How does our country benefit from being constantly involved in the Middle East?

[sijoint]

Where did anyone hear that it isn't the reason? Most people in this country probably couldn't name a single ME country prior to about 1973. Our entire involvement in the ME is economics, based around the oil.

Here's a hint, if OPEC was centered in Kenya or the Sudan, we'd have fought about 10 wars in Africa in the last 40 years.

Ok, if ME oil is the problem??....right now the US has plenty of oil....dont have enough storage space to contain it all. Oil supplies for the US is not a problem, yet Democrats fight fracking, oil production, pipelines......anything oil. The US has had very few incidents from fracking, the State Depaertment has deemed it safe.....
How about the idea that we are in the ME because we do not want war in our country? It doesn't seem like Obama/Democratsdon't care if the war comes to us instead of keeping the war with them. Keep those that hate us from invading us. Also, the principle of "a good offense is a better defense." Strength keeps us safe Weakness gets us killed" Obama's philosophyweakness could get us killed. Paris first.....America next....Americans have not been this concerned since WWII.

 

[SSG T]

Ok, if ME oil is the problem??....right now the US has plenty of oil....dont have enough storage space to contain it all. Oil supplies for the US is not a problem, yet Democrats fight fracking, oil production, pipelines......anything oil. The US has had very few incidents from fracking, the State Depaertment has deemed it safe.....
How about the idea that we are in the ME because we do not want war in our country? It doesn't seem like Obama/Democratsdon't care if the war comes to us instead of keeping the war with them. Keep those that hate us from invading us. Also, the principle of "a good offense is a better defense." Strength keeps us safe Weakness gets us killed" Obama's philosophyweakness could get us killed. Paris first.....America next....Americans have not been this concerned since WWII.

A. Yelling doesn't make you right.

B. When and why did they start attacking us? Here's a hint, it has NOTHING to do with our way of life, it has everything thing to do with our economic and political handling of the ME (all of both involving oil). If you believe otherwise you are either a fool or dumb.

US foreign policy in handling the ME has been stupid for 40+ years, and it's been handled equally bad by both parties and every POTUS since Nixon. People like you who assign it to one party or the other or one POTUS or the other are multiplying the problem exponentially.

 

[Lone Clone]

I don't get it. The U.S. is involved in every conflict in the Middle East, it seems. We invade, or take sides, give weapons to one side and completely piss off the other side. The price we pay is having to constantly deal with terrorism.

The Middle East is a total disaster and it will always be that way. The Muslims have been fighting with each other for 1,400 years, since their prophet died.

How does the U.S. benefit from our governments continual involvement? I think we need to get out...now.

Cheap dates.

 

[Joes Place]

A. Yelling doesn't make you right.

B. When and why did they start attacking us? Here's a hint, it has NOTHING to do with our way of life, it has everything thing to do with our economic and political handling of the ME (all of both involving oil). If you believe otherwise you are either a fool or dumb.

US foreign policy in handling the ME has been stupid for 40+ years, and it's been handled equally bad by both parties and every POTUS since Nixon. People like you who assign it to one party or the other or one POTUS or the other are multiplying the problem exponentially.

Exactly.

And while we DO have oil, we DO NOT have oil we can access/recover at $40-50 a barrel, like they can in the ME. We have $70-100/barrel oil. And we do not have all that much of it, compared with the reserves in the ME.

So, we could tell them to shove it and just (essentially) ban oil imports and use only our domestic resources; but the cost per barrel would jump substantially, and when we started running low on oil, we would be completely screwed, and 100% dependent on foreign sources again.

We don't necessarily need 'oil', we need 'energy', and oil, coal, natural gas are some of the least expensive sources of energy, in part because we have spent trillions of dollars in the infrastructure to support their use. Switching to other sources will require new infrastructure, and the companies/entities who currently own or develop the existing infrastructure have a vested interest in keeping the status quo.

 

[86Hawkeye]

Yes. They are attacking us because we're attacking them. They wouldn't even exist if we didn't topple Saddam Hussein.

No, they wouldn't exist if Obama had not left Iraq too early when AQ in Iraq (ISIS) was flat on it's back.

Who did we attack to justify AQ attacking us on 911?

 

[86Hawkeye]

"ISIS" will never have its caliphate.
Iran would take over the region as soon as we and other Western nations left things to themselves. The Saudis would wage an insurgency against them and merge with ISIS. Israel would be in the middle of it all.
Iran simply won't let a Sunni insurgency take ownership of all the Iraqi and Kurdish oil reserves.

So long as we supported Israel, we would still be a target, so it really depends on what you mean by 'leave the Middle East forever'. If we let Israel fend for itself and stop supporting them with weapons/funding, then it's a decent bet the Sunnis and Shia will leave us alone and fight it out amongst themselves.

So let Israel fend for themselves (zero aid from the U.S.).......problem solved?

 

[86Hawkeye]

"ISIS" will never have its caliphate.

They have it now!

 

[Joes Place]

They have it now!

No, they don't. And it's a virtual guarantee that Iran will never allow it.

 

[sijoint]

A. Yelling doesn't make you right.

B. When and why did they start attacking us? Here's a hint, it has NOTHING to do with our way of life, it has everything thing to do with our economic and political handling of the ME (all of both involving oil). If you believe otherwise you are either a fool or dumb.

US foreign policy in handling the ME has been stupid for 40+ years, and it's been handled equally bad by both parties and every POTUS since Nixon. People like you who assign it to one party or the other or one POTUS or the other are multiplying the problem exponentially.

The US cannot put their domestic oil on the world market because current law prevents it. Opening up/marketing/selling oil to our allies (that is opposed by most Democrats/favored by most Republicans) on the world market would be beneficial for our country and others, especially now that we are now a major energy producing nation. More competition=better product=cheaper gas prices=less fighting.
The US is finally nearly independent of foreign oil,natural gas.....but who is anti oil companies, antifracking, anti-coal, anti-anything fossil fuel. Yet you listen and even worship Al Gore, the massage therapist rapist, as if what he told you is all true. Environmental issues, of course, but the way Democrats handle is just like Obama handles thinga......does it his way, bullshits, demonizes those that oppose him, lies, is stubborn and unbending......no national energy policy worked out among all
sides....all opinions....both politicsl party'.....it's his/your way or the.....
BTW...your B. You are a typical "blame the US" for all the world problems liberal. Instead of defending our system by working with the other side....you are a huge hypocrit. What you wrote under B is bullshit....again, typical liberal bullshit.

 

[Joes Place]

The US cannot put their domestic oil on the world market because current law prevents it. Opening up/marketing/selling oil to our allies (that is opposed by most Democrats/favored by most Republicans) on the world market would be beneficial for our country and others, especially now that we are now a major energy producing nation. More competition=better product=cheaper gas prices=less fighting.

No; the US domestic oil producers cannot put their oil on world markets, because it cannot compete with the cheaper oil available elsewhere. And the US uses much more oil than it produces currently, so even at 100% internal use, we are still importing.

Of course, we could just call Canada a US state (like some on here think it is) and pretend we are not importing....