"charlieb" wrote in message
...
Swingman wrote:

Might makes right, Bubba ... and don't you ever forget that, or do so at
peril of your eventual demise.

You illustrate my checkers vs chess analogy perfectly.
A dozen or so fanatics murder (since none were combatants
they were murdered, not "killed") three thousand plus people.
"Might" did nothing to prevent those murders. It's not going
to be big muscles and lethal weapons that we should rely on,
but rather the effective use of that which evolved after muscles,
intelligence and the intelligent use of intelligence.


Double bull**** Charlie. The reason these fanatics felt comfortable
executing their plan was that we had lost the image of invincibility. We
got our asses kicked by the war in Viet Nam, and had become a nation of
don't ask, don't tell. The feminization of our country and our culture was
visible world wide. We were an easy target because we no longer represented
a threat of retaliation. Or a threat of "don't mess with us". And... look
how we have proven that to be true. Bin Ladin headed off to Pakistan
because he knew he could. We wouldn't pursue him. He toys with us (or his
followers), because they know they can. He knew exactly how to play us
because we trained him. And... funded him. But what he was able to observe
was that we were losing our "might is right" posture, and embracing
everything that feels good, and in the end stands for nothing.

--

-Mike-