The American Empire spans the world.

[tommywishbone]

Not only does the USA have the most Mr Olympia's, we also have the most military bases located in OTHER countries. The Mr. Olympia thing makes sense. The worldwide military presence, ESPECIALLY when we are totally bankrupt does not make sense.

[Raymondo]

and people say haney didn't have arms

[arce1988]

  8 O.

[Army of One]

I bet Russia was really happy when those Kazajstan bases popped up.

[_bruce_]

America set up an empire because being the second Rome was just too cool.
Seems like the debt will never be repaid... at least not in dollars.

[Natural Man]

Their presence is also the reason why there s been peace in most parts of the world for decades... dumbfuck.

[Tapeworm]

It's called the Coagulation of the Willies, commie.  Love it or leaf it.

[Hulkotron]

Nice job keeping it bodybuilding related Tommy.

[Irongrip400]

Imperialism rules.

[Maddy]

Their presence is also the reason why there s been peace in most parts of the world for decades... dumbfuck.

G_Thang
best post youve
ever made

[tommywishbone]

Their presence is also the reason why there s been peace in most parts of the world for decades... dumbfuck.

LOL! OK Kissinger, whatever you say. Must be nice being a blind sheep.

Conflicts in the last 40 years
Africa, Sub-Saharan
Map: Sub-Saharan Africa
Angola: War of National Liberation, 1961-1974
Angola: Struggle over Cabinda, 1960-
Angola: First War with UNITA, 1975-1992
Angola: Second War with UNITA, 1992-2002
Burkina Faso: Coups, 1966-1987
Burundi: Ethnic Strife Since 1962
Central African Republic: Coups Since 1966
Chad: Civil Wars, 1960s-1990s
Chad: War with Libya, 1986-1987
Comoros: Coups, 1980s
Congo, Democratic Republic of: Post-Independence Wars, 1960-1965
Congo, Democratic Republic of: Kabila Uprising, 1996-1997
Congo, Democratic Republic of: Invasions and Internal Strife, 1998
Congo, Republic of: Civil Conflict, 1997
Djibouti: Civil Conflict, 1991-2000
Eritrea: War for Independence, 1958-1991
Eritrea: Border War with Ethiopia, 1998-2000
Ethiopia: Revolution, 1974-1978
Ethiopia: War with Somalia, 1977-1978
Ethiopia: Civil War, 1978-1991
Ghana: Rawlings Coups, 1979-1981
Guinea-Bissau: War of National Liberation, 1962-1974
Guinea-Bissau: Civil War, 1998-2000
Ivory Coast: Civil Disorder Since 1999
Kenya: Mau Mau Uprising, 1952-1956
Liberia: Doe Coup, 1980
Liberia: Civil War, 1989-1997
Liberia: Anti-Taylor Uprising, 1998-2003
Madagascar: Independence Movement and Coups, 1947-2002
Mali: Ethnic and Political Conflict, 1968-1996
Mauritania: Coups Since 1978
Mozambique: War of National Liberation, 1961-1974
Mozambique: Renamo War, 1976-1992
Namibia: War of National Liberation, 1966-1990
guy: Ethnic and Political Conflict Since 1990
Nigeria: Biafra War, 1967-1970
Nigeria: Coups and Ethnic Unrest Since 1966
Rwanda: Civil War and Genocide Since 1991
Sierra Leone: Civil Conflict, 1990-Present
Somalia: Civil War Since 1991
South Africa: Anti-Apartheid Struggle, 1948-1994
Sudan: Civil War in South, 1955-1972; 1983-2005
Sudan: Conflict in Darfur Since 2002
Togo: Coups and Political Unrest, 1963-1990s
Uganda: Anti-Amin Struggle, 1971-1979
Uganda: Civil Conflict Since 1980
Western Sahara: Polisario-Moroccan War, 1975-1991
Zimbabwe: Struggle for Majority Rule, 1965-1980
Zimbabwe: Anti-Mugabe Struggle


