My father, who fought in two wars, used to say that foreign nations (and here I would included ISIS even if not a “real” nation) fundamentally misunderstood America. They always made the mistake of thinking that because we were obsessed with our own cares and concerns, our daily lives, our businesses, our neighborhoods, and our families rather than getting caught up in semi-mystical nationalistic ideologies, that we were weak, easily pushed around, and beatable.
He would then say that the most horrible thing in the world for a foreign nation to face was a truly pissed off America. They simply never had any idea of what we could really do and they had no idea that when we were pushed up against a wall we would come out swinging.
Under Obama things are different. But he won’t be [P]resident for ever.
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