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Comment by u-2-silly | Hacker News Reader

Let's not forget:

- US Military patrolling the world's shipping lanes-- with US Citizens & Companies tax dollars directly subsidizing the price of oil & international goods for a significant portion of the world (the prices would be higher without some outside country prividing protection)

- US Military bases-- 750 in 80 countries-- with US Citizens & Companies tax dollars directly subsidizing the security of a significant portion of the world

As an American, I really wish we left the world to their own devices, and paid for their own security and shipping lane protection. The world takes the US for granted. I think we should let them squabble for a few years, then beg us to come back-- when we have them leaning over a barrel, then we charge high fees :P

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The US gains far more than it loses. Shut down the Suez Canal and the Malacca Strait and the US economy would collapse. Not as badly as everybody else's economy would collapse, but it would collapse none the less.

The world economy would collapse *

This phrase gets repeated a lot, “U.S. patrolling the worlds a shipping lanes” but what does it mean, concretely? Which shipping lanes and how? They’re certainly not doing a stellar job of it in the Red Sea, for instance.

The US has been borrowing money from the world to pay for the world policing duties. Leaving the debate over those for another day, I'm worried the world will stop borrowing dollars that subsidize that service, and the US will be left holding the bag for the cost of it.

The terrible reality for the world is that the world needs the US more than the US needs the world. Unless of course the idea of China running the global stage is appealing.

If the US military won't patrol world's shipping lanes, I'm sure the Chinese military would take over that job.

then why aren't they doing so now? it's a zoo in the red sea...

Why waste money/resources if their cargo still gets to its destination?

I think you might underestimate how much this is an important factor in the strength of the US economy.

As a non-American I also really wish you left the World alone :)

Sometimes, I wish the U.S. should suddenly leave the world alone, including NATO. That's when people will realize that the EU is too militarily weak to tackle Russia's aggression, and the Middle East will fall into chaos.

People who yap so much about America frankly deserve a real-life lesson to correct their brains.

As someone from the Middle East, I honestly wonder, when Americans say things like that, have they ever read a book, attended a lecture, or even done online research about the history of American intervention in the Middle East? It’s baffling to me that someone would believe that, given America’s track record. I’m not asking sarcastically, I’m genuinely wondering.

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