I don' think you were responding to my (too long) post below yours, for I don't think I ever stated that "sitting on one's ***" was related to the discussion about world orders. But I'll repsond anyways, since I am avoiding work.
I don't think anyone has advocated that the US just "sit on it's ***" and, if you are suggesting that the former administrations did that, you are either being intellecutally dishonest, egnaging in pure rhetoric, or exhibiting willful ignorance. (remember missile strikes into the heart of afghanistan in 92 (IIRC) to get Bin Laden? Remember all the times we dropped bombs on Iraq during the sanctions?)
Fact of the matter is, to eradicate any internationally-organized terrorist organization, you have to work with *other nations.* Getting rid of terorrists is not just a matter of dropping bombs on them. Where are they? Who are they? What resources/plans/ideas/bases do they possess?
To answer questions such as that and to address these with solutions, you have to work with other nations. So, when the US does things unilaterally, -- like it pretty much has since Bush came into office and which is entirely in keeping with what the NeoCons *always* said they would do --- it is counter productive. So we have to resort to bribes or coercion to get people to help us. And that works reallll well. Remember the 4th Infantry Division? How we bribed the Turkish government to let them in to open up a northern front? Well, funny thing, we twisted the Turkish arms behind their backs...and their people (through their reps in parliament) voted it down. And the war plans got screwed up. It was a real pain in the a** for the planners and operators in Iraq, I can tell you that...
Quote:
Originally posted by Combat Wombat:
The Bush administration isn't sitting on its as watching evil spread. They realize its not the most popular posistion but it doesn't matter because it needs to be done whether the rest of the world realizes it yet or not. If you see some little guy getting beaten up by a bully and you realize its not right what are you supposed to do ignore it, hope the bully gets tired? Thats what Europe did in WWII with Hitler. We have to pay attention to our history.
Heres another quote(its probly not exact):T
Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it
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