Joseph Wu 

ASA 002

Response #5 

From Saigon to Baghdad

The United States have always been engaging in conflicts that really should not be since its creation. War should always be the last result. The reason why World War 2 was considered the last “good war” was because the Nazis were threatening global domination and ethnic cleansing. There was a clear “bad guy” and “good guy”. All the wars after that were not strongly justifiable. The Vietnam War was a war that went nowhere since in the end, the United States didn't achieve its intended goals of pushing Communism back and the massive waste of lives on both sides didn't justify it. The fighting left Vietnam in a bad state and the chemicals used in warfare still cause health issues. In the Middle East, drone and missile strikes have killed innocent civilians and tore up their homeland. It’s not a wonder that people from countries would resent the United States’ presence in their country.  

America has always played the role of Global Police and every generation born in this country has a war attached to it. I grow increasingly frustrated at the military spending and actions of the government when there are other issues to address. Why not help those who need money and resources? Or even fund the space program to find a way to propagate the human species to another planet? This planet is volatile and could decide to go through another mass extinction before we can prepare for it. There are so many things you can improve on or discover with several hundred billion dollars a year.