Video the country was never supposed to see…. SOS John Kerry introduces Admiral Ace Lyons to speak at a private meeting. He probably regrets doing so. This video probably won’t be around long..
Video the country was never supposed to see…. SOS John Kerry introduces Admiral Ace Lyons to speak at a private meeting. He probably regrets doing so. This video probably won’t be around long..
One man’s opinion. Worth absorbing relative to reaction and history. I, myself, am opposed to an aggressive military. We’ve lost so many times at major expense then paid reparations. I do believe we should have a ready military with emphasis on strength and world famous technology. Next time, enter late like we did in WW2. We came out then as the greatest power on earth. Making war materials for the allies and losing fewer lives leads to a strong economy and a patriotic population.
I wonder what Ace’s position on Vietnam is. He probably still thinks we could have won it, too.
Lyons forgets to mention that the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the Beirut bombing of the US Marine base in 1983 both happen during the Cold War and American options then where were much more complicated than they are today. An American president today can respond to attacks on American assets and/or its citizens without the concern that Soviet intercontinental missiles are only 25 minutes away from hitting New York, LA, or the missile silos near Minot.
But as I thought about some of the international historic events he mentioned, it caused me to ponder “what if,” especially in terms of Iran and the hostage situation in 1979-81.
What if both helicopters had worked in April of 1980, when Carter made an ill-fated attempt to rescue the hostages, how different the world could have looked today. There would have been no Reagan (Carter probably would have been re-elected), and no supply-side economics and the beginning of the robbing and destroying of the American middle-class.
Thus, most likely no GWH Bush or “Dubya”or even Jeb. Without the Bushes you could probably say “No” to the war in Panama, the Gulf War, 9/11, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the massive federal deficits of the last decade, and the greatest economic downturn since the 1930s.
The Soviet Union would have still collapsed even without Reagan (No, Ronny did not bring the Soviets down, what did bring them down was the fact that 50% of their GNP was being used to produce their military capability ((While the US was only using 5% of its GNP for military production)) long before Reagan ever started his military build-up).
As long as we still had Gorbachev (Who came to power after the interregnum period where the SU had had four different leaders in two in a half years while its communist economy was collapsing in free fall do to a competitive military build-up with the West long before Ronny entered the Oval office) to help with the peaceful transformation from the USSR to the Russian Federation, America as the only superpower in the world could have done so much with the once mentioned “Peace Dividend” , the eight years of economic growth under Clinton, and the fiscal surpluses under his leadership.
Without the Iraq War and the hawkish mentality as so exemplified by Lyon’s comments in particular, think of how much more credibility we would have in the world today. Think of how much more fiscal soundness and capability we would have also today to address our domestic concerns like health care, education, and our infra-structure….If only both helicopters had worked.
SOS John Kerry?
The admiral thanked “Frank” for the introduction.
Wow Winston, lots of supposition. I’ll agree, Ronald Reagan was a good president. The Star Wars scare was the bluff that ended the cold war. Carter’s contribution came after his term relative to charitable organizations. Rare for a president. They usually play golf and give 100k speeches.
History formulates itself. ‘What if’ doesn’t count. However, if we study history, we learn there are reoccurring patterns that can be recognized for the present. For example, there’s never been a democracy the size of the United States. Is it time for two countrys? Say, east & west of the Mississippi River. It would take a civil war because we’d never decide so. I’d say we’ve become a Republic in that PAC’s and the Electoral College decide our leadership.
Trump distressed me at first. I’d not vote for him but the popular vote might sway the Electoral College to put him into power. Money controls everything. This is especially true in Sioux Falls where but a few flagrantly and blatantly transitioned democracy into oligarchy. Trump seems he wants to give back. Face it, he doesn’t need money and can’t be bought. He has the boldness to tell it like it is and force progress. Congress is like the Sioux Falls City Council. They’re a dysfunctional status symbol enjoying applause and taking the cover charge without performance. Trump would be like strong mayor except he’d make things happen without building unnecessary indoor sports that gains him side favor wealth.
“The Star Wars scare was the bluff that ended the cold war”…… Yeah, and I have a bridge on 8th Street that I want to personally sell to you, too.
So in other words, the Kremlin said in the mid-1980s…”Oh my goodness, ‘Star Wars’ scares us, we quit!…”
The collapse of the Soviet Union had nothing to do with Reagan’s military build-up, which began to subside (thanks to the Democrats) before Gorbachev even took office in March of 1985, rather the collapse had to do with the Soviets trying to keep up with the US throughout the post WW II era in military capability; but it came at a greater cost to them than us (50% of SU GNP, 5% of US GNP) and it eventually led to their economic collapse which just so happen to coincide with the Reagan presidency.
If Mondale would have won in 1984 (He only needed 435 more electoral votes 😉 ) the same Soviet Union would have collapsed and the same wall would have came down in Berlin a few years later under his leadership as well.
As to Carter, if all of the helicopters would have worked in April of 1980, I think he would have been a two term president. Sure, Carter had hostages, gas lines, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but also had a human rights policy which led to the end of militaristic leadership throughout Latin America, the only significant and continual MiddleEast peace accord “Camp David,” and he also appointed Paul Volcker to head the Fed, which just so happens to be the only major Carter appointee that Reagan reappointed (actually he reappointed him twice). This is the same Volcker whose controversial monetary policy ended the stag-inflation of the 1970s and early 1980s which made possible the Reagan recovery – a recovery which was then spent at the time under the Reagan administration by the most significant collapse in the stock market since 1929 do to the de-regulatory mindset of the Reagan presidency.
Conservative historians often try to steal JFK and quote him or else they try to dismiss him as a myth. He was not a myth, but the Reagan myth needs to be told…. Reagan did not end the cold war and his four year economic recovery would have never happen without the monetary policy of Volcker who was a Carter appointee….
To paraphrase Reagan, you seem to trust conservative historians, but it is time you verify them..
the soviet union collapsed because the russkies saw rocky beat drago in rocky lV. after that, they knew it was over for them.
Or, maybe the collapse began when the Soviets first saw Major Kong ride the A-bomb in “Dr. Strangelove”…. Reagan was more a cowboy than Carter, now that is not a myth ;-)…
FF: 01:45
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snTaSJk0n_Y
Not so much John Kerry doing the intro –
and Ace Lyons is a Tea Party wingnut of Gordon Howe proportions
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/admiral-ace-lyons-alliance-between-obama-clinton-and-muslim-brotherhood-will-take-america-do
Anthony, I would agree. This whole BS about Obama being a secret Muslim is Uber Silly. Obama is a lot of things, including a lap dog for the corporatists, but I get really tired of him being accused of being an apologist for Islamic extremism. I will agree with one point, the extremists are very political, DUH.