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The benefits of WAR have changed so much that it's no longer effective. Shouldn't we accept the hard fact that in a war everyone loses? The United States has something like 8,000 atomic bombs in the cupboard, and Mother Russia probably has about the same in theirs. Certainly, between the two governments, there are enough to eliminate humanity. When is enough, enough?
Forget for a moment, whether or not the war in Iraq was JUSTIFIED, and whether or not the subsequent war against Isalmic terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan is NECESSARY to protect America. Just drop it. Think instead of the fact that there are enough powerful weapons present in the world to erase all of the people within these areas. Do we, or anyone else, really want to do that? Of couse not. It is insane.
So what are we doing? We are fighting a limited and antiseptic (kill no civilians) war on the enemies turf - and - restricting the amount of power our side can bring to bear in the conflict. Instead of using our sophisticated and overly powerful weapons that could WIN (?) in all of the disputed areas WITHIN HOURS, we fight on for YEARS with our military having both hands tied behind their backs. This is absurd.
The killing of civilians is no longer acceptable and therefore UNLIMITED war can no longer be waged. It is not POLITICALLY CORRECT any more, but do we have to submit to an enemy in order to maintain our political correctness? Come on folks, there must be another answer. WE HAVE BEEN ATTACKED and remain under attack. Our nation is being depleted one soldier at a time, by a poorly connected rabble of fundamentalist Muslims. Their number is unknown but it is certainly a comparative few. This enemy has no address and very limited military power. They are unable to manufacture competitive weapons and armaments. But whether we like it or not, they are gathering more and more to their cause. They are winning the UNDERDOG SYMPATHY VOTE worldwide.
There is no mystery here. The enemy attracts manpower because of the vast differences between RICH and POOR. Yes, it is that simple. That is precisely where the real problem lies. It has been slapped in the faces of undeveloped and poor nations by the huge expansion of media availability, particularly over the last 50 years or so. The advancement of television bears much of the responsibility. Poor and wretched people are able to see exactly how their lives compare to lives of the rich around the world. It is no wonder they are discontented and miserable and ready to join the terrorists. They have very little to lose.
More later. . .
THE ENEMY IS ISLAM. There, I've said it. It's not politically correct, but it is true. Why can't we face it and say so? The religion of Islam as outlined in the Qu'ran and interpreted by thousands of clerics, each of whom is apparently free to cherry pick the text to suit his own purposes, is mis-used to justify aggressive, militant behavior. The book, like the Christian Holy Bible, contains many contradictions. Both the Qu'ran and the Bible are believed to be the word of God. In the case of the Qu'ran, it is the word of God as interpreted by Mohammed, and the Bible is the commonly believed to be the word of God as interpreted by all sorts of people. Most Christians believe that God inspired and guided the scribes that actually wrote the Bible. I have never heard it said that God inspired and guided Mohammed. An interesting point, but perhaps not important.
The Christian religion is divided by many denominations, each with it's own hierarchy with a leader at the top. The Islamic religion is divided by various sects whose leaders appear to have rather vague connections. Interestingly, the Muslim enemies that are at war with us seem to originate from several of the sects within Islam, yet they themselves do not have a firm leadership structure. Relatively small and independent terrorist groups are simply out to KILL ALL NON-BELEIVERS (Infidels). They all seem to lack any feelings of guilt or shame, and they all believe that by killing themselves and infidels at the same time, they will hasten their promised journey to Paradise. The promise is illogical theological gibberish - yet many "westernized" and educated Muslims believe it absolutely.
How do we deal with such an dysfunctional and brutal enemy.
More later. . .
THE ENEMY IS ISLAM. There, I've said it. It's not politically correct, but it is true. Why can't we face it and say so? The religion of Islam as outlined in the Qu'ran and interpreted by thousands of clerics, each of whom is apparently free to cherry pick the text to suit his own purposes, is mis-used to justify aggressive, militant behavior. The book, like the Christian Holy Bible, contains many contradictions. Both the Qu'ran and the Bible are believed to be the word of God. In the case of the Qu'ran, it is the word of God as interpreted by Mohammed, and the Bible is the commonly believed to be the word of God as interpreted by all sorts of people. Most Christians believe that God inspired and guided the scribes that actually wrote the Bible. I have never heard it said that God inspired and guided Mohammed. An interesting point, but perhaps not important.
The Christian religion is divided by many denominations, each with it's own hierarchy with a leader at the top. The Islamic religion is divided by various sects whose leaders appear to have rather vague connections. Interestingly, the Muslim enemies that are at war with us seem to originate from several of the sects within Islam, yet they themselves do not have a firm leadership structure. Relatively small and independent terrorist groups are simply out to KILL ALL NON-BELEIVERS (Infidels). They all seem to lack any feelings of guilt or shame, and they all believe that by killing themselves and infidels at the same time, they will hasten their promised journey to Paradise. The promise is illogical theological gibberish - yet many "westernized" and educated Muslims believe it absolutely.
How do we deal with such an dysfunctional and brutal enemy.
More later. . .
Comments
I don't think this is about the poverty so much as the ideology. Saudi Arabia could give their people more but they have kept it for the wealthy few. It hasn't led to them being attacked. I think the terrorist sympthasizers have sold us as being corrupt, decadent and deserving of death.
I saw a lady on one of the interview shows discussing the problem of getting the responsible Muslim people to decide enough is enough and begin to turn against those who do violent acts. She was from the Middle East and has bravely chosen to speak out even when it puts her at risk. Until more of them do that, I am not sure how we turn around their mindset.
For now we have to protect ourselves from it by preventing attacks as best we can, by extra checks on those who have the characteristics of being a possible extremists (and forget the PC concerns. There is a fifth column in this country working to stop us from using reasonable measures to protect ourselves) and going after those who do them with an iron hand (like we do when some commit crimes in this country). I read that the machines that could have detected these explosive elements have not been repaired and we have less up today than we could if we paid that repair cost each year. It's irresponsible to not do what we can.