Should the army be privatised?

I think our goverment spends 2.2% GDP on our armed forces - that is FA to be honest. What they do for that is amazing and to suggest they do nothing is insulting. They do NOT just sit around waiting for a war. If other aspects need supplementing - then they need to be given more money. Though they spend more than they need just to maintain their current budget [for the next year] .

I think you have been eating one to many burgers Mr MacDonald.

 

I have seen too much "damage" to this world by corporations, etc; to even begin to believe that the army should be a private enterprise.

 

you know, they shouldn't send another 20.000 troups to Iraq, they should send 20.000 musicians! you know what Iraq & Afghanistan really need? the need a Bob Dylan.
They need a John Lennon! A Figure head to unite the people in peace through music...

I believe this with all my heart...
What do you think?

 

cant we all just sit down, smoke a big fat peace pipe, and say fuck this biblical holy war bullshit. oh, if it were only that simple. but its not even about whats going on over there, its whats making it happen, over here.

 

Well i think music is a powerful tool - but i'm not sure if that type of music is appropriate in the eyes of many muslims. Singing is supposedly forbiden in Islam - but clarity on that may be helpful.

The sad fact is if 20.000 musicians entered Iraq not many of them would come back alive. The people who kill are not interested in a peaceful resolution where we ''all get along'' or ''love love love'' they live in the harsh reality of wanting Iraq for the war lords and governing powers that hate western values - especially Bob Dylan and his ilk.

It is a very nice idea but slightly fanciful...sorry.

 

Do you people not realise that Halliburton equips and supplies the US army?

Not only that, the US troops are in Iraq protecting the oil wells and other installations that the USA is building, for Halliburton, all out of taxpayers money?

Surely the US army is now a private army owned by halliburton, basically Halliburton supplies the army with fuel and then inflates the price and charges the taxpayer the inflated price.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/katrina/story/0,16441,1567183,00.html

The USA and UK are currently the worlds biggest provider of street drugs, oil, and weapons

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070326/scahill_ordower

http://politics.netscape.com/story/2007/02/23/a-new-chapter-in-the-on-going-halliburton-controversy

http://www.finanznachrichten.de/nachrichten-2006-11/artikel-7251393.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halliburton

 

Oh boy oh boy, that sounds like a big chunk of US Propaganda to me!
You might not think it, but they're actually almost human over there...
The Tell jokes, they cheer sing and dance too you know...

I'm not saying we should send Bob Dylan! i'm saying there should be one there, one of there own.
Music unites people, music harmonises.
Eastern music is very beautiful, i think...
and i've seen it touch people in the same way, we would sing along with Let it be, or hey Jude, or anyother song...

 

Yes I did - in part they do - in total - they do not.

True

False

True

False

True - they are attempting to get the overpricing millions BACK.

False

False

True

 

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=music+++islam&meta=
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_music#Vocal_styles
http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=1&ID=1786&CATE=142

I know - i know - i'm not a rascist idiot. Just check out what Islam feels about singing and music - and how controversial it is - before you start thinking i'm not aware of how ''Human'' people are ''over there''

I know - i agree - we would just have to be careful what type of music we were to use - that is all.

mmmm

 

When is that going to happen and who is making it happen?

 

When:
I have no idea when it will occur - it could take a few years. I doubt it will be for the FULL amount more likely about 10-15%.

Who:
Pentagon officials from the Defense Contracting Audit Agency

Obligatory comment:
US Vice President Dick Cheney was the previous boss of Halliburton.

 

Actually you know as well as I do MBworkrelated that the British went in to Afghanistan to secure its poppy fields that the british monarchy has claimed ownership to for at least 300 years, and they are also there to try and effect ively police the route that the oil pipeline out of Iraq will take.

The Usa is involved in Massive cocaine deals. When they find tons of cocaine, opium etc etc etc - who do you think has enough money to finance that - I mean for real who finances say a 6 million deal? thats governments dont give me that stupid answer that governments arent involved in drugs just look at the history of the CIA when GW's dad was in charge of it ! The bush family is cocain and the british monarchi is, and has been since at least the beginning of the reign of victoria, opium and heroin dealers - its the very reason cannabis is outlawed in britain (see the dispute with egypt and victorian england)

 

You think Cheney is going to force repayment...I've got a bridge I'll sell you.

 

If ultimate responsibility is in his hands - then hell no.

From what i have read Undersecretary of Defense Tina W. Jonas has that responsibility.

But looking at this they have enough to worry about over the next 5-8 years.
What were talking here is a pee in the ocean.

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/....gpo.gov/congress/senate/pdf/109hrg/21173.pdf

 

I'd say that is true - i'd agree with that. Along with many other agendas.

Eh ? i'm not sure about that one. Where did you get that one from ?.

[Again] I'd say that is true - i'd agree with that. Along with many other agendas.

I've heard this said - how true it is i do not know. Moving that amount of cocain is very difficult - not that i know what 6million dollars worth of cocain looks like - to be honest.
I'd say there is corruption somewher along the line - that is true.

I'm not going to disagree with you - i just wonder what the raison d'être was/is.

