[livius]

Until it is demonstrated beyond doubt that all Islam is the enemy...

I think we've already had ample demonstration of that! About 1300 years of it, in fact, during which Islam has shown itself to be aggressive when it feels strong, and unconcerned about dying because it really doesn't care about life and has a power-driven, distant god that does not care about it, either.

I'm not advocating "confronting" Islam, but simply not involving ourselves in its internal affairs, which are really outside of our control and just confuse matters. Unfortunately, though, Islam can be relied upon to confront us; and when it does, we have to fight back aggressively and without quarter. And when we are in a situation of power, we have to drive it back: for example, the Iraqi constitution would have been much better and much more of an instrument of peace among the Muslims themselves if it had not enshrined Islam. We had our opportunity to neutralize the Islamists in terms of the civil state, but I'm afraid we missed our chance. I think that our desire to tinker with Islam in the hopes that its "peaceful true nature" would be revealed has provided abundant evidence of the weakness of that idea.

I hope we learn from this, and when the next confrontation comes around (which it will), we respond simply on the basis of what is the best defense for us, and not out of some well-meaning notion that we are meant to be the saviors of the Islamic world.

[nathanbedford]

Clive conquered India with 800. We have to check 1.4 billion! If we cannot do it by sending the Marines into Fallujah, how do you propose to do it against 1.4B unless you adopt the strategy of:

1. Clive

2. USS Alaska (Dr. Strangelove)

[nathanbedford]

I forgot to make explicit my agreement with your point that it is no business of the United States to be constructing Athenian democracies with medieval Neanderthals.