Americas
Map: North America and Central America
Map: South America
Argentina: Dirty War, 1960s-1970s
Argentina: Falklands/Malvinas War, 1982
Bolivia: Revolution, 1952
Brazil: General's Coup, 1964
Canada: Quebec Separatist Movement, 1960-1987
Chile: Coup Against Allende, 1973
Colombia: Internal Insurgencies, 1970s-1990s
Cuba: Communist Revolution, 1956-1959
Cuba: Bay of Pigs Invasion, 1961
Cuba: Missile Crisis, 1962
Dominican Republic: Coup and U.S. Invasion, 1965
Ecuador: Border Dispute with Peru, 1947
El Salvador: Soccer War with Honduras, 1969
El Salvador: Civil Wars, 1970s-1980s
Grenada: U.S. Invasion, 1983
Guatemala: Coup Against Arbenz, 1954
Guatemala: Civil War, 1970s-1990s
Guyana: Ethnic Conflict, 1960-1992
Haiti: Civil Conflict, 1990s
Mexico: Zapatista Uprising Since 1994
Nicaragua: Revolution, 1970s
Nicaragua: Contra War, 1980s
Panama: Torrijos Coup, 1969
Panama: U.S. Invasion, 1989
Peru: Shining Path Rebellion, 1970s-1997
Puerto Rico: Anti-U.S. Terrorism, 1934-1954
United States: War on Terrorism, 1990s-
Uruguay: Tupumaro Uprising, 1967-1985
Venezuela: Anti-Chávez Movement Since 1999


Asia, East and Southeast
Map: East and Southeast Asia
Cambodia: Civil Wars, 1968-1998
Cambodia: U.S. Interventions, 1969-1973
Cambodia: Vietnamese Invasion, 1978-1979
China: Chinese Civil War, 1927-1949
China: Invasion of Tibet, 1950-1959
China: Quemoy and Matsu, 1954-1958
China: Border War with India, 1962
China: Border Clash with Soviet Union, 1969
China: War with Vietnam, 1979
China: Tiananmen Violence, 1989
East Timor: Independence Struggle, 1974-2002
Indonesia: Wars of Independence, 1945-1949
Indonesia: Communist and Suharto Coups, 1965-1966
Indonesia: Aceh Separatist Conflict Since 1976
Korea, North: Seizure of the Pueblo, 1968
Korea, North: Nuclear Standoff Since the 1990s
Korea, South: Invasion by the North, 1950-1953
Laos: Pathet Lao War, 1960s-1970s
Malaysia: Communist Uprising, 1948-1960
Myanmar (Burma): Civil Wars and Coups Since 1945
Philippines: Huk Rebellion, 1948-1953
Philippines: Moro Uprising, 1970s-1980s
Philippines: War on Islamic Militants Since 1990
Thailand: Muslim Rebellion, 2004-
Vietnam: First Indochina War, 1946-1954
Vietnam: Second Indochina War, 1959-1975


Asia, South
Map: South Asia
Afghanistan: Soviet Invasion, 1979-1989
Afghanistan: Civil War, 1989
Afghanistan: U.S. Invasion, 2001-
India: Partition Violence, 1947
India: Jammu and Kashmir Violence Since 1947
India: Invasion of Goa, 1961
India: War with Pakistan, 1965
India: War with Pakistan and Bangladeshi Independence, 1971
India: Sikh Uprising Since 1973
India: Ethnic and Separatist Violence in Assam Since 1979
India: Nuclear Standoff with Pakistan Since 1998
Nepal: Maoist Insurgency
Sri Lanka: Tamil Uprising Since the Late 1970s


Europe and Former Soviet Union
Map: Europe
Map: Former Soviet Union
Albania: Civil Conflict, 1990s
Armenia: Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, 1990s
Bosnia: Civil War, 1992-1995
Croatia: War with Serbia, 1991-1995
Cyprus: Communal Conflict Since 1955
Czechoslovakia: Coup, 1948
Czechoslovakia: Soviet Invasion, 1968
Georgia: Civil War, 1990s
Germany: The Berlin Crises, 1948-1949 and 1958-1962
Germany: East German Uprising, 1953
Greece: Civil War, 1944-1949
Hungary: Soviet Invasion, 1956
Ireland: The Troubles Since 1968
Italy: Anti-Mafia Campaign Since 1980
Macedonia: Ethnic Conflict, 1990s
Poland: Imposition of Martial Law, 1981-1983
Romania: Fall of Ceausescu, 1989
Russia: Chechen Uprising Since 1994
Serbia: Kosovo Secessionist Movement, 1990s
Soviet Union: Conflict with Iran over Azerbaijan, 1945-1946
Soviet Union: Conflict with Turkey, 1945-1953
Soviet Union: Downing of Korean Airliner, 1983
Spain: Basque Uprising Since 1959
Tajikistan: Civil War, 1990s
Turkey: Kurdish War Since 1984
Uzbekistan: Conflict with Islamists Since 1999


