Off-Topic: Very good question
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Name:
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MartiniMan
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Subject:
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Very good question
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Date:
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1/6/2012 11:10:52 AM
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Not sure if these are all facts but they are all thesis statements and I will opine as to what I think of each of them.
(1) We have tried to police the world and it can't be done - agreed where it is not in our national security interest
(2) We cannot settle internal strife, and we should not. - agreed where it is not in our national security interest
(3) For every person in places like Iraq that see us as a liberator, 7 see us as "The Satan" - agreed but am not sure about the numbers. I do know based on recent surveys that Bush is becoming more popular in the middle east than Oblamer
(4) We have nuclear weapons - agreed
(5) Korea has nuclear weapons - by this I assume you mean North Korea and I understand that is correct. However, they did not always have nuclear weapons and frankly our options to deal with them should they begin to misbehave are limited because of this. Being in this situation with NK is unfortunate and should be yet another reason why we should prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear capability. MAD will not work with Iran because of their bizarre religious beliefs. MAD is somewhat of a constraint even with the atheist nut jobs in NK.
(6) It is not clear who should decide who has what weapons - I disagree. What is clear is that the U.S. has had nuclear weapons since the close of WWII and has never used them for offensive purposes. In fact, they have deterred other less savory nations from using theirs to promote their ambitions. There is no moral equivalency between us and countries like Iran and NK. They are evil and we are not and any suggestion to the contrary is just plain wrong.
(7) Another country's national security is just as important to them as ours is to us - Agreed and as long as they do not participate in activities that threaten us or promote others to do so then they have not a thing to worry about.
(8) WWII battles and victories and aftermath are worlds different than those of today. - I totally disagree with this statement in any aspect other than the details. Man and his fallen nature have not changed. Evil still exists. The tools of war are more sophisticated and deadly but no victory is ever assured without boots on the ground. There is a reason George Santayana said those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Every generation ignorant of history assumes they are experiencing things for the first time. The more you learn from history the more you realize there is truly nothing new under the sun. I could list example after example but this is one you have to learn for yourself.
(9) Previous opponents used guns and bullets and were fighting to live. Current opponents ARE
the guns and bullets, and are fighting to die. That is a dangerous opponent. - I agree that our current opponents seem determined to die but as Stormin Norman said when asked by a reporter how we deal with someone willing to die for their cause, "we accommodate them in large numbers and quickly". But again, you fall into the trap of thinking this is something new and it just isn't....not even close. Millions of German men willingly died for their country and were an incredible weapon. Do you forget about Kamakazi pilots in WWII? Read about the fanaticism of the Japanese on Okinawa, Iwo Jima and Peleliu (recommend a great book called With The Old Breed about the latter two battles). Every single one of them was willing to die for their cause (warped sense of bushido) and a great many of them used their bodies as weapons. Look at the Turks on Gallipoli in WWI and their willingness to send wave after wave of soldiers that were mowed down by the thousands.....all screaming allah, allah......sound familiar? Can't you see that none of this is new? Its the same old fanaticism, maybe under a different name. In fact its not even new under the name of Mohammed. These same battles were fought in the 10th-13th centuries with fanatics screaming allah, alleh as they were slaughtered. Again, the means of delivery and the power of the weapons are better but then so are the means to defend ourselves. Don't fall into the trap of assuming we are dealing with some new threat......it simply isn't historically true.
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