DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - Up to 2,500 Marines could be based in Australia

**Badyalectlawl** · 11-18-2011, 01:58 AM

In the first place, the Marine Corps is NOT really a separate service, so wherever you sent the US Navy, the US Marine Corps is sure to follow.

In the second place, the Australians know just how to deal with us from their previous experience. They are providing us a Naval Base and other installations sufficient for the MEU you talk about, and the Crews of the ships and the Overhead that will call the Base Home for the duration. They will be at Darwin, which is on the North Shore, and – given we left behind some well-constructed bases there when we were there in 2002, and before that between 1941 and 1945 — I am willing to bet that we are being returned to those self-same installations we used before.

In the third place, I’m willing to bet that one lesson we learned from the USS Cole is that we don’t send the Navy anywhere without the physical security necessary to make it safe to dock the ships and secure the bases. The Marines can provide that security.

In the fourth place, we have been in a quiet “Cold War” with China for a very long time, and they have been taking much of our Heavy Industry as well as much of the rest of our Manufacturing, and have been selling us the finished products while refusing to respond in kind. If that means that we are now heating up the war, then that is their fault. Can we help it that their provocative actions leave their neighbors sitting at the door with their rifles drawn because they have reason not to trust them? I would prefer to protect the nations that ask for our protection, and help those who need just a little more help to supplement their own. The Chinese need to understand that they have yet proven to the rest of the world that they are trust worthy, and the Koreans are even worse but on a smaller scale.

As for Taiwan, they are the exception that proves the rule. When Mainland China is willing to accept Taiwan into the fold as a separate government within China – the exact option that Hong Kong got - then I will say that maybe China is waking up to the realities of the world.

I may just happen to have an inkling about the current relationship between the USMC and the Navy, but I'll leave that where it is.

As for the rest, great, the Australians are good hosts, I know this from personal experience. I'm sure some lucky Devil Dogs will have a great tour, for a while. The American footprint always gets a bit heavy after years and decades expire when our servicemembers are turned loose on their local society, every time. I hope for the sake of this and other relationships we don't wear out that welcome the same way we have in Okinawa.

As for China, we've contributed very heavily towards putting them in the isolated status they've been in for so long, not to mention the influences of other previous Empires (*cough cough Japan) who've all given the Chinese good reason to not only be openly distrustful, but openly confrontational. It's a fairly recent development that we have been given some access to that society and that economy. We can come at China with one of two mindsets, we can see them as a future superpower who may one day be allies in making the global environment a safe place to operate. Or we can put them in direct opposition towards our efforts. Slapping another MEU on Australia will not only be costly and pointless, but also will be escalatory and probably not as welcoming when young testosterone-filled Marines do something counter-productive to our current relations with the Australians. Some among us are now clearly comfortable with the Imperialistic nature the US has assumed over that past century. I personally am not, despite the best of intentions Empires always trend the same direction eventually.

11-18-2011, 01:58 AM	#15
Badyalectlawl Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 449 Senior Member	In the first place, the Marine Corps is NOT really a separate service, so wherever you sent the US Navy, the US Marine Corps is sure to follow. In the second place, the Australians know just how to deal with us from their previous experience. They are providing us a Naval Base and other installations sufficient for the MEU you talk about, and the Crews of the ships and the Overhead that will call the Base Home for the duration. They will be at Darwin, which is on the North Shore, and – given we left behind some well-constructed bases there when we were there in 2002, and before that between 1941 and 1945 — I am willing to bet that we are being returned to those self-same installations we used before. In the third place, I’m willing to bet that one lesson we learned from the USS Cole is that we don’t send the Navy anywhere without the physical security necessary to make it safe to dock the ships and secure the bases. The Marines can provide that security. In the fourth place, we have been in a quiet “Cold War” with China for a very long time, and they have been taking much of our Heavy Industry as well as much of the rest of our Manufacturing, and have been selling us the finished products while refusing to respond in kind. If that means that we are now heating up the war, then that is their fault. Can we help it that their provocative actions leave their neighbors sitting at the door with their rifles drawn because they have reason not to trust them? I would prefer to protect the nations that ask for our protection, and help those who need just a little more help to supplement their own. The Chinese need to understand that they have yet proven to the rest of the world that they are trust worthy, and the Koreans are even worse but on a smaller scale. As for Taiwan, they are the exception that proves the rule. When Mainland China is willing to accept Taiwan into the fold as a separate government within China – the exact option that Hong Kong got - then I will say that maybe China is waking up to the realities of the world. I may just happen to have an inkling about the current relationship between the USMC and the Navy, but I'll leave that where it is. As for the rest, great, the Australians are good hosts, I know this from personal experience. I'm sure some lucky Devil Dogs will have a great tour, for a while. The American footprint always gets a bit heavy after years and decades expire when our servicemembers are turned loose on their local society, every time. I hope for the sake of this and other relationships we don't wear out that welcome the same way we have in Okinawa. As for China, we've contributed very heavily towards putting them in the isolated status they've been in for so long, not to mention the influences of other previous Empires (*cough cough Japan) who've all given the Chinese good reason to not only be openly distrustful, but openly confrontational. It's a fairly recent development that we have been given some access to that society and that economy. We can come at China with one of two mindsets, we can see them as a future superpower who may one day be allies in making the global environment a safe place to operate. Or we can put them in direct opposition towards our efforts. Slapping another MEU on Australia will not only be costly and pointless, but also will be escalatory and probably not as welcoming when young testosterone-filled Marines do something counter-productive to our current relations with the Australians. Some among us are now clearly comfortable with the Imperialistic nature the US has assumed over that past century. I personally am not, despite the best of intentions Empires always trend the same direction eventually.
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