I'm not a fan of strict isolationism, but at the same time I'm not a fan of the US decide who should be in charge of other countries.

As a nation, we haven't always picked the best horse to back.

Pearl Harbor? How does that come to mind, we were already actively involved in WW2 via the Lend Lease Act to England.
The Attack on Pearl Harbor was not due to an isolationist policy.

Eventually these feelings translated into the USA leading an international movement to isolate Japan economically and thus force them to withdraw from China. Primarily the USA plan was to cut off credit to the Japanese which would prevent them from being able to purchase petroleum. Japan received petroleum (an absolutely vital economic and military commodity, then as it is now) from three sources: The USA, Dutch east indies (Indonesia) and Burma (British controlled in the 1940's). The USA inspired movement included all three sources.

Japan could/would not accept a withdrawal from the Chinese war and instead began planning a first strike against the USA navy. Eliminating or reducing the USA naval forces in the Pacific would make the Japanese navy paramount, and thus Japan would be able to defeat the economic consequences of the USA ultimatum. After eliminating the USA navy Japan planned to occupy the Dutch East Indies and Burma, thus gaining control of enough oil to run their military and economy.


You cannot re write history to fit your own views. It is what it is.

Would you have sex with a girl without a condom when you have one readily available, and then address the baby without an abortion?

Sorry, Slesh, but it is indeed a fact that American foreign policy was military isolationism in the decades following WWI right up until Pearl Harbor. I also think if you had Holocaust survivors in your family you might feel a little differently about how "successful" those isolationist policies were.

I think I'll bow out of this discussion now because I can feel the anger starting to build...

I'm not a fan of strict isolationism, but at the same time I'm not a fan of the US decide who should be in charge of other countries.

As a nation, we haven't always picked the best horse to back.

There's a difference between business decisions and physically using your forces to engage battle.

"Trade with everyone," right? We traded weapons with England. No one else asked for our help.

As for Pearl Harbor, the Japanese attacked us because of our embargoes on them; not because of the lend lease act with England.

Had we not become involved in WW2, Germany would have probably defeated all of Europe, and we would have been next.

Would you have sex with a girl without a condom when you have one readily available, and then address the baby without an abortion?

Would you let your car run out of gas and then have to walk to the gas station, rather than just stopping when it got low?

Would you let your garbage overflow in the kitchen instead of taking it out when the bag was full?

No.

Then why would you suggest we sit idly while evil empires are building up forces and threatening our national security?

In all fairness XC, most of the Western peoples dont want what has become our "democracies" either. But I guess that's a whole different discussion in general

What could be worse, or even as bad, as the current Islamic dictatorship?

The Taliban, Stalin's Russia

As flawed as our republic is, I can't think of another system of government on the planet I'd prefer.

They couldn't be the best two people we could come up with to be the leader of the free world. And if so, I question the stability of the free world anyway.

Well, honestly, the best 2 people we could come up with are probably busy running corporate empires.
They exist in America, politics just isn't a very attractive option when compared to being a ridiculously wealthy captain of industry or wildly successful serial entrepreneur.
Give that up to have your dirty laundry dragged across TV every 4 years? hell no.

The skill set that makes one a successful politician is not the same skill set that makes one a good leader.
I think we're seeing a good dose of that right now.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." - Abraham Lincoln