Quote:
Originally posted by Barry the Sprout:
And I would personally say that our true test of wisdom and prowess (in my eyes) is in not turning the moderates away from us, not taking them for granted.
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And I would personally say that I agree with you [img]smile.gif[/img]
However, this situation is infinately more complex than that. To use 'kill 'em all' tactics would, as you say, create a greater degree of agression toward the Western Hemisphere. Yet by the same token taking a route of non-violence would almost definately provide hard-line militant groups such as Al Qaeda (
who do not want peace! They want the jihad, the complete obliteration of the decadent West in the name of Allah!) the opportunity to expand their influence and resources. This is not a time to back down, but it is neither a time to go hog-wild with self-righteous zeal. Kindness to our friends and swift retribution to our enemies is the only course of action.
I
would however say that more could be done to ease relations with the leaders of the Islamic world. A deeper and more sensitive undertanding of Islamic, Middle-Eastern culture amongst our own leaders and diplomats for one. For instance, the leaders of Afghanistan and Iraq are multi-lingual, capable of speaking arabic as well as english, yet President Bush makes no attempt to learn their ways and languages. This serves to alienate the people of the region. An appeal must be made to our potential allies in the Middle East to demonstrate that we do indeed care about them and their way of life, and to show that they are not just faceless pawns in a greater political game.