Posted on 06/22/2004 9:47:27 AM PDT by Maigrey
Breaking from Al Jazeera.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
that is shortsighted. imagine if the Nazis could have been taken out in 1935 by targetting the small number of people in the movement; Hitler et al, before they assumed control of Germany and built their military might? we might have avoided WWII and the Holocaust. It might have looked like a "little war" at the time, but the goal is to avoid the massive conflagration you are asking for.
Have a great day!
I really do like the guy . . . I just wish he had spent some time reading my posts on FreeRepublic in late 2002 and early 2003.
Cheers,
AC
Incorrect. Let's try again: The peoples of Afghanistan and Iraq have been given an opportunity to build freer, better societies. (Not all of the people of those two countries are Islamic, and by no means are they all our enemies.) If they can succeed, they will be examples for other Muslim societies that there can be a better way. That is the goal and the risk President Bush is bravely striving for. Yes, the cost is steep.
Will it work? Far, far too early to tell.
.....this will be coming from a hi-tec redneck that makes his living from puters.....
.....and has a father that's in his later 60's.....
.....Fer the Love of.....
.....NOOOOO!!!!.....
.....you will spend every waken moment.....
.....telling him that you have no idea.....
.....why he gets all those girlie pop-up windows!.....
.....lol.....
Bartlett: "Did you know that two thousand years ago a Roman citizen could walk across the face of the known world free of the fear of molestation? He could walk across the Earth unharmed, cloaked only in the protection of the words civis Romanus -- I am a Roman citizen. So great was the retribution of Rome, universally understood as certain, should any harm befall even one of its citizens. Where was [Daniel Pearl, Nick Berg, Paul Johnson, Kim Sun-il]'s protection, or anybody else on that airplane? Where was the retribution for the families, and where is the warning to the rest of the world that Americans shall walk this Earth unharmed, lest the clenched fist of the most mighty military force in the history of mankind comes crashing down on your house?! In other words, Leo, what the hell are we doing here?!"
Leo: "We are behaving the way a superpower ought to behave."
Bartlett: "Well our behaviour has produced some crappy results, in fact I'm not a hundred per cent sure it hasn't induced it."
Leo: "What are you talking about?"
Bartlett: "I'm talking about two hundred and eighty-six American marines in Beirut, I'm talking about Somalia, I'm talking about Nairobi-"
Leo: "And you think ratcheting up the body count's gonna act as a deterrant?"
Bartlett: "You're damn right I-"
Leo: "Then you are just as stupid as these guys who think capital punishment is going to be a deterrant for drug kingpins. As if drug kingpins didn't live their day to day lives under the possibility of execution, and their executions are a lot less dainty than ours and tend to take place without the bother and expense of due process. So, my friend, if you want to start using American military strength as the arm of the Lord, you can do that. We're the only superpower left. You can conquer the world, like Charlemagne! But you better be prepared to kill everyone. And you better start with me, because I will raise up an army against you and I will beat you!"
Bartlett: "He had a ten day old baby at home."
Leo: "I know."
Bartlett: "We are doing nothing."
Leo: "We are not doing nothing."
Bartlett: "We're destroying--"
Leo: "Four high-rated military targets!"
Bartlett: "And this is good?"
Leo: "Of course it's not good. There is no good. It's what there is! It's how you behave if you're the most powerful nation in the world. It's proportional, it's reasonable, it's responsible, it's merciful! It's not nothing. Four high-rated military targets."
Bartlett: "Which they'll rebuild again in six months."
Leo: "Then we'll blow 'em up again in six months! We're getting really good at it... It's what our fathers taught us."
How do you know that you are correct? This grand experiment of bringing democratic societies to Afghanistan and Iraq is embryonic. We may not know the full outcome for a generation or more.
And someone who gets it...
I agree with this statement as a start, but if we only do this and fail to eliminate the breeders, educators and facilitators of these terrorist we will be in this mess for generations to come.
It would be far more humane to totally eliminate these terrorists and their support accomplices once and for all.
Thanks. I needed a laugh after this thread from hell.
Please save it for someone who still cares. I am deeply concerned about my own kids and what could happen to yours is a close second. But the fate of the children of those who, given half a chance, would slit the throats of my kids (and yours) is rapidly becoming a non-issue. Hard choices, like those we made in the 40's over fire bombing cities filled with civilians (including cute little German and Japanese kids), lie ahead.
The hysteria on this thread makes me really fear that way too many Americans don't get it. Sigh.
Is your knowledge of Islam as shallow as your knowledge of history? :)
It's actually quite simple. Back in late 2002 and early 2003, nobody was using silly terms like "this grand experiment of bringing democratic societies to Afghanistan and Iraq" to describe the urgent nature of the war in Iraq. This idiocy about "democratic societies" is something that was conjured up (from all appearances, at least -- though I don't believe for a minute that it wasn't part of the U.S. agenda in the first place) after the WMDs failed to materialize.
I will attempt to expound on my thoughts further in the future. Again, I know what is going on. I fully understand it. I will have a degree in Middle Eastern Studies in one semester and I am learning Arabic to attempt to help combat this problem. Why must people assume 'the worst' about a simple comment?
______________________
because it's no fun to flame reasonable posts?
"Where I was coming from", in my now infamous post (for the wrong reasons) was that I've heard the phrase "so much for the progress" every time that someone dies in this manner, or every time that an American dies, and the death toll is gleefully reported.
I thought that this was another time it was being suggested, without realizing that there was a report talking about progress in negotiating for this man's life. I snapped, and committed the cardinal sin of letting emotion and reason rule my post, instead of just "reason".
People have talked about me, in some cases, rightfully so, and they may say what they will. I believe the majority of my posts will affirm that I have meaningful opinions, and that I have tastefully expressed them, but there are those who will call me a troll, or a CINO, and that is their right to do so.
(By the way, between lunch and two meetings, I've been away from my desk for 2 hours. That's why I've not posted anything for a while today.)
I do apologize for my offensive language, as there are Freepers children that could be watching, and to Jim and the Admin staff, I do apologize. When I make a mistake, I admit it, I apologize, and I proceed. To all posters whom I have offended on this thread, I am sorry for offending you. I would rather talk about the real enemy that exists, without making that enemy be any of you, and/or myself.
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