe the world shitloads of money, and they owe the same to everyone else

It's not that we 'owe' them a shitload of money, it's that China currently owns $700 Billion in US Treasury Bonds. That much is certainly true.

where is the US debt at now? last i looked it was at 5 trillion i think >.>

Somewhere around there yeah, but not all of that is money that other countries have invested in US Treasury Bonds. Allot of the National Debt of America is literally, money the government owes itself. Very strange I know, but it's true.

oh.....thanks for clearing that up for me, just how much does the US owe other countries anyway?

As best I could find:

Nation billions of dollars percentage

People's Republic of China 739.6 24.07%
Japan 634.8 20.66%
Oil exporters 186.3 6.06%
Caribbean banking centers 176.6 5.75%
Brazil 133.5 4.35%
United Kingdom 124.2 4.04%
Russia 119.6 3.89%
Luxembourg 87.2 2.84%
Taiwan 73.3 2.39%
Hong Kong 71.7 2.33%
Switzerland 62.1 2.02%
Germany 56.4 1.84%
Republic of Ireland 50 1.63%
Singapore 38.3 1.25%
Thailand 37.2 1.21%
Mexico 34.9 1.14%
India 32.5 1.06%
Turkey 31.3 1.02%
Korea 31.3 1.02%
Norway 21.9 0.71%
France 17.9 0.58%
Israel 16.9 0.55%
Egypt 16.9 0.55%
Netherlands 16.8 0.55%
Italy 15.6 0.51%
Belgium 15.5 0.50%
Chile 15.2 0.49%
Sweden 12.4 0.40%
Philippines 11.6 0.38%
Colombia 11.3 0.37%
All other 179.4 5.84%

Grand Total 3072.2

i qoute george cralin "sweet jumping jesus".
also, hongkong? i wasnt aware they were a country, or at least, counted as one

 

[Lexodus]

China has 180 nukes. U.S has over 4,000 nukes.

No one will ever fuck with the u.s at its doorsteps.

Crazy fuckin' idea, right here: what if China used its nukes to detonate America's nukes?

well, then the US, and her allies, will reduce china into the biggest radiated zone on earth, and all of humaninity would move into underground cities the size of canada

How, if all of them are dead (due to MASSIVE EXPLOSIONS from over 4000 nukes) and the ones that survive have no nukes left to fire.

you do know how a nuke works right?
just because you hit one with a big boom doesnt mean its going to go nuclear, you have to set off the chain reaction to get the massive fireball, if not, your just blowing up plutonium and spreading the undetonated bomb everywhere, thats just one nuclear blast from the bomb that hit the other bomb, not so much to be feared, also, the Us's nukes are almost 150ft underground, how the fuck is an ICBM going to have any effect that far down?, no fireball, no fallout at that depth.

EDIT: also, the chances of 180 nukes wiping 4000 out are astronomical, so chinas fucked in a nuclear exhange.
kinda like a big base in starcraft VS 12 nukes hitting at random. god i love that tactic

I know. I was speaking hypothetically there. Basically, use the domino effect and hope that there are multiple close enough to take each other out. Plus, aiming at a nuke storage (possibly taking one out if you're Star Wars lucky) would level a city, so if you take out the densely populated ones (or the capital) you stand slightly more of a chance. Still fucked tho' at that, you win.

 

[annoyinglizardvoice]

Most nations either abuse power in some way.
I think one of the big problems with the USA is a failure to understand the full effects of their use of power.
While Bush was in power there was a clear sense of carelessness with the USA's implimentation of power, but it doesn't seem quite as bad now.

 

[keyton777]

China has 180 nukes. U.S has over 4,000 nukes.

No one will ever fuck with the u.s at its doorsteps.

Crazy fuckin' idea, right here: what if China used its nukes to detonate America's nukes?

well, then the US, and her allies, will reduce china into the biggest radiated zone on earth, and all of humaninity would move into underground cities the size of canada

How, if all of them are dead (due to MASSIVE EXPLOSIONS from over 4000 nukes) and the ones that survive have no nukes left to fire.

you do know how a nuke works right?
just because you hit one with a big boom doesnt mean its going to go nuclear, you have to set off the chain reaction to get the massive fireball, if not, your just blowing up plutonium and spreading the undetonated bomb everywhere, thats just one nuclear blast from the bomb that hit the other bomb, not so much to be feared, also, the Us's nukes are almost 150ft underground, how the fuck is an ICBM going to have any effect that far down?, no fireball, no fallout at that depth.

EDIT: also, the chances of 180 nukes wiping 4000 out are astronomical, so chinas fucked in a nuclear exhange.
kinda like a big base in starcraft VS 12 nukes hitting at random. god i love that tactic

I know. I was speaking hypothetically there. Basically, use the domino effect and hope that there are multiple close enough to take each other out. Plus, aiming at a nuke storage (possibly taking one out if you're Star Wars lucky) would level a city, so if you take out the densely populated ones (or the capital) you stand slightly more of a chance. Still fucked tho' at that, you win.

i see, well played, have a nice day

 

[Lexodus]

China has 180 nukes. U.S has over 4,000 nukes.

