4. Mean it, when we say we support Freedom and Democracy. Nobody outside the U.S. believes us, when our leaders say they are the global champions of those ideals. The reason is, so often this is just PR, and the reality is we form close alliances with despotic medieval theocracies like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Egypt. Words have to match actions, or we are seen everywhere as hypocrites.
But don't mean it enough to rely upon military force to create it? No wonder few people believe we're any different than the oppressive regimes which already govern them.
When does "meaning it" involve use of military force Jacob?
It's like a pacifist parent scolding their children... "Don't threaten me or I'll whack you one... Really I will... I mean it this time... I'm going to get your father... you bad child, you..."
If we "meant it" we wouldn't be so tolerant of non-democratic nations. We wouldn't coddle them, nor show any patience with them. But the reality is that until the recent years, democracies were outnumbered by dictatorships and totalitarian regimes. And we made faustian pacts with some of them in order to fight the greater evil that direcetly threatened us.
5. Address the reasons we are hated in so much of the world, rather than just angrily dismissing their complaints and then trying to hammer foreign peoples into submission. Force, especially Force used alone, will increase, not decrease, the support for terrorists throughout the world. Every dead Iraqi or Afghan or Palestinian civilian, equals one more recruit for Al Queda.
For one, Jacob.. If we're so "hated", why are so many people literally DYING to get here and possess the American dream? Maybe you need to spend some time outside of the US and discover that for yourself.
I don't believe the US should force "people" into submission, but rather the tyrannical and unaccountable governments which oppress them.
As for using force against terrorists, if your theory was correct, Afghanistan would literally be crawling with Al-Qaeda right now. And any of them hanging out in Pakistan would be streaming back across the border and over-running the tiny US and NATO force currently there.
The reality is that taking out terrorist infrastructure is VERY effective. Killing their leadership, and at times even their family, is also an effective deterrence. Destroying those governments who actively, or even potentially, would harbor those terrorists is also quite effective.
In sum... to avoid a reoccurence of 9/11, the only real "homeland defense" is an active and relentless offence against anyone who might be inclined to assist those terrorist networks. And if Saudi Arabia fails to fall in line, they will likely find themselves on the "target list".
More responses in the next post... |
