Posted: 10/16/2009 8:47:00 AM EDT
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This is just me thinking out load.
What if... When it comes to dealing with terrorists nations and the like, if we just simply rolled over them and left? Just come on in like a wrecking ball, destroy all of your infrastructure, kill your leaders, kill your military, kill everything you love, and then just left. No staying around to help rebuild the country, no tax dollars spent so you can have electricity again, maybe just a bill of how much you owe us for the amount we had to spend kicking your ass. I am sure that it is probably not the most humanitarian stance, and if we were to do this to another country they would be hurled into some sort of state of civil war afterward, and a leader more awful than the last may take power. Still eventually after we punched enough assholes in the mouth, maybe they would learn to leave us alone? I know some of you will argue "Well that is what happened to Germany, and that is how we got Hitler and WWII", I disagree, Hitler gained a lot of pull from trashing the Treaty Of Versailles which really hampered Germany's ability to rebuild. No treaties or anything like that, we just come in and blow your shit up and leave. |
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Well, the first problem I see is the fact that non-state Actors like terrorists are usually better equipped to operate and survive in a Mad Max environment than a standard government.
Thus, by blowing the hell out of a place, you are creating the conditions that breed non-deterrable non-state actors. See also, Palestinean territories, Somalia, or NWFP. |
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The problem is that the people who finance terrorism are in countries that are our allies (Saudi Arabia).The people who arm terrorism are often our "allies" (Pakistan,Europe,China,etc).
We could flatten Iraq,Syria,Afghanistan and even Pakistan,and there would still be Islamic fundamentalists trying to kill us,and they would still be well funded. The places they hide are not the same as the places their money comes from. The places they hide are not the same as where their weapons come from. The places they hide are not even necessarily WHERE they come from. That said,I'm not a great fan of reconstruction. Better to flatten them,then back off and sell them what they need to reestablish themselves,all the while letting their own internal power struggles occupy their time. Basically,keeping them "down" is far easier than boosting them back into the world community. It also has the advantage of keeping them from competing with you economically for a few generations. Oderint Dum Metuant |
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Quoted:
The thought has crossed my mind. It's a nice big stick to bring to the table: Lay off us or we'll destroy your ability to defend yourself and leave you at the mercy of your enemies. And why didn't Iran, Pakistan, or one of the Turd-i-stans jump into and take over Afghanistan after the Soviets left? For the same reason the Taliban and Al-Aqaida moved there: it's a shithole that nobody wants. The whole "mercy of your enemies" doesn't work in that case. |
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If that were to take place, we would have to resign ourselves to becoming COMPLETELY self-sufficient.
That means drilling oil here, manufacturing our own goods here, supplying all of our own food here, etc... The borders would have to be shut down, and I mean LOCKED. Ahhhhh Utopia. 
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Quoted:
Well, the first problem I see is the fact that non-state Actors like terrorists are usually better equipped to operate and survive in a Mad Max environment than a standard government. Thus, by blowing the hell out of a place, you are creating the conditions that breed non-deterrable non-state actors. See also, Palestinean territories, Somalia, or NWFP. +1 Failed states are the perfect breeding ground for terrorists. Chechnya, Afghanistan and Somalia are just some of the examples of this. |
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Quoted:
If that were to take place, we would have to resign ourselves to becoming COMPLETELY self-sufficient. That means drilling oil here, manufacturing our own goods here, supplying all of our own food here, etc... The borders would have to be shut down, and I mean LOCKED. Ahhhhh Utopia. The US economy would be fucked. Protectionism is suicide for a nation in the long run. |
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OK, so we take the OP's premise one step further and promise to deliver a level of pain to to state supporting or even housing the terrorists that will be soul crushing...and at the same time we promise to provide a modicum of safety in addition to training and supplies needed to stand up their own .mil or police. This is presented as an all or nothing situation with a short time window of opportunity. So, let's use radical Islam as an example, since they have positioned themselves as badguys already. There are approximately 1.5B Muslims in the world, but only a tiny fraction of them are actively fomenting or carrying out the fatwah anf jihad against the Great Satan (USA). For arguments sake let us use a number of .1%...which leaves 1.5M (rememnber, a billion is a thousand million) the course of action is to visit the states in which these 1.5M badguys currently reside and deliver the following ultimatum... Dear Leader of Desert Shit Stained Country, See this as a letter of intent. If the entire element composed of Islamic fundamentalists are not marginalized within 30 days, the US will take the following action beginning the 31st day... -we will place your electrical grid off line -we will disable your ability to import or export goods -we will render you unable to effectively govern -we will freeze all of your assets, foreign and domestic. Compliance with this demand will cause the US in coordination with the International Community, to provide the following... -the US .mil will provide the security you are currently unable to -we will provide the training and resources needed to stand up your own internal police force -we will provide infrastructure development to assist your shit hole country out of the freakin stone age Signed, USA |