Difference:
My fear is founded: There are men intent on killing Americans, in mass numbers as much as possible. The solution to this is action - kill them before they kill us. Inaction produces only one result - an unending supply of dead Americans.
Your fear is founded on speculation: If we invade Iraq, it may be messy and it may cause terrorism.
You WRONGLY infer that because we are powerful, we have nothing to fear, unless we act. Your solution is inaction, which has only been demonstrated on the contrary to raise, not lower, the danger to ourselves.
What is CERTAIN NOW, is that there will be terrorist attacks against the US and its allies, REGARDLESS of action or inaction. Inaction solves nothing and only encourages further attacks.
Soft Power is another name for waging peace, to my mind, and a good thing.
Soft Power only works from a position of strength. People like winners, not losers. Whether you like it or not, if we allow ourselves to be attacked with impunity, our influence will dry up in the Arab world.
If we do not invade Iraq now, Saddam is out of his box. No one in the Gulf will ever stick their necks out for the US again. If the US is shown to be so ineffectual that even in the face of open defiance, it won't act, what little is left of the sanctions and containment will be over. Saddam will be a hero. He'll be the Strong Horse to our Paper Tiger.
Derek |
