No, I don’t care to argue with you, but if there is even a small chance that an action of mine would enrage a person in Afghanistan who was up to this point non-violent, and that person (or many persons) would react violently and endanger a friend or a relative over there fighting for me...for myself I would not burn a stupid book just to make a point.
Of course you don't. You want to launch a drive-by, ad hominem attack on me, then not stick around to have to defend yourself. Happens all the time on DU and the Yahoo blog.
"...but if there is even a small chance that an action of mine would enrage a person in Afghanistan who was up to this point non-violent, and that person (or many persons) would react violently and endanger a friend or a relative over there fighting for me...for myself I would not burn a stupid book just to make a point."
Do you really believe we can "win their hearts and minds"? I mean that worked so well in Vietnam, and it's been working so well in Iraq (seven years) and Afghanistan (nine years, longer than the Soviet occupation) thus far, right? For that matter, it's cousin, "peace talks" with the Commie North Koreans has worked really well, hasn't it?
It's a war. History shows us the only way to decisively win a war is to kill the enemy until he begs you to stop killing him. Somewhere along the way, he's gonna get mad at you. But if you've killed him, killed his family, destroyed his country's ability to wage war on you anymore, and inflicted so much pain on him he's had all he can take, who gives a crap if he's mad? He can go off and sulk after the unconditional surrender is signed.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
This walking on eggshells to keep from "offending" or "enraging" Muslims has gotten pathological, and serves only to encourage them to express their rage about the most insignificant things. ....like drawing Mad Mo's likeness in a cartoon. ....or protesting the proposed mosque at Ground Zero. ....or a pastor of a tiny church burning a few books. The more politically correct and culturally sensitive you act, the more likely they are to get enraged about the slightest perceived slight to their sadistic cult. And btw, if some nutball in Afghanistan (or anywhere else) riots over an event like this, he was never "up to this point non-violent."