No one will ever fuck with the u.s at its doorsteps.

Crazy fuckin' idea, right here: what if China used its nukes to detonate America's nukes?

well, then the US, and her allies, will reduce china into the biggest radiated zone on earth, and all of humaninity would move into underground cities the size of canada

How, if all of them are dead (due to MASSIVE EXPLOSIONS from over 4000 nukes) and the ones that survive have no nukes left to fire.

you do know how a nuke works right?
just because you hit one with a big boom doesnt mean its going to go nuclear, you have to set off the chain reaction to get the massive fireball, if not, your just blowing up plutonium and spreading the undetonated bomb everywhere, thats just one nuclear blast from the bomb that hit the other bomb, not so much to be feared, also, the Us's nukes are almost 150ft underground, how the fuck is an ICBM going to have any effect that far down?, no fireball, no fallout at that depth.

EDIT: also, the chances of 180 nukes wiping 4000 out are astronomical, so chinas fucked in a nuclear exhange.
kinda like a big base in starcraft VS 12 nukes hitting at random. god i love that tactic

I know. I was speaking hypothetically there. Basically, use the domino effect and hope that there are multiple close enough to take each other out. Plus, aiming at a nuke storage (possibly taking one out if you're Star Wars lucky) would level a city, so if you take out the densely populated ones (or the capital) you stand slightly more of a chance. Still fucked tho' at that, you win.

i see, well played, have a nice day

And you as well. Tarrah!

 

[LaughingTarget]

Speaking of China, they have 20 functional nuclear weapons and only have the capability of delivering 5 of them to the US. Of those 5, none of them are on ballistic missiles strong enough to evade the AEGIS Ballistic Missile Defense System. The US simply outclasses them technologically on a level that makes their 1.3 billion people mostly meaningless, just so long as we don't try and invade them. They'd lose nearly their entire military force trying to cross the ocean.

China is not a nuclear or military threat to the US. The only nation that has the capability of striking the US with any form of reliability to evade the missile defense shield is Russia.

 

[Nuke_em_05]

Snip

You missed the part during the beginning of WWI where the United States decided, "Hey, lets become industrial and sell guns to both sides of this fight!" It worked rather well.

Not so much missed as unaware. Again, could be biased United States history classes, but I can't seem to find anything to validate that statement. From what I understand, the U.S. government under Wilson was a very strong advocate for peace in Europe up until the Zimmerman Telegram. That doesn't mean private U.S.-based industries couldn't have, but again, I've found nothing to indicate such, and even then you are blurring the lines between U.S. government and U.S. citizens (Defense contractors are private companies in the U.S.)

Ah, look around and you'll find that selling weapons is how the U.S. has operated for quite some time. Not saying there is anything wrong with selling guns when your not involved. You gotta make money somehow when your usual trading ports are...closed off.

I am aware that U.S. defense contractors also contract out to other countries and private militias, as they are themselves private contractors. Again, there is a distinction between a the United States government and private United States citizens and businesses. My point was that I couldn't find any legitimate source to support the idea that any United States entity, public or private, sold weapons to either "side" before entering the first World War.

 

[HentMas]

YES... but there is nothing wrong with it, every other country would do it if they could, in fact, every other country does to his people, the fact that the US also does it in other countries just makes it get more attention.

 

[Nuke_em_05]

Snip

damn, you really didnt pay any attention, the first bit was sorta right, but most of the bottom half was wrong more or less.... got the jist of it thou

I really didn't pay any attention to what?

Could you please specify which statements were incorrect? Also, after specifying, provide validation as to why so?

It's not that I can't accept that you disagree; simply, I can't tell with what you disagree, or why.

 

[A random person]

Well we did declare war on Iraq in search of they mythical WMD's and changed why we were fighting afterwords, so I'd say we did but we're not quite as bad now.

 

[Squiggers]

Yes, particularly in regards to allies. A single, good, example of this is the British-American extradition law. Very much one-sided.

The Americans only have to demand it, and not have to present evidence of anything for someone to be deported, and it can't be contested in normal courts. We Brits however, have to give evidence, and submit it to American courts.

Very much one sided, and I can think of other things. It's not as bad as it was, now that Obama is in charge, thankfully.

 

[Bulletinmybrain]

Well we did declare war on Iraq in search of they mythical WMD's and changed why we were fighting afterwords, so I'd say we did but we're not quite as bad now.

The mythical WMD's were a cover for the real reason, the fact that the gulf war wasn't really a finished battle.

Anyways. To anybody who says the U.S should pull out: I will make this crystal clear. Go, quickly, remove your head out of your ass.

If the U.S would have pulled out after the fighting stopped, it would be Afghanistan 2.0.