In my latest reading of Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom,
Ron Paul talked about how the United States in 2009 spent 46.5 per cent
of the world's military expenditures, then he asks, "And how much of
the rest of the world's spending is due to nations protecting themselves
against the United States as the perceived threat?"
Ron Paul
elaborates on page 257: "Now, most Americans can't even conceive of
other countries believing the United States to be a threat. And yet,
ours is the only government that will travel to far distant lands to
overthrow governments, station troops, and drop bombs on people. The
United States is the only country to have ever used nuclear weapons
against people. And are we surprised that many people in the world
regard the United States as a threat?"
Is there truth to this? I
don't think that we are the only country that has overthrown foreign
governments, sent troops, or dropped bombs, for (if I'm not mistaken)
the Soviet Union did that. Nowadays, other than us, there does not
appear to be a massive nation that does these things, and yet terrorist
groups such as Al-Qaeda certainly cause destruction and mayhem (as Ron
Paul knows). But I can understand Ron Paul's point that the U.S. is a
looming presence in the world, and I'd say that has been for good and
for ill, as far as other countries are concerned.