Wdtabor wrote:

In article 2YTAb.27636$ZE1.521@fed1read04, "R. Hubbell"
writes:

snip

Let's just cut to the chase the only reason we are involved in the
middle east is because "the american way of life is not negotiable"*


On our soil? No, it is not. We do not need to impose our way of life on
others, but we are fully justified in defending attacks on our way of life
from abroad and in pre-emptively addressing threats to our country.

Trouble with the preemptive policy is that North Korea could use the same
argument to justify a launch tomorrow. Or India on Pakistan. Or any number
of other conflicts around the world. Each side convinced they are on the
side of good and must defeat evil before it spreads.

The strength of America is more than just the military, we just don't use it
effectivly (if at all).

The "war on terror" as practiced up to now can never be won. I agree with
you though that the solution is to get other countries to realize it is not
in their best interests to harbor terrorists. We disaggree on the methods.
Forcing cooperation at gunpoint only dooms us to be forever the occupiers.

No, we need to mobilize some of our other strengths to win this war. We are
the most adept marketers in the world. That, backed up by some honest
humanitarian efforts (and maybe some judicious covert ops) is what will win
the day for us.


"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless,
whether the mad destruction is brought under the name of totalitarianism
or the holy name of liberty and democracy?" Mahatma Gandhi



That he cannot see the difference is why I find Gandhi, and other
pacisifists, contemptible.

Anyone that can describe Gandhi as contemptible is....

What Gandhi stood for and what the above statememt means is that the use of
force will not "win the war". His legacy is that non-violent protest can
work and is indeed very effective because it creates so much sympathy for
the cause and exposes so much of the true nature of the opponent. The
Palestinians would do well to take a lesson from him (and other examples).


The difference he fails to see is the world left to the survivors.

Don


If the survivor's legacy is to become dependant on force then they will end
up being no better than those who came before.

--
Frank....H