In article AbcLb.9516$6l1.3658@okepread03,
"Gene Storey" wrote:

"Chad Irby" wrote

Hell, I've known adult humans - I'm not calling them "grown-ups" - who
would look you straight in the eye and tell you, seriously, that the
United States doesn't need a military, period.

If it wasn't for an oil based society, they would be believable. But
we need all the Nukes and Forces we can muster to keep the oil fields
and the sea lanes open. Thus, until we harness fusion, we are stuck
with the MIC (military industrial complex) as a cornerstone of our
economy.

If you repaced oil with a Magical Energy Source, there'd be some other
resource someone would want, and that wouldn't come anywhere near
removing the military threat. If you removed oil from the whole Middle
East equation, you'd still have a bunch of Muslims who think that the
best way to fix their social problems is to kill everyone who's not a
Muslim. And a bunch of Chechens who hate Russians. And a bunch of
(insert group name here) who hate (insert other group name here).

War, while often about resources, is also about non-material things.
And the people who want to kill Americans the most don't want to kill us
because we buy oil from their countries...

--
cirby at cfl.rr.com

Remember: Objects in rearview mirror may be hallucinations.
Slam on brakes accordingly.