[quote]pookie wrote:
Maybe that’s because the West never hits with it’s full might. The way we wage war now, they know they can simply wait us out. They know that as casualties trickle in month after month and year after year, public support will wane. They understand how our media and democracy works, and they play it like a violin.
What we’re showing them is not strength, it’s stupidity.
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True, we could just nuke the place… kill people off indiscriminately. I’m saying I don’t think that would create the type of “respect” that you are looking for.
Of course they are happy to let our own systems work against us. However, avoiding things like Abu Ghraib and apparent rendition and torture would go a long way in this direction on our own… which is stupid.
What do you want me to address? You seem the have the wrong impression of my viewpoint.
I’ve never said we can’t have wars, or shouldn’t fight wars.
Perhaps, but I don’t think we are at the point where we need to use such apocalyptic methods (apparently a power fantasy for many). What you guys seem to miss is that war/hatred is a punch-counterpunch situation.
You do X. They get mad, do Y. You obliterate a nation, a populace, you will certainly motivate millions to do the very things you are trying to prevent.
How to prevent it now, that a few are already bent on such a thing, is difficult to say. However, the path through reduced hatred is not the one you describe. They might be cowed, though I certainly doubt it, but it will just fan the hatred.
That’s the key point. You “nuke them all” types aren’t offering a solution either… you are just going to force people to hide deeper and look for bigger ways to strike secretly.
That’s why I don’t consider it a “solution” either. It’s just a stopgap measure that will push it out another generation.