[Lifetime]

Its a point thats been repeated throughout history. All great leaders and great men have been the point of criticism. How many people here have read Punch cartoons during the World War 2 era? I can remember cartoons on almost every nation and every leader from Punch. At the time they might have been controversial. Now they're counted as historical evidence.

A United Islamic Front? You forget that not all the Muslims in the world live in the Middle East. Indonesia is huge. Most Western countries have a significant Islamic presence. Whats going to happen when they start levelling the guns at the Islamics? I dont think all the Muslims and Immigrants are going to take that very well. I dont want to see the USA become another Israel, living in fear from suicide bombers, unlikely as that may seem. Drastic times call for drastic measures, on both sides of the field. Strike without thought, and sometimes you'll be surprised when the target strikes back. Sure the Allies could level the Middle East in a month. But can they bring peace to a land that has been wartorn for thousands of years? That region is the cradle of modern religion. We have to remember that when we go in there we arent just killing Muslim extremists or terrorist dictators. You'll be blowing up women and children right along with the AK-47 armed nutcases. And what happens if you go in to minimise civilian casualties? You forsake America's greatest advantage, and get bogged down in a ground war where the land itself is hostile to Americans. Does anyone really want a bloodier Vietnam? The very civilians you try to protect will strap bombs to themselves and hurl themselves at our proud tanks and brave soldiers in the name of "freedom". Its not a matter of pounding the Eastern Bloc into comparative atoms. Its about pulling something out of the firestorm. Otherwise that just solves nothing.