I´m not quite sure to whom´s post your comments were aiming for, SOCL. If it was to Robs post, than I have to add I grew up in the cold war. They allways told us how to act if we would have been under attack, because they knew that Germany would have been the main- or at least the first battlefield of a possible hot war, though it lied directly on the boarder to the so called "Iron Curtain", namely the former Federal Republic of Germany and the former Czechoslovakia, where lots of russian troops were stationed as well as other troops from the so called "Warsaw Pact". Do we need any kind of war just to improve great things like landing on the moon? I guess not. Just think of all those great improvements which came the last ten years. Perhaps oil and gas? Who exactly do you mean? Hitler? Remember when it came to the war in Iraq and Germany refused to take part. With a good reason which may haven´t been mentioned that often in your media. After two world wars, where Germany was one of those states (it was one of them and not the only state), which began the first world war and started the second one, the allies decided to demilitarise Germany. We had no army for about ten years, while the red army was a serious threat for the remains of our country. In the beginning of the cold war we were allowed to have an army again, so we were enabled to defend at least our boarders. The german Bundeswehr is since than an army which purpose is still to defend and never to attack! The Allies, who feared another militarise Germany, teached us to be like that, so don´t complain if we´re now acting like that, just because Rumsfeld and Bush wanted us to take part at that war. Yesterday there was a big discussion again, if our troops still shall remain in Afghanistan, where they mainly guard those organisations who help to rebuild their country. Which is dangerous enough though being under attack nearly every day. Edit: Than finally pull all your troops out of any european country, especially of germany. We don´t need them anymore here after the cold war is over. Thanks for the help. But those garrisons are much too important for any US-Governments.