Russian Aggression should be used rather than feared

It's election season in America and there has been a lot of sabre rattling from Republican Presidential Candidates looking to appear strong enough to be Commander-in-Chief. I have also read numerous reports stating that the Russian military is rebuilding and Vladimir Putin is playing cold war brinksmanship.

Lets address Russia's rebuilding of it's military. Different reports provide varying numbers, however this graph should give you a close idea of how the world stands in military spending.

Good old US of A is still doing okay. So why all the sabre rattling? Well it seems pretty meaningless to me. It isn't the cold war anymore, so why all the concern over Russian aggression and rebuilding? Well it sells things. Fear of Russia helps people in the military and it's industrial complex wanting new aircraft carriers, fighters, and weapon systems get the money to build them.

Granted Russia and Vladimir Putin shouldn't be trusted as far as we can throw him. However, considering the United States currently out spends Russia in military hardware, I'd say we actually could throw him a long ways.

There is a very real problem in the world though, and that is terrorism. The American public doesn't have the stamina for invading countries and staying there for decades. It also doesn't have the image for it. America in the past has been seen as the liberator and pillar of justice in the world. I ask, why the heck are we tarnishing our good name globally when Russia now is very willing to do it?

They need a reason to rebuild their military and Russia has a lot of weapons we don't want terrorist having. Plus if they think a country is harboring terrorist. They'll simply blow it away. Now I know a lot of people are going to take issue with this saying that Russia is harming innocent civilians. Well people, I'm sorry but those civilians aren't stupid, and if every little country harboring terrorist became afraid their homes would be destroyed, those terrorists would shortly be without support.

War is a nasty business, and frankly it seems American's don't have the fortitude for it until we've been horribly wronged. Such as 9/11, Pearl Harbor, and German U-boats torpedoeing our ocean liners.

I'd like to see a President in office who didn't paint the Russians as the boogyman but instead allowed them to do the dirty work. I've met Russians and they are not bad people. However they are a very aggressive people which would be excellent in the War on Terror. Now of course Russia is backing a different side in the civil war in Syria than we are, and this will allow Russia to grow stronger and more influential. Why do we care?

However America is still an economic powerhouse, we have other way of exerting power and influence that many Nations do not. It would be a breath of fresh air to see a President play to the strengths of America and have enough confidence in our great country that he could see Russia as a useful ally rather than a cold war boogyman.