The military is Constitutional, and national security is Job#1.
Want to cut something... look outside our national security interests... there is a ginormous pig, squealing, farting, belching and puking... trying to hide behind the national security Eagle.
Here is what the pig looks like, and those spinning numbers won't stop if we cut all our military expenditures.
U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time
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Thank you for your emotional argument with assorted irrelevant facts and opinions. I do not understand the relevance of your assertion that the military is constitutional to my argument of imperialism is expensive. Both assertions can be true and one does not refute the other.
To take on your issues directly, note the preamble to the US Consistitution:
"...We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence,[note 1] promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America...."
1. Note the that US Government has broad charters for several things, the common defence being one of many. I do not see any particular ranking of the broad tasks of the government under this charter. I am not certain how you deduce that "national security" much less "common defence" is "job #1).
2. "our national security interests" is a very vague term and is not necessarily "common defence"
3. Our forefathers did not envision a standing army.... it is impossible to be an imperialist nation without a standing army. Therefore, I do not believe they would be particularly happy with how be have perverted "common defence" as a meaning we should have bases throughout the world and be in the middle of the domestic issues of others, given our very existence is because of rebellion from UK imperialism. (my opinion)
4. Our desire to conquer and manipulate the world is broadly tucked under our "national security interests".... but what we do under that umbrella is open for debate.
5. Having a weak balance sheet (debt and running deficits) could be argued as a threat to "national security"
6. I understand the debt clock. I don't believe, however, you can be serious about getting our financial house in order if you are unwilling to look at the defense budget, which is by far our largest discretionary budget item. If you want bases in Iraq, then please explain how we pay for them (taxes?)
7. No where in my post did I suggest cutting "all of our military expenditures" or confining budget cuts only to the defense department.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALw3Nc0XKJ0
http://www.ronpaul.com/2010-07-08/ron-paul-and-barney-frank-cut-military-spending/
Sorry, I am very much off topic here, we can take this debate to one of the many deficit fixing threads. Feel free to answer here:
http://www.debatepolitics.com/break...-wasteful-government-spending-deficit-16.html