I do not think you would get that to stand up in court - the cocain trade is much older than the ''Bush family'' - anyhoo i thought they were the architects of the global oil trade. One movement of their finger raises or decreases the price of oil.

I agree - how true it is NOW is questionable. Obviously once upon a time it was not illegal and vast amounts of money was made on it.

http://opioids.com/timeline/index.html

LETTER OF ADVICE TO QUEEN VICTORIA (1839)

http://acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/com-lin.html

2005, 166 years later president Hu Jintao is in London, he could inquire whether Queen Victoria ever received and/or read the letter which was sent to her by the Chinese commisssioner, from Canton.

OPIUM IN CHINA (1841 - 1842 - 1852 - 1856 - 1905 - 1910)

1841 - The Chinese are defeated by the British in the First Opium War. Along with paying a large idemnity, Hong Kong is ceded to the British.

1842 - The Treaty of Nanking between the Queen of Great Britain and the Emperor of China is sisned.

1852 - The British arrive in Burma, importing large quantities of opium from India and selling it through a government controlled opium monopoly.

1856 - The British and French renew their hostilities against China in the Second Opium War. In the aftermath of the struggle, China is forced to pay another indemnity. THE IMPORTATION OF OPIUM IS LEGALIZED. Opium production increases along the highlands of Southeast Asia.

1905 - U.S. Congress bans opium. (sic.)

1910 - The Chinese are finally successful in convincing the British to dismantle the (British) INDIA-CHINA opium trade. (Exactly 71 years after Lin Tse-Hsü sent his letter to Queen Victoria!)

The British trading companies made huge profits in the Asian opium trade for more than seven decades.


http://opioids.com/timeline/index.html

2005 - The Afghan & the U.S. authorities now "control" the opium trade which flourishes in Afghanistan!

http://opioids.com/afghanistan/index.html

IMPERIALISM IN ASIA - HISTORY

THE OPIUM TRADE was a vital source of revenue for some European nations, and opium was also used to subdue China, through the two Opium Wars which were waged in the mid-19th. century

http://home.online.no/~ro-lud/historie/ok.html

 

It is highly unlikely and infact positively certain that only stupid idiots would give up pedalling drugs to hudereds of millions of people worldwide, and it is they who control the source that make the money - No doubt about it, its something I have known for 15 years that the Monarchy of great britain rests part of its fortune to this very day on worlwide distribution of heroin and dabbles in other drugs. They can take me to court for saying it or have me secretly executed down a fucking back alley it wont make it less true. If it is their policy how can I disagree with it ? If it is not their policy then its just a case now of having transparency over just why the fuck we increased heroin production since chucking the taliban out ?? As a policy !!!! you dont think the talliban were there to create a fucking theocracy do you ???? hahaha your constant siding broadly with party political stances leaves it to the imagination as to whether you are in fact a government worker or have just been totally suckered by them

 

I'll repeat ''Eh ? i'm not sure about that one. Where did you get that one from ?.''

WHERE ?
Aside from a few sarcastic remarks i agreed with you on the majority of the points you made - I'm not going to say that the royalty have their hands in the global opium trade NOW.
That is not ''siding broadly with party political stances '' that is just me disagreeing with you - like i'd imagine a lot of people would disagree with you. Infact i doubt there is a official govermental line on ''the Queen's interests in the global opium trade'' - neither i'd imagine does any political party of any colour have any comments to make about this subject - i shall have a look though.

 

wow, this went from privatizing the army to the government's involvement in drugs. anyway, privatizing the entire army would be stupid. and the army isnt currently private, it just gets supplied by private corporations. of course they do push for as much war as possible so they can sell shit to the army. as far as privatizing the army, we(US gov.) dont need to. we just hire mercenaries. we currently have mercenaries looking for osama bin laden and we had mercenaries looking for suddam husein. i do think it would be good to have the army do jobs in the states when there isnt as much war activity. as far as the governments being involved in the drug trade, i don't know much about it. it wouldn't surprise me though if they are.

 

What made some of you think that the army just sits on its ass until a war comes around? Media? Previously serve? The army is the largest service in the armed forces, does most of the work, loses most people in combat, etc. and DOES NOT get most of the money! It's more expensive to build bombers, submarines, etc. than equip soldiers. You can thank your Department of Defense for spending billions more (after Iraq started and ground war turned really bad for the army) on bombers, nuclear submarines, and other bullshit like that while ground soldiers don't have fucking armor on the humvees. By the way, soldiers that put their ass on the line and die make around 20-25K a year (because most infantry troops are E4's and below by rank). Mercenaries make at least triple that, around 75K +

Don't get me wrong, I'm totally against the war and the united states' imperialism. Also, Halliburton (of which Cheney was previous CEO), mercenaries, weapon testing on animals, huge defense contracts for weapon experimentation etc. Privatising the army would not be good...

 

What Audit Agency is that? For years we've been told it's impossible to audit the military. Why is that? Taxpayer funds are being spent but we are being told an accurate audit is impossible. Would that be acceptable in the private world of business?