Gunny
Gold Member
The difference is that you're basing your reasoning on the notion that this conflict can be won militarily. If we can beat "them," then why not call them idiots. It only reinforces their position as the enemy.
I have made no argument to support this alleged "notion." I call IDIOTS "idiots." An enemy is defined by his deeds, not labels.
Personally, I don't think the war on terror can be won militarily. It's not that I don't want to win it militarily, I wish it were that easy. I look at this as something that needs to be resolved through diplomatic means. I know you probably think that that's impossible, but I don't. So, logically, to me, being sensitive to them and abandoning the hawkish tendencies inherent in the ethnocentric perception of patriotism is the first step in actually making long-lasting process-- not just patching up one region while the terrorists just run to another.
You cannot negotiate with a snake. You kill it or bites you. Wishful thinking otherwise changes that not one bit.
You might want to quit basing your entire argument on the notion that others (me in this case) just don't have quite the intellectual lock on the topic that you do. You ain't smarter than the average bear, and there really ISN'T anything new under the sun.
While it would require labotomies all around to get militant Islamic fundies to negotiate -- a highly unlikey event -- abandoning the tactics of fighting an enemy with shackles on could EASILY defeat that enemy by force.