Middle East and North Africa
Map: Middle East and North Africa
Algeria: War of National Liberation, 1954-1962
Algeria: The Fundamentalist Struggle Since 1992
Egypt: Nasser Coup and Its Legacy, 1952-1970
Egypt: Sinai War, 1956
Egypt: War of Attrition, 1967-1970
Iran: Coup Against Mossadegh, 1953
Iran: Islamic Revolution, 1979
Iran: War with Iraq, 1980-1988
Iraq: Revolution and Coups, 1958-1968
Iraq: Kurdish Wars Since 1961
Iraq: Gulf War, 1990-1991
Iraq: U.S. Invasion, 2003-
Israel: War of Independence, 1948-1949
Israel: Palestinian Struggle Since 1948
Israel: Six-Day War, 1967
Israel: Yom Kippur War, 1973
Israel: Attack on Iraqi Nuclear Reactor, 1981
Jordan: Civil War, 1970
Lebanon: Civil Conflict, 1958
Lebanon: Civil War, 1975-1990
Libya: Qaddafi Coup, 1969
Libya: U.S. Air Attacks, 1986
Palestine: First Intifada, 1987-1992
Palestine: Second Intifada Since 2000
Yemen: Civil War, 1960s-1980s

[WOOO]

american'ts amaze me

[99 Bananas]

american'ts amaze me

Really...... American'ts? That's the best you've got? Grasping at straws man....

[syntaxmachine]

That's a pretty map, but its prettiness doesn't stand in for an argument that America needs to 'retrench', i.e., close down the majority of those bases in order to save some cash. If you look at the budgetary aspect of retrenchment it becomes apparent that it saves relatively little (compared to other military items like reforming the way military research is conducted, for example, but also compared to non-military items like the burgeoning costs of our social welfare programs). So since it saves relatively little and its consequences for the world community are to remain largely unforeseen until it happens, many err on the side of caution and prefer the current setup.

This all ignores moral considerations, of course, which is what a lot of people cite in arguing for retrenchment. 'It's wrong to have bases around the world and be the Earth's police,' such people are liable to say.

The counterargument for those in favor of the status quo is that America's worldwide presence helps enforce a sort of stability that reduces conflict, insisting that there'd be more strife/suffering/loss of life without that presence. The most popular meme is that America's tendency (it's just a tendency, meaning there are counterexamples) to promote democracy helps the world because democracies in turn tend not to war with one another; the most recent meme is that actually, America doesn't care about democracy as much as it cares about promoting capitalism, and that this in turn helps the world because capitalist countries tend not to war with one another as their economic interdependence expands. Someone who supports such an idea will look at tommy's list of wars just above this post and point out that it contains precious little capitalist-on-capitalist action (Here's a good presentation of one version of the capitalist peace theory: http://dss.ucsd.edu/~egartzke/publications/gartzke_ajps_07.pdf).

[Viking11]

The human race needs to learn not to be belligerant- except during MMA matches and power lifts. 

[tommywishbone]

The human race needs to learn not to be belligerant- except during MMA matches and power lifts. 

Right on! 

[Mr.1derful]

Their presence is also the reason why there s been peace in most parts of the world for decades... dumbfuck.

I don't even know where to begin with this statement.

[Aerian]

Noone likes a negro

[f450]

Their presence is also the reason why there s been peace in most parts of the world for decades... dumbfuck.

You are no idiot, but this is an idiotic statement.

[cephissus]

G_Thang
best post youve
ever made

no way

 

[tbombz]

The principle upon which government is founded can be used to justify the expansion of the government.   

[mass243]

I bet Russia was really happy when those Kazajstan bases popped up.

Putin should have as his first job when assuming office hung that piece of shit by his balls (as if he had any) from tower of Kremlin.

[dj181]

Putin should have as his first job when assuming office hung that piece of shit by his balls (as if he had any) from tower of Kremlin.

wonder if putin is into black pussy?

[mass243]

wonder if putin is into black pussy?

Definitely 

[dj181]

Definitely 

nice man, very nice