On 10/14/2009 04:28 AM, Mike Marlow wrote:
"charlieb" wrote in message

In a world of established nations Might Makes Right
was true. The world has changed, and if we don't
deal with the world as it is then we better get better
at defining "success" before we we commit our
sons AND daughters, and our treasures to throwing
our weight around, thumping our chest and growling
"don't mess with us!".

I do not at all disagree with this statement. I'm no advocate of throwing
our weight around. I am an advocate of being the big asshole on the block
that nobody dares to screw with though.

Let me say up front that I'm not from the USA. (I'm from your neighbour
up North.)

The British had one of the best armies in the world, but they were at a
loss when the American revolutionaries fought skirmishes rather than
stand in a line and go toe-to-toe.

There's a fairly obvious parallel to be drawn. Being the big asshole
only works if you have something that the asshole can damage in retaliation.

When terrorists are not affiliated with any particular nation-state the
threat of being the big asshole doesn't help much. If you go in
somewhere, they just move elsewhere. (Afganistan/Pakistan, for
instance.) In some cases going in somewhere and throwing your weight
around may actually work against you by causing resentment amongst the
locals. Invariably there will be civilian casualties, mistreatment of
locals, etc. This then makes their point for them..."look, see how
arrogant the Americans are", "they're bombing innocent children", etc.

I may be an idealist, but in my view the only way to reduce the level
conflict is by reducing the factors leading to discontent in the first
place.

9/11 was a terrible and reprehensible act. About 3000 people died.
For comparison, every year over 40000 people die in car crashes. The
goal of terrorists is to inspire terror, and they've done that. The
best response would have been to rebuild, make a monument to the lost,
and get on with living the american dream.

Chris