This Ain't Your Father's Vietnam - Octavio Marenzi #5244

<p><strong>Summary:</strong><br /> Today on the podcast, Octavio Marenzi and I discuss the struggle to learn from history in addressing the ongoing issues in Afghanistan—to which no empire has been able to prevail. We discuss the financial consequences of this defeat; Marenzi expresses that we will perhaps see a period where it is increasingly difficult to get large military budgets passed. For defense contractors, it is a massive gain to not win, and we see that corporations and governments have their own overarching interests and agendas. We recap fluctuations in Gold and Bitcoin, and Marenzi provide useful insight into the future of these currencies and responses to expect from the Fed.</p> <p><strong>Highlights:</strong><br /> -Setback for the US and western civilization - humiliating withdraw of the United States<br /> -It was inevitable once we decided to stay there<br /> -The only thing we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history.<br /> -Comparing the fall of Carpel to the fall of Saigon<br /> -Other empires have been involved here - the Soviet met their final defeat from Afghanistan<br /> -Even Alexander the Great met his undoing in this area<br /> -No empire has been able to conquer it, and it is somewhat similar to the China/Vietnam situation<br /> -throughout history, the Chinese have always been concerned about maintaining power internally rather than externally<br /> -We would think that defense stocks would skyrocket<br /> -In one day of war, they can make more money during a year of peace<br /> -Marenzi thinks we are going to see a period where it is very difficult to get large military budgets passed<br /> -Military spending is perhaps going to be significantly curtailed<br /> -The US will probably be more careful from here on out with getting involved in foreign matters<br /> -The US could have withdrawn at a different time<br /> -Afghanistan has never been an advanced economy, and the nation building seemed to be flawed from the very beginning<br /> -Perhaps the goal was not to win