JoeyGood said:
HA ALLIES! that's a good one. When one of them gets punched in the nose they come running to DADDY but when we need them no one stands up and says WE'LL HELP. They have to be asked to do so and some decline when asked to do so. Again i say HA ALLIES! It basically all gets left up to us in the end either helping or getting help.
Israel has been a pretty strong ally.
Britain and the United States have always had a strong relationship.
As for the rest of Old Europe.... that's a different story. Europe is a dead culture struggling to maintain relevance in the world. They're socialist economies are limiting the ability for the underclasses to prosper. And they have growing, frustrated, muslim populations.
Despite this, countries like France would rather challenge American dominance than address the problems brewing in their streets. It's only a matter of time before the violence in the Middle East spills into the streets of France, similar to the riots that took place last year.
And, you're right, when the Islamic threat is on the brink of destroying Europe, and France has already surrendered, they'll be crying for us to save them again. Rather than addressing the threat of Islamo-Nazis now, before they are armed with nuclear weapons, they'll hide their head in the sand and go the appeasement route until it's too late.
I mentioned the Barbary Pirates in another thread. Unfortunately, the points were lost on Medium, here's a cliftnote version: after the U.S. declared independence from the British, we were no longer under the protection of the British Navy. The ISLAMIC barbary coast pirates would then target U.S. ships, enslave the crews and passengers and either sell them into slavery in Africa, or ransom them back.
In order to avoid this, the U.S. would pay off the Muslim Pirates in the form of tribute. Thomas Jefferson was vocally critical of the plan, rightfully arguing that this policy was bad and that it would only lead to more terror on the seas. But the United States was weak and broke after the revolution was over and the government felt there was nothing it could do but pay. But by 1800, we were developing a very respectable and formidable Navy.
When Jefferson became President, they demanded an additional payment. Jefferson refused. The Tripolli, Morocco, Algiers, and Tunis essentially declared war on the U.S.
Jefferson sent a group of frigates into the region.
A couple of the countries immediately backed down. The other two were blockaded and their fleets were attacked.
Unfortunately, the muslims started pulling this crap again while the U.S. was tied up with the War of 1812, lacking the resources necessary to fight them. But once that war was over, Madison sent over 10 ships to put things right, through the use of force, and even collected reperations from the Muslims.
What amazes me is that while virtually everyone knows that Jefferson probably had a longterm relationship with a slave, they don't know how we've been dealing with Islamic threats since the birth of this country.
