Comments on: It Used To Be Easy To Conquer The World

By: admin

admin — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 15:28:24 +0000

In reply to Sara Chana Mandell. We can never know the result of our actions in advance. Did the U.S. think that supporting the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan against the Soviets would have augmented the world-wide proliferation of terrorism? Did Carter envision the human-rights consequences of throwing the Shah of Iran under the bus, in order to advance human rights? Do we let our lack of prophetic abilities paralyze us?

By: Sara Chana Mandell

Sara Chana Mandell — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 04:55:27 +0000

We should not allow our neighbor to die if it’s in our power to prevent it, but what is in our power is debatable. If your neighbors are hellbent on killing each other there is nothing we can do. The Rwandan story is the story of the failure of humanity to heed a call for help from an endangered people, but you cannot know what things may have been had western armies occupied Rwanda. Foreign policies are easy to criticize, but don’t be fooled into thinking that things would be great if foreign powers made other choices.

By: Heather Gordon

Heather Gordon — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 03:09:29 +0000

The post-WW II emotional reaction to genocides and other bloody conflicts was “Never again!”. However, for the most part, realpolitik took over [continued?] and it was only where particular self-interests rather than moral values were threatened that intervention took place. In addition, it is obviously extremely difficult for one nation to act alone, especially against well-financed fanatics.

That said, there is no moral excuse for not acting although how to act is problematic.

I agree that these fanatics do not act out of hopelessness but rather out of a warped conviction that only they know the true path. And building western institutions such as schools does not help when girls are killed for attending the schools, or where voting in an election leads to fingers being cut off.

By: dagawker

dagawker — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 02:53:49 +0000

Smash them into oblivion,we did it with nazism and Japanese feudalism and we will do the same to islam!

By: admin

admin — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 01:32:06 +0000

In reply to Esti. Most of the 9/11 terrorists were from wealthy families. Many of the people fighting in Syria and Iraq came from comfortable homes, abandoned good jobs. Read the accounts of individuals from Canada, the U.S., Britain or Australia who sign up for jihad. Very many, if not the overwhelming majority were middle-class. They had hope. It didn't interest them.

By: Esti

Esti — Tue, 24 Jun 2014 00:42:11 +0000

The world has become ungovernable because of what Marshall Macluhan said. We cannot defeat ISIS militarily no matter how much TNT we throw at them.
To combat danatic nihilism we must offer constructive alternatives: build schools and hospitals and roads, bring food and jobs and movies- only hope can defeat dedtruction. Military force destroys more than it serves. Cut the ocygen supply if hopeless young men who flock to these terrorist organizations. The ocygen of terrorism is hopelessness and chaos. If the US would have spent 10% of what it spent on war – in building hope, the world would have been a better place.
I guess hope nakes less money for governments than making tools of war.
Qui bono?