There's this idea in the world that the US military is so overwhelmingly powerful that no nation could stand against it, and I gotta say that screams propaganda and not reality.
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There's this idea in the world that the US military is so overwhelmingly powerful that no nation could stand against it, and I gotta say that screams propaganda and not reality.
Every war we've engaged in since WW2, except the Gulf War, we've lost. Like, straight up "Empire self-own" lost. "Blood and treasure flushed down the toilet" lost.
But sure, we're the most powerful military on the planet. I guess. But we don't know how to win wars, and can't seem to figure it out, so...who cares?
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There's this idea in the world that the US military is so overwhelmingly powerful that no nation could stand against it, and I gotta say that screams propaganda and not reality.
Every war we've engaged in since WW2, except the Gulf War, we've lost. Like, straight up "Empire self-own" lost. "Blood and treasure flushed down the toilet" lost.
But sure, we're the most powerful military on the planet. I guess. But we don't know how to win wars, and can't seem to figure it out, so...who cares?
Why doesn't anyone ever talk about this?
It seems relevant to our own national security, tbh.
It's like we've got the aesthetics of overwhelming Imperial might, but the operational specificity and success rate of a bomb dropped toward a target from 40,000 feet.
A lot of destroying, not a lot of winning. A lot of spending, not a lot of gaining.
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There's this idea in the world that the US military is so overwhelmingly powerful that no nation could stand against it, and I gotta say that screams propaganda and not reality.
Every war we've engaged in since WW2, except the Gulf War, we've lost. Like, straight up "Empire self-own" lost. "Blood and treasure flushed down the toilet" lost.
But sure, we're the most powerful military on the planet. I guess. But we don't know how to win wars, and can't seem to figure it out, so...who cares?
@johnzajac Canada? Greenland? And people who've been targeted by the US military. The US losing wars it's been involved in is small consolation to the folks who've lived through them.
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There's this idea in the world that the US military is so overwhelmingly powerful that no nation could stand against it, and I gotta say that screams propaganda and not reality.
Every war we've engaged in since WW2, except the Gulf War, we've lost. Like, straight up "Empire self-own" lost. "Blood and treasure flushed down the toilet" lost.
But sure, we're the most powerful military on the planet. I guess. But we don't know how to win wars, and can't seem to figure it out, so...who cares?
@johnzajac I'm not afraid of the US army anymore, and they might invade soon. Everything they do, they do poorly. Haven't won a war since WW2. Have no idea how to quell an insurgent force despite decades of practice doing ONLY THIS? Arm "allied" gangs, only to be turned into pink mist by them? It's like the russian army except with a bigger budget. Yall are about to have an aircraft carrier sunk by a canoe loaded with explosives lol
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Why doesn't anyone ever talk about this?
It seems relevant to our own national security, tbh.
It's like we've got the aesthetics of overwhelming Imperial might, but the operational specificity and success rate of a bomb dropped toward a target from 40,000 feet.
A lot of destroying, not a lot of winning. A lot of spending, not a lot of gaining.
@johnzajac Yeah, we may have the biggest budget, but we certainly don't know how to war.
Reminded of a read of Sun Tzu's Art of War: It's not a tome of deep knowledge, it's him desperately trying to convey the basics to chickenhawk nobility. It's Waging War for Dummies.
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@johnzajac Canada? Greenland? And people who've been targeted by the US military. The US losing wars it's been involved in is small consolation to the folks who've lived through them.
I'm not trying to console anyone, nor am I minimizing the destructive power of the US military or the experience of its victims.
But the popular idea that a nation couldn't defend itself from the US is nonsense. We don't know how to wage war in a way that actually secures our interests, which is ostensibly the purpose of waging war.
This is a *key difference* between the US and empires of the past: they knew how and when to conquer other places, and when to let them be.
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Why doesn't anyone ever talk about this?
It seems relevant to our own national security, tbh.
It's like we've got the aesthetics of overwhelming Imperial might, but the operational specificity and success rate of a bomb dropped toward a target from 40,000 feet.
A lot of destroying, not a lot of winning. A lot of spending, not a lot of gaining.
I will also say that the idea that a State must have a huge standing army is both nonsense and utterly self-destructive.
Look at Ukraine: before Russia invaded, their military was small and inexperienced. But people have a tendency to take up arms when they're being conquered.
The real "defensive military" is just a happy, healthy and supported populace who are willing to protect their communities.
Standing armies were and are a huge mistake, and should be abolished.
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I will also say that the idea that a State must have a huge standing army is both nonsense and utterly self-destructive.
Look at Ukraine: before Russia invaded, their military was small and inexperienced. But people have a tendency to take up arms when they're being conquered.
The real "defensive military" is just a happy, healthy and supported populace who are willing to protect their communities.
Standing armies were and are a huge mistake, and should be abolished.
This thread inspired by Mark Rutte's comments that Europe - a continent famous for its brutal and extremely successful global military banditry, e.,g. colonialism - could "never defend itself" without the US.
smh
Hubris, thy name is the US Empire.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/31/european-defence-disarray-future-nato-trump
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