War and torture create fear but destroy respect.
In the post WW2 era the US was most respected with Reagan in office, and the sum total of his warmaking was a takeover of a small Caribbean island and a retaliatory strike against Qadafi for the Lockerbie attack.
The fear that he would do what he said was what earned him respect...Do you think the world respects Obama??? They definitely don’t fear him....
Teddy’s saying, “Speak softly, but carry a big stick!” says a lot....
Do you think the Iranians released those hostages right after Reagan was sworn in because they respected him or do you think it was because they feared what he was going to do if they hadn’t?????