On Sep 11, 2006, at 9:51 AM, Alberto Monteiro wrote:
Jonathan Gibson wrote:
Because the USA may be the target of nuclear terrorism. OTOH,
nuclear terrorists might explode a bomb anywhere they can, just
to show they have it.
OK.
How does this make any difference? We faced nuclear megadeath
of enormous proportions for decades w/o erosion of our rights -
well, actually we have, but that's another topic - or, at least
the ones we curtailed are a "comfortable pain" we are already
long familiar with.
Nuclear Islamic Terrorism is far more dangerous than Nuclear
Communism. They had something to lose, while the islamic fanatics
don't - not even if the retaliation would reduce every sacred
islamic place to radioactive dust.
Nonesense. Why do the puppetmasters pushing suicide bombers have less
to lose than the soviet aparatchniks did? There are any number off
technical, political, cultural, etc, reasons for a ffoolish leadership
to intentionally, or by blender, trigger nuclear bombs. The scale of
mistakes is obviously much worse under the old Cold War than an
isolated nuke going off here or there. Losing Morder, er Washington
DC, to an attack would be bad, but nothing compared to globe-straddling
nuclear winter after a typical US-v-USSR script.
The scale is obvious and one you don't address.
I fail to see what scale of boogeyman is acceptable when
North Korea has become a growing and real nuclear threat,
while GwB and that crowd chase snipes they damn well knew
weren't real.
But what is the solution to North Korea's problem? There's no
simple solution. Not even starving the kp-ians to death does
any good. Maybe offering a huge bribe to kp's dictator, making
sure he will spend the rest of his life in some tropical
paradise and nobody will ever touch him or his fortune could
solve that problem, but this would establish a predecent that
would make every dictator try to get the same "bonus".
Well, invading Iraq certainly didn't slow them down now did it?
Additionally, we now lack a sharp military instrument to enforce our
disagreements with them. Simple solutions sold grandly and to a war
drumbeat rarely work and are never really simple.
Engage them. Infiltrate and subvert with hugs and kisses that win over
their people as you disarm their installations. It's a patience game.
One this administration is congenitally unable to process. It doesn't
fit the branding they've pushed lately as uber-macho.
When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
Thanks, I wanted some thoughts on this to try and get past the handy
labels and notions that get bandied. I don't think there is
anything to resolve here as your opinion rates casual life-taking
too cavalierly for my notions of a stable solution...
I am not _that_ callous about life-taking! It's just that I live
in fear _now_: I change my routine all the time to chose safer
routes, my wife quitted jobs that would expose her when crossing
danger zones, my kids can't get in the streets alone, etc.
This is a warzone, and we are losing it :-/
I feel for you and yours. Your agitation for action is understandable.
I advocate drying up the weaponry funds by taking out the profits.
Clearly the "war on drugs" as it has been waged since... Nixon {!} are
failing whereas Holland has an actual working system that minimizes
harm.
BTW, I didn't have data when I wrote, but this Sunday's newpaper
had a study showing that the drug dealers are losing income from
Coke and Marijuana, and they are compensating it with bank robbery
and flash kidnappings - just as I said.
Well, then the correct procedure is to harden those areas and beef up
enforcement. You can't just shrug and say there is no winning, because
there are victories. You just cited one, but industries like gangs
demand feeding and until the machinery is starved into downscaling it
will grow like a cancer. Marginalizing this crowd is the only way to
make them into mere nuisances instead of dire threats.
Is it starve a cold and feed a fever, or other way around?
- Jonathan -
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