Al-Qaida has absolutely ZERO ability to topple the United States or permanently damage our way of life.
If we are attacked after withdrawing, we will retaliate. If not, we will mind our own business, as the founders intended.
“If not, we will mind our own business, as the founders intended.”
Can’t.
Oil.
If we are attacked after withdrawing, we will retaliate.
If they set a nuke off in one of our cities they will not permanently damage our way of life?
And you may have noticed, threat of retaliation is meaningless to Al-Qaeda.
The life blood of Western civilization flows through the Middle East. ZERO ability to topple the USA? Really. They could sure force us into tents in a matter of months (we won’t call it toppling). Try $10/gal or more gasoline on for size. The economy would break and fast without the free flow of oil to the world markets. Japan goes under in 10 minutes and because of Globalization we follow down the toilet shortly thereafter. We stand teetering on the edge of the abyss with Pelosi calling the shots. Bush has lost the funding battle and we will lose the war unless the moron public gets a grip soon. The genocide (Give peace a chance) can change the world as we know it.
Oh really they have ZERO ability? Or do you have ZERO imagination? Which is it?
Lets play this scenario out using only 5 low yield weapons.
Scud launch off the coast of New York, air-burst EMP shuts down most of the East coast.
Next day nuke in St. Louis pops off...then an hour later one pops off in San Diego in the Harbor. About 12 hours later the Jihadist give us an ultimatum. Leave the ME, Europe and the Far East or we will continue popping off weapons.
Please explain the reaction of the US Populace to the uncertainty of a weapon being in their city. Then please explain the results of losing San Diego, St. Louis and most of the East Coasts electronics. Compare and contrast the ability of the Jihadists to absorb hits to our society.
Then explain what changes such an attack might bring about to our way of life.
Well see even you admit that the isolationist strategy won’t work. Do you really think they will leave the US alone just because we bugged out of the Middle East? We don’t even have troops in Saudi Arabia anymore - so how exactly are we interfering in their affairs?
You must be another one of these historical illiterates who is not familiar with the Monroe Doctrine or what lead to it.
And exactly how do we retaliate? That's what we have been trying to do with little success.
IMHO if we pulled out of Iraq, Iran would march in. A guaranteed way to start an Iran-Israel war.
Israel would/could not accept Iran that much closer to its border.
That aside, Iran would/could hold much of the world's oil supply hostage. They could threaten Kuwait, Saudi Arabia.
It would be a forward Al Qaeda base set on overthrowing the Saudi kingdom. A goal we know he has.
OBL gives 'reasons' for attacking us, blah blah. When he needs to he dreams up another.
Heck, that bunch is still pissed about the Crusades.
That is extremely dangerous thinking there. Prior to 9/11, most of us would have said that they had zero ability to completely flatten the Twin Towers and hit the Pentagon. It never occurred to us that they would hijack planes and use them as missiles.
Ok, so that probably won't happen again because passengers probably won't let it happen again, but there are other ways.
They set off a bomb in an elementary school. It wouldn't be hard to do. The point is not necessarily to kill a bunch of kids. It's to terrorize.
Next day another school in another part of the country is bombed.
This happens a couple more times until parents are too terrified to let their children go to school. There are not enough babysitters to watch all of these kids, and most moms are working now too, so somebody will have to quit their job to stay home with the kids.
This doesn't even take into consideration a situation like Pakistan being overtaken by the extremists there (and they have nukes), or Iran, or North Korea working with them, or Saudi Arabia being taken over by their extremists (no nukes, but they have the oil we need).
You are FOOLISH if you think we are not capable of being toppled or permanently damaged.
But wait, you are also one who thinks the real reason we were attacked is for the reasons they themselves gave, so why am I trying to explain this to you? You just don't seem to get it, do you?