ignore it and it won't go away

Submitted by the Grand Infidel of Kaffiristan (Australia), Mar 15, 2009 at 20:35

david Butz writes:

"If I lived in the middle east, I would be way more "terrified" of a helicopter with million dollar weapons systems chasing me than of a 16 year old girl with a crude bomb strapped to her belly. If I lived in Afghanistan, I suspect I would fear Predator drones as much as I feared my neighbors in the next valley. "

Are you're implying here that Israel doesn't need US/Western help in order to survive as a non-Islamic culture surrounded by tens of millions of people hostile to its existence? Should we just sit back and wait for that to happen? That would create a bit of a precedent don't you think? A total defeat for a democratic state and a victory for Islamists. Where does it spread to next - Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Egypt etc etc?

As grim as all warfare is - an attack by a helicopter gunship would be part of a limited military operation directed by military people as part of a plan for a specific purpose. Putting a helicopter in the air has costs associated with it - so there is always a cost/benefit analysis occurring.

The 16 year old female suicide bomber has many advantages - mobility, local knowledge, the ability to strike at virtually any location, the motivation to succeed in the task . And don't forget the PR factor. That is - her demise will inspire other Darwin award candidates to emulate her.

And I think it's easy to overlook the moderating role the us and other countries play in the Middle East. If every country turned its back on Israel and its Arab neighbours - would it be so long before Israel had to use its nuclear option? Who wins in that case?

"Having never been to the middle east and having no desire to go, I can only regret that vast sums of our money as US taxpayers have gone there at the behest of special interests in Washington."

Right - it's easy to comment on things at arm's length isn't it? Perhaps if we went to these countries and felt the palpable hatred and saw the medieval attitudes people had we'd have a totally different viewpoint.

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