Um...I didn't say that. You did.
No Islamic country has a modern air force and none have a blue water navy. Iraq had one of the better armies in Islamic countries and took us like a week to knock out its major weaponry and take over the country.
I'm sure Great Britain said the same thing of the colonies.
They didn’t say occupying, just that we had troops in the country that had the holiest city for Islam, Mecca. And the second holiest city too.
That would hold more weight if there wasn't a pattern of radical Islam subjugating and terrorizing people for hundreds of years. You can keep going back in history and you still have radical Islam doing the same thing. The fact that they make those points in propaganda speeches meant to move their own masses is not indicative of the way they really view the situation.
Or take Kuwait, they have to import workers for all the low end jobs, as each of their citizens get a chuck of the oil wealth.
And Kuwait is westernized. That is hardly the norm for the ME countries. Most of the people in those countries live in abject poverty while a very few powerful gather all the funds to their own coffers. This leaves large groups of young unemployed men who are angry, unemployed and looking for a cause larger than themselves.
Nor should we allow this fear to cause us to give up more of our liberties, like with the Patriot Act. Once the government gets new powers, it rarely gives them back. There is always some new threat on the horizon.
On this we agree. Terrorists want to invoke a disproportionate response to their action. Our resilience and ability to withstand and overcome the literal terror of terrorism will determine who will win this battle (at this point I think RP is not suited for preparing us for resiliency to terror). I would prefer a much better military intelligence which was given authority to deal with radical terrorist elements group by group, rather than nation by nation. Cutting off funds. Eliminating armaments. And when necessary, offing large groups of them in their training camps. However, I should add the caveat that nations can become terrorist nations and could conceivable have to be dealt with on a national basis.
Right, you just insinuated it.
****I’m sure Great Britain said the same thing of the colonies.****
Britain had a superior navy, but not that much superior, remember “Old Iron Sides?” Other than that, our weapons were equal to or superior to the British weapons. The Kentucky long rifle was more accurate and could shoot a longer distance than British rifles.
****That would hold more weight if there wasn’t a pattern of radical Islam subjugating and terrorizing people for hundreds of years. You can keep going back in history and you still have radical Islam doing the same thing. The fact that they make those points in propaganda speeches meant to move their own masses is not indicative of the way they really view the situation.*****
The same could be said for a lot of nations, religions or people in most of the eastern hemisphere. It was a long time between the Roman Empire and WW II, but Italy hoped to regain some of its former power when it joined Germany in WW II. You might want to watch the history channel show, “The Kings, From Babylon to Baghdad.” In no particular order, Greece vs Troy, the Ottoman empire, the Egyptian Empire, Rome vs Carthage, Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, The Crusades, The Goths vs Roma, England vs France, England vs Spain, England vs Ireland, England vs Turkey, England vs Scotland, The Moors vs Spain, Napoleon, etc.
Then you have the different religious sects and ethnic problems. The Turks vs the Kurds, the Turks vs the Armenians, the Iraqis vs the Kurds, the Iranians vs the Kurds, The Sunni vs the Shites, the fundamentalist Muslims vs the more secular Muslims in Egypt, the Taliban vs whatever country they are in, etc.
*****And Kuwait is westernized. That is hardly the norm for the ME countries. Most of the people in those countries live in abject poverty while a very few powerful gather all the funds to their own coffers. This leaves large groups of young unemployed men who are angry, unemployed and looking for a cause larger than themselves.****
The same could be said about almost any Asian or communist country. Plus a lot of other countries. India, China, Cuba,Russia, Argentina, Venezuela, Burma, Thailand, Mexico, most of Africa, etc.
On this we agree. Terrorists want to invoke a disproportionate response to their action. Our resilience and ability to withstand and overcome the literal terror of terrorism will determine who will win this battle (at this point I think RP is not suited for preparing us for resiliency to terror). I would prefer a much better military intelligence which was given authority to deal with radical terrorist elements group by group, rather than nation by nation. Cutting off funds. Eliminating armaments. And when necessary, offing large groups of them in their training camps. However, I should add the caveat that nations can become terrorist nations and could conceivable have to be dealt with on a national basis.
That sounds just about what Ron Paul has said and did or asked for. He voted for troops to Afghanistan because the Taliban were making it a terrorist nation. He also offered up the idea of Letters of Marquis and Reprisal. People scoff at them, but look at the security outfit in Iraq now— Black... something or other. They show if you pay people enough, they will do your dirty work for you.
A bit off the subject, but just to illustrate what is happening to our liberties. The local elem. school just sent home a list of what is allowed and not allowed for Halloween costumes and the list of what is not allowed is long. E.g. nothing that looks like a weapon will be allowed. Also there is a list of what edibles are allowed.