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Intervention and Terrorism
We Americans have 5% of the world's population but use 25% of the world's oil. The average American home has increased from 983 square feet to 2,349 square feet since 1950. Our big vehicles average less miles per gallon than 20 years ago, yet we're driving more. According to the New Economics Foundation, if everyone in the world consumed at the U.S. rate we would need five planet earths to sustain us. To maintain this lifestyle we need to intervene in other countries. A quarter of a million U.S. troops are stationed in 135 countries around the globe. We supply about half the world's arms, and while the overall number of conflicts in the world has fallen, the U.S. has been involved in MORE wars since the fall of the Berlin Wall. There is a well-documented connection between intervention and terrorism. A study of 71 terrorists by University of Chicago professor Robert Pape concluded that suicide attackers are motivated more than anything else by their aversion to foreign occupation. A recent assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies revealed that the occupation of Iraq has contributed to an increase in the overall terrorist threat. If we were to accept the recommendation of military experts to cut the military budget, eliminate a tax cut that benefits the rich, and end a controversial war, we could free up about $300 billion for alternative energy research. With American ingenuity and this kind of money, we'd have a good chance of overcoming the dependencies that cause people to want to attack us. |