Bad, Like John Shaft Bad
I agree with this assessment. In the wake of the assassination of their Dr. Evil/Saruman leader dude, Hamas vowed to wreak vengeance on all enemies of their bizarro-world philostophy, including of course the US. Right after this news broke, some Hamas leaders realized what they'd said and hastened to reassure the US that "no, uh... heh... it's cool, it's cool. We never meant it, baby. It's cool."
I really can't imagine Palestinian terrorists, with their long history of burning American flags and shouting anti-US slogans, would have moved so fast to reassure the US government a few years back. Obviously, there was real fear in this reaction, fear that some of Hamas' cells or allies would attack US interests and invite the mother of all retaliations, or that the US would accept even more brutal Israeli reactions if the country felt directly threatened. The war on terror, including the effective war in Iraq, has restored fear of America in the hearts of even the most brutal and vicious Middle East terrorists.
Good point. As you know, I don't really agree with many of the moves the President has made over the last couple years, but to disagree over strategy and desired outcomes is not to deny that some great things have happened: to wit, Libya turning stoolie on the international nuclear program they were in, Iraq's rape rooms closing for good, and a few shameful scandals dragged blinking into the light (Oil Food abuse, Russian-Iraqi cronyism, French double-dealing).
If terrorists fear the US... really fear us, in a change-of-britches kind of way, that's good. That's progress. If somehow the children of Israel and the children of Palestine could somehow start linking arms, singing Carpenters songs and sharing candy, that'd be much, much better, but I've wished in one hand so far and it's not filled up yet.
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They don't fear us, as in you
They don't fear us, as in you, me, or any of the legions of overfed ignorant Americans.
They fear Bush.
And the Marines - "No greater
And the Marines - "No greater friend, no worse enemy." They fear the combination of stupendous US military lethality, and a leader willing to use it.
Yeah, you're right. The big
Yeah, you're right. The big question for me is, (and this is not a question for Buckethead, who made up his mind loooong ago) given that having terrorists fear us, does that big-ass good outweigh all the shit that's been pulled in other areas by Bush & co, and how much would a change in leadership dispel that fear? I don't want to vote for Kerry, but I don't want to vote for Bush either. If there was just a way to get rid of his underlings... Cheney, Don "Barzini" Rumsfeld, and John "Johnny Feartits" Ashcroft notably, that would be so freaking awesome. Might even vote for the bastid then. Might.
J,
J,
Great question. And we've gone round and round with it for years now. How much of what you perceive as bollocks will you withstand, or allow to be offset, by thorough ass-kicking-ness?
Personally, I'm not going to vote anyway. Kerry already holds MA in his icy clutches, so there's little point.
What I think will be really funny, in an entirely unfunny way, will be the relentless accusations of fraud by whatever side loses in November.
The only chance we'll avoid
The only chance we'll avoid that scenario, GL, is if one side achieves a relatively decisive victory. Barring the unforseen, that doesn't seem too likely, though at this point I think Bush will win. God save us from another Florida CF.
Just because I made my mind up already shouldn't exclude me from the conversation. I'm hurt, Johno, hurt. Public debate shouldn't be left to the wafflers and fence sitters. Heh.
I dunno B- if you make up
I dunno B- if you make up your mind you're a unilateralist warmonger. If you flipflop, you're a nuanced thinker.
I don't mind either appelation so much, just own it if you are it.
Me? I'm an
I-don't-give-a-shit-either-way-'cuz-I'll-be-fucked-in-
the-end-regardless-ist.
You're not hurt, you
You're not hurt, you warmongering huckster! You're playing some sub-ropeadope strategem designed to draw me out, then you'll ATTACK! with your jaws of steel!
Feel free to join the conversation. I was merely pointing out that, the question was no longer a question that you needed to answer, having satisfied yourself long ago that the puppet on the right was the one that spoke for you.
Zing!