Quick answers:
1. Other nations couldn't really act - Germany rolled over them from 1939-1941 (Poland, France, Yugoslavia, Greece, France, part of Russia, etc.), unlikely it would have been different earlier.
2. Japan's expansion was an internal function of the Meiji restoration from the 19th century, unrelated to Hitler (a lesson worth remembering for the dolts who want to believe in monolithic global movements).
3. We had to back off North Korea because China entered the war, not our choice. They drove us back to the original border. There are important political and legal reasons why the Alliance felt they couldn't take out Hussein in 1991. IMHO, it's more compelling to argue they should have broken the rules then than the BS case we have now.
4. Get rid of them altogether - there are a lot more of them than most people imagine, such that getting rid of them is not a viable proposition. Do you want to invade and occupy Sudan and Somalia?
5. The Germans and Japanese were utterly defeated, a history-changing event where old dreams of empire are scrapped. How you get there doesn't matter much when the pivot point is so dramatic. Iraq may turn over a new leaf, or they may be a total pain in the ass again in 10-20 years. Whatever plan we impose won't change basic Iraqi culture. It sure as hell didn't change basic Bosnian culture, believe me.
6. Fortunately mass civilian bombing is fairly irrelevant given modern military technology, unless you are a deliberately ruthless bastard. I pity the poor schmucks on SI who want to see the US put ourselves on that level just to get their rocks off. They are out there on other threads, on the record for all to see. |
