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@ISIDEWITHQuestionsForeign policyStarted 7yrs agoActive 2 days ago

Should the U.S. sell military weapons to India in order to counter Chinese and Russian influence?

In September 2018, the U.S. signed a security agreement with India unlocked the sales of billions of dollars of high-tech American weapons. India will purchase fighter jets, transport planes, drones and missile defense systems from American military manufacturers including Lockheed Martin. The U.S. government is seeking India as an ally to counter the rise of China and Russia’s military strength in the Indo-Pacific region. Proponents argue that the agreement is necessary to counter China and Russia’s influence and the agreement will generate billions of dollars in revenue for U.S. military defense contractors. Opponents argue that the agreement will encourage China and Russia to beef up their militaries and trigger a global arms race.

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Answer Overview

Response rates from 91.2k America voters.

41%
Yes
59%
No
37%
Yes
43%
No
4%
Yes, selling military weapons to foreign countries will help boost the economy
7%
No, and we should increase diplomatic efforts to resolve conflicts peacefully
4%
No, this will start a global arms race
4%
No, and we should not sell military weapons to any foreign country

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Other Popular Answers

Unique answers from America voters whose views went beyond the provided options.

 @8JCJLWV from Texas  answered…6yrs6Y

Not enough knowledge to make an informed vote

 @8ZSCMSF from Kentucky  answered…4yrs4Y

No, and we should NOT sell military weapons to any foreign country. We should also NEVER sell our nuclear weapons to any foreign country either. This would start a global arms race.

 @8NZC5ZM from Kentucky  answered…6yrs6Y

No, and we should NOT sell military weapons to any foreign country. This would start a global arms race. We should also NEVER sell our nuclear weapons to any foreign country either.

 @9F7XPV2 from North Carolina  answered…3yrs3Y

Absolutely, but make sure lasting aid is conditioned on India’s respect for human rights in disputed regions like Kashmir.

 @8RSZKBX from Missouri  answered…5yrs5Y

Yes, but only to protect against terrorism.

 @8LG6J6C from Pennsylvania  answered…6yrs6Y

Continue to foster a military alliance and international cooperation (through the Quadrilateral, etc.)

 @938YDL3 from Pennsylvania  answered…4yrs4Y

Yes, but also increase diplomatic efforts to resolve conflicts peacefully

 @B7F9DY3 from Maryland  answered…9mos9MO

I'm a Chinese American, so I feel like India could use these weapons to attack my country of ancestry and roots. I have a lot of family in China, and I feel like negotiations should be used instead.

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 @ISIDEWITH submitted…1yr1Y

Biden bans new offshore oil drilling along most of US coastline

President Joe Biden announced a ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling along most of the US coastline on Monday in a move designed to bolster his environmental and climate legacy as he prepares to leave office.The order will protect 625mn acres of ocean on the US east coast, the eastern Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific coasts of Washington, Oregon and California, as well as portions of the Northern Bering Sea in Alaska, the White House said on Monday.“My decision reflects what the coastal communities, business and beachgoers have known for a long time: that drilling off these coasts could cause irreversible damage to places we hold dear and is unnecessary to meet our nation’s energy needs,” Biden said.The executive action will not prevent oil and gas companies obtaining leases in the central and western parts of the Gulf of Mexico, areas that produce almost 15 per cent of the nation’s oil supplies. Nevertheless, the move is expected to complicate the policy agenda of incoming president Donald Trump, who has vowed to “drill, baby, drill” and boost US oil production, even though it is already at a record level.The Trump transition team said it was a disgraceful decision designed to exact “political revenge on the American people” and the incoming president said he would immediately “unban” Biden’s prohibition on new offshore drilling.“I have the right to unban it immediately . . . we can’t let that happen to our country. It’s our greatest, it’s really our greatest economic asset,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in an interview on Monday.Biden’s action will probably be challenged by the oil industry in court and face pushback from Republicans in Congress. But overturning the order could prove challenging and may require an act of Congress, according to legal experts.Biden is using his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, to protect the areas from drilling — the same mechanism which former president Barack Obama used previously to ban offshore drilling in some Arctic and Atlantic waters in 2016.In 2019, a federal judge ruled that an executive order by former president Donald Trump that lifted an Obama-era ban on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean was unlawful.

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