Corrected Poll: World's Police Officer?

[Xiahou]

The US isn't fighting terror. Terrorist attacks haven't diminished at all - in fact they have increased. There hence must be some other explanation for what US policies are trying to acheive or an admission that the war on terror is a failiure.

Doesnt 'fighting', by definition, imply more attacks by both sides? After Pearl Harbor, when we declared war on Japan, did their attacks decrease?

[yesdachi]

So you would make world a one big colony for US? forget about it, even you guys cant pull that off.

You are totally right but just for arguments sake I will interject that no one thought Germany could be a threat to the world either and the US is considerably larger with more resources. If our next president had a little tiny mustache and could speak with some charisma the world should watch out.

[Kagemusha]

Yesdachi.Thats my biggest fear.It would mean the end of the world,im afraid.You are right about the Germany before WWII the world just couldnt believe what the Nazis represented.Instead they lived in a falce hope.
Wise man hopes for the best and prepares for the worse.

[Franconicus]

Hmm.. this is closest to what I would like to see happen, but the military would be a last resort to get rogue nations under the US's control. Its very expensive and costly in other ways to invade and occupy of course.

It would be most beneficial to the US and to the rest of the world(although they dont like to admit it ;)) to control the globe through economic and other less interferring ways. Modern nations such as those in Europe would be almost entirely independent unless they got out of line, and third world nations would benefit greatly... the US couldnt do a worse job of dragging them into the 20th century than has already been done.

If all went well no nations but the US would feel the need to even have a strong military - like in Europe - and a Pax Americana would begin. Everyone would live happily and be able to focus on other matters besides defense as the US would ensure democracies militarily.

This will never happen of course... but im just answering what I think would be best for the US and the world.

Panzer,
when I was a little boy I saw all the trouble in the world (Vietnam, Israel and so on). My idea was to conquer the world and make it a better and peaceful world. I had no doubt that I could handle that. Hey, this idiot from Austria had almost made it and I was much smarter then. Guess it was due to a DNA demage - I am German you know. A couple of months older and wiser I realized that there were two hurdles:

1) Obviously I could conquer the world. Problem was to keep it peaceful. A strong central foreign government would create lots of 'freedom' fighters. So I would be busy to kill them all the time. That did not match with my goals.
2) Nukes. Nukes are a reality. And to conquer the world I had to depopulate big parts of it.

So I realized that the whole plan just would not pay. And I started working on my scientific career.

[Idaho]

I though you werre generally opposed to big government , you can't get any bigger than what you put forward there .

Very telling that the one point Panzer doesn't confront is the one that shows the fundamental inconsistency behind his views.