Quote:
Originally posted by gavinlit
After browsing through a post by tabs on 911 & the corresponding replies I viewed a link that he posted:
http://www.olivetreeviews.org/topics/movies/attack.html
At that time you had most of the world with you. I believe the domestic equivalent is called political capital. And to be frank, your govt has pssd it up against a wall in Iraq. It's a real pity because so much could have been achieved & I'm pretty sure it will go down as a monumental loss of opportunity that will (hopefully) not come again. My thoughts regarding the american govt now mostly revolve around the fact that they can't be trusted & are dangerously incompetent.
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You are dead right about this. The political capital the US had after 9.11 was pissed up against a wall.
Instead of defeating the terrorists - you have chosen to incite them. Instead of taking the high road - you have chosen the low road. Instead of taking out the problem by stealth (special forces etc) you have chosen to make martyrs out of people who would otherwise have been ignored and have had no significant impact on their communities.
According to a number of sources (Economist etc.) there are today approximately 20 times (estimated) the number of militant jihadists that there were before 9.11. Afghanistan is a mess and getting messier. Iraq is a mess and getting messier.
Islamic extremism is a blight on humanity - of that there is no doubt. But surely there were better ways to deal with this than the current occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan - for which there is no end in sight.
Imagine spending the same amount of money of schools and hospitals and security etc and on actually trying to win the hearts and minds of the people.
How difficult would that be? Remember how you won the hearts and minds of Europeans after WW2 - with nylon stockings, bubble gum, cigarettes and beer. It's that simple really....well actually it isn't any longer - you have pissed that opportunity away.