Except For Defeating the Nazis and the Japanese, Killing the Rapists Or Murderers

[Annie]

Violence has accomplished nothing:

[Eugene Volokh, July 8, 2005 at 1:36pm] 0 Trackbacks / Possibly More Trackbacks
I Like It When Slate Gets Bloody-Minded:

William Saletan writes:

Bin Laden's whole game plan is to turn the people of the democratic world against their governments. He thinks democracies are weak because their people, who are more easily frightened than their governments, can bring those governments down. He doesn't understand that this flexibility -- and this trust -- are why democracies will live, while he will die. Many of us didn't vote for Bush's government or Blair's. But we're loyal to them, in part because we were given a voice in choosing them. And if we don't like our governments, we can vote them out. We can't vote out terrorists. We can only kill them.

Can, should, and will. As they say, except for defeating the Nazis and the Japanese, killing the rapists or murderers who are attacking you, stopping North Korea from overrunning South Korea, and a few other things, violence never solved anything. (And, yes, I realize that violence alone rarely solves everything, and that some violence causes more problems than it solves -- but sometimes it's an important part of a well-balanced defense diet.)

 

[HorhayAtAMD]

(And, yes, I realize that violence alone rarely solves everything, and that some violence causes more problems than it solves -- but sometimes it's an important part of a well-balanced defense diet.)

This is perhaps the fact that most people (including myself sometimes!) forget. Violence alone is never the solution but it is a tool to help us get towards a solution. I am firmly convinced that nothing short of violence would have stopped the Nazis. However, once the Nazis were stopped, something other than violence was needed to ensure they didn't rise to power again. That was the mistake made in WWI and I don't see the Americans making the same mistake in Iraq.

 

[Annie]

This is perhaps the fact that most people (including myself sometimes!) forget. Violence alone is never the solution but it is a tool to help us get towards a solution. I am firmly convinced that nothing short of violence would have stopped the Nazis. However, once the Nazis were stopped, something other than violence was needed to ensure they didn't rise to power again. That was the mistake made in WWI and I don't see the Americans making the same mistake in Iraq.

Well we dealt with after WWII. It took major violence with Japan, but again, what about afterwards? Not so sure if these examples will hold with Islam countries. They don't seem to have any agenda-OTHER than conquering the Infidels. So, what after?

 

[freeandfun1]

Well we dealt with after WWII. It took major violence with Japan, but again, what about afterwards? Not so sure if these examples will hold with Islam countries. They don't seem to have any agenda-OTHER than conquering the Infidels. So, what after?

I hate to say it, but we need to resign ourselves to the fact this will NEVER end. Muslim's do not (not yet anyway) seem to be able to tolerate, much less embrace, anything different from their view.

 

[Annie]

I hate to say it, but we need to resign ourselves to the fact this will NEVER end. Muslim's do not (not yet anyway) seem to be able to tolerate, much less embrace, anything different from their view.

That was to some degree my point. It's a different ballgame, so to speak.

 

[freeandfun1]

That was to some degree my point. It's a different ballgame, so to speak.

Yes, I know. This is also the reason why the west MUST prevent Muslim nations from developing/acquiring nuclear weapons. They will use them without hesitation if they don't get what they want.

 

[HorhayAtAMD]

They don't seem to have any agenda-OTHER than conquering the Infidels. So, what after?

Yes, the extremists will never have any other agenda. However, the long term goal is to give the moderates a) the desire and b) the power to deal with the extremist minority on their own. How? I think the US is on the right track with the type of involvement they have in Iraq.

 

[dilloduck]

Yes, the extremists will never have any other agenda. However, the long term goal is to give the moderates a) the desire and b) the power to deal with the extremist minority on their own. How? I think the US is on the right track with the type of involvement they have in Iraq.

One would think so but the muslim world seems to be pretty content to let the moderate Iraqis die with no help from another muslim country.

 

[Gunny]

(And, yes, I realize that violence alone rarely solves everything, and that some violence causes more problems than it solves --

Violence is a means to end when all attempts at diplomacy fail. We cannot negotiate with rattlesnakes. There's a time a talk, but when it's falling on deaf ears and we are confronted with violence bent on our destruction, our ONLY option is to meet that violence with an even greater force and destroy the threat.

And if we sit back here and wait for THEM to attack, we'll be fighting in OUR yard instead of theirs.

 

[Annie]

Decided to repost with added link.

Violence has accomplished nothing:

Adding the LINK: http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2005_07_03-2005_07_09.shtml#1120844215

[Eugene Volokh, July 8, 2005 at 1:36pm] 0 Trackbacks / Possibly More Trackbacks
I Like It When Slate Gets Bloody-Minded:

William Saletan writes:

Bin Laden's whole game plan is to turn the people of the democratic world against their governments. He thinks democracies are weak because their people, who are more easily frightened than their governments, can bring those governments down. He doesn't understand that this flexibility -- and this trust -- are why democracies will live, while he will die. Many of us didn't vote for Bush's government or Blair's. But we're loyal to them, in part because we were given a voice in choosing them. And if we don't like our governments, we can vote them out. We can't vote out terrorists. We can only kill them.

Can, should, and will. As they say, except for defeating the Nazis and the Japanese, killing the rapists or murderers who are attacking you, stopping North Korea from overrunning South Korea, and a few other things, violence never solved anything. (And, yes, I realize that violence alone rarely solves everything, and that some violence causes more problems than it solves -- but sometimes it's an important part of a well-balanced defense diet.)

 

[Abbey Normal]

This is akin to dealing with a schoolyard bully. Unfortunately, the only way to get the attention of people bent on violence and intimidation is to dish out the same thing on a grander scale.

:spank3: