I wish I woke up to great news like today's every morning. Osama bin Laden finally caught the high hard one, and it was up close and personal with a bullet to the brain pan instead of a Tomahawk missile fired from hundreds of miles away. I hope he died afraid and in great pain like the vast majority of his victims over the years.
But this isn't another post about bin Laden. This is a post about how the rumors of the untimely demise of the dollar have been greatly exaggerated. Because as long as the U.S. has black helicopters full of SEALs delivering fiery death in 30 minutes or less anywhere in the world, the greenback will be the world's currency.
The Roman denarius was the world's currency for almost 700 years, due in large part to the threat of a visit from the Roman Legions if a nation of the Empire challenged the denarius's supremacy. As I write this today in Paris, the dollar is rallying against all the major currencies, and gold, silver, and oil are all down. It seems the world still responds to a demonstration of strength.
I'm not saying the U.S. should (or even could) rule the world with an iron fist, but I think a return to the Teddy Roosevelt speak-softly-and-carry-a-big-fuckin'-stick diplomacy would do a lot to restore the world's faith in the greenback. There is no doubt that the entire world is a little safer today than it was yesterday, and the world markets are rewarding the dollar as a result.
Last night's events are a picture perfect example of this. We spent ten years hunting down a mad dog, and we shot him in the face when we found him. There has been no gloating; in fact we've taken great pains to ensure his body is being handled according to Moslem tradition (if ever a corpse deserved to be publicly profaned, it's his, but cooler heads than mine run the show). This kind of dignified display of power (or force projection) is a step in the right direction toward returning America to her former glory.
Now if we could just get Bernanke to shut down the presses for a couple minutes...
Congratulations to the SEAL team and all the U.S. military for a job well done. The world is a better place today due to your efforts.
Audentes Fortuna Iuvat.
I completely agree with you, Although, some may question if he has died or not and will probably end up asking for evidence, I think burying him at sea according to tradition is the right thing to do. Hopefully, America can return to its former prestige and not be criticized as much.
TeamUSA
There's a kid here at my study abroad site who's a SEAL, he said he knows guys in that team and a lot of people have been emailing back and forth about it. These guys are ultimate badasses. Fuck Man Week, these are guys who daily lay it all on the line in defense of our country. Can't find any tougher than them.
They're gonna pull so much ass too.
I'm glad he caught a bullet with his face.
Reminds me of when I got back from the Gulf War. Hundreds of women were wearing shirts that said, "Welcome Home, Marines. You won't have to fight for Bush tonight!". lol
Lol thats fucking great
You use the term "force protection" in the title of a post. That term has come to be part of military daily life because we keep getting shot at on our own bases. Everyday a local walks onto one of our bases over there, invited, and starts shooting Americans in broad daylight. I am glad that OBL is no more. I don't think this changes much in terms of strategy, and I don't think the long term outlook on the dollar should be any rosier because of this. Roman, Greek, and Egyptian currencies all saw their demise, and those empires all had superior militaries.
The guy was chillin at a mansion near the capital of one of our "partners". I am glad that he is finally gone.
That's the Teams, boys.
"Where's the body?"
"LoL, we put it in the ocean..."
"Sounds reasonable."
I couldnt agree more my facebook status last night "America's prestige is back on the rise. Just showed the world that America is willing to do anything (2 wars) to defend its people. After seeing what America is willing to do to bring people to justice who else is really going to try to mess with America? Big stick diplomacy-2. AMERICA > WORLD."
I was exceptionally proud to have military service men and women in my family last night.
"Let this be warning. If you fuck with us, we will find you. It may take a decade of climbing in every hole and cave across 2 continents but eventually we WILL shoot you in the face."
Once the euphoria of the day wears off, we'll once again see red (debt) as far as the eye can see. Last night before any news of the bin Laden killing, I was talking to my buddy--an old friend from work. He's a commited Democrat, or as he likes to say, "A Roosevelt and Lincoln Republican." He was lambasting me for the GOP's alleged position of wanting to end Medicare. I had to point out to him time and time again that there is a $90 trillion unfunded Medicare liability, that without reform it will destroy America's finances--or it will cease to exist. Unfortunately, reform of Medicare seems impossible and will probably be until we get to the very brink because of intense demagoguery of the issue. Social Security is a super easy fix. Medicare--not so much. Add in exponential annual increases in deficits and we'll see if the United States can even afford a Tier 1 military in about 25 years.
The dollar is dead--it's not a matter of if but when and what will replace it? The dollar will rally from time to time, no doubt, but the fundamentals are horrendous.
The dollar is nowhere near dead. The dynamics of economic growth will dictate that its future as a reserve currency is intrinsically limited, but even the rise of weighted global currency (most likely the SDR) for use as primary forex reserve is 15-20 years away at least. As long as most currencies (outside the Pound, Euro, CHF, HKD etc.) have to be traded through the dollar and the US maintains the position of firmly interventionist foreign policy while bolstering domestic output enough to see CAN/GER/FRA level growth metrics, the US Dollar will be the world's currency.
+1 for a great article Uncle Eddie btw.
Committed* My browser is all f*cked up with WSO so I can't edit.
It was my birfday yesterday. Bestest birfday ever. I turned 21.
boom head shot
We spent 10 years and a couple of trillion dollars to kill one old man.
I am happy to see him dead also, but let's keep some perspective about what a great accomplishment this was.
...preparing for the monkey shit...
Agreed, but no one forced us to spend all that money. It's our stupid politicians' fault.
My browser is f*cked up so I can't quote.
"The dollar is nowhere near dead. The dynamics of economic growth will dictate that its future as a reserve currency is intrinsically limited, but even the rise of weighted global currency (most likely the SDR) for use as primary forex reserve is 15-20 years away at least. As long as most currencies (outside the Pound, Euro, CHF, HKD etc.) have to be traded through the dollar and the US maintains the position of firmly interventionist foreign policy while bolstering domestic output enough to see CAN/GER/FRA level growth metrics, the US Dollar will be the world's currency.
+1 for a great article Uncle Eddie btw."
I am talking 15-25 years, which is why I stated "25 years" when speaking of our military. The U.S. Dollar is as good as dead. It is the equivalent of a 60-year-old man that has smoked for 25 years but is still relatively healthy--it's just a matter of time before the cancer rears its ugly head. The dollar tanked under George W. Bush and has literally collapsed in just 27 months under Obama. There is a reason gold and silver are going crazy. Copper might be next thanks to China in a few years. How anyone can argue that the U.S. Dollar has a good future with the state of America's fiscal situation is beyond mind boggling. Let me re-state this: Medicare, the single most popular social program in the United States, is under funded by approximately $90 trillion.
The unfunded level can easily drop, the government just has to change the rules. The government can simply say the the medical industry, Medicare will now only cover 45% of the costs, the individual is responsible for 15% and the rest must come from the hospital, insurance, drug company, or private practice it self. The government has done a good job of shifting the blame of rising health care costs on to insurance companies, drug companies and doctors. The reality of the situation is actually Medicare, the government started changing the payment schedule about 20 years ago now and hospitals, insurance, and pharma companies have been left scrambling to try to make money.
I agree. Great post. "Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war."
So aweseome, i tried to do a valuation on a BlackHawk full of SEAL's and my comp exploded.
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