you are quite confused about my POV if you think i support doing nothing in the face of actionable information regarding an attack on america. i've never suggested anything remotely close to that.
Sorry if I misunderstood your view. But I can tell you from personal experience that "actionable intelligence" often comes too late to be acted upon, if it comes at all.
It's very difficult to put all the pieces of a puzzle together until after the act of terrorism has occurred. There were certainly a lot of "Ah-hah" moments after 9/11, and people like former FBI agent, and WTC security chief, John O'Neill were vindicated posthumously for their prescience. But it came far too late to save 3000 innocent souls.
My view may be a bit extreme, but it's founded in what I perceive as reality and not self-delusion. I've read the interrogation reports, seen the mentality of these militants with regard to killing those who get in their way, and it's sociopathic in it's deliberate brutality.
They've been brainwashed into believing that death in the name of Allah will guarantee them the keys to Paradise. It's like when the Iranians ordered thousands of plastic keys to be placed around the necks of Iranian children in order motivate them to walk into Iraqi minefields, clearing the way for following soldiers. Those keys were to open up the gates of Paradise and thousands of children perished.
Here's something else to reflect upon. For 40 some years the US and Russia were engaged in a "balance of terror" governed by the logic that both of our societies preferred life over death and thereby would not risk mutually assured destruction. And it worked, more or less, for that entire period.
But I'm not convinced that a similar form of "gamesmanship" will apply, should Iran, or any other militant Muslim faction, obtain a nuclear device. They will use it, IMO, because they perceive it as a worthy sacrifice that will guarantee them a place in Paradise.
M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction) does not work when one party prefers death over life. They figure there are over 1 billion Muslims and only 300 million of us, as well as 400 million Europeans.
That would have far more grievous economic consequences than the amount of treasure and blood we're currently spending in an attempt to contain it.
You want to see economic collapse, let the Iranians manage to set off a EMP burst over the US and you'll be a living witness to it.
Hawk |
