Worlds most dangerous theory..

[dude1394]

A prior post from the blogger Back Talk referenced this theory. If this is to be believed then we absolutely must never abandon Iraq. As it will validate this theory, which has been growing since we abandoned our allies in 'nam.
http://engram-backtalk.blogspot.com/...us-theory.html

And this brings me to the main topic of my post, which is what I call the world's most dangerous theory:

One of the more strategically important reasons to liberate Iraq was to eliminate, once and for all, a theory once shared by the Taliban, Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and other tyrants in the Middle East. According to that theory, America is a paper tiger that will crumble in the face of adversity. As such, its mighty military need not be feared. They have the power, but not the will to respond to heinous atrocities. Indeed, they even lack the will to so much as roughly interrogate a maniacal jihadist whose stated goal is to brutally slaughter as many American men, women and children as he possibly can (even if he possesses knowledge of an impending catastrophic attack). That being the case, state sponsors of terror felt that they could run terror training camps, defy the UN, and ruthlessly oppress their own people with complete impunity. Even if the terrorists they enable managed to deal a devastating blow to the US, significant retaliation was never a serious concern.

After 9/11, I thought that this theory would be put to rest forever. But it is not so. In fact, I'm stunned at how accurately Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein sized up approximately 45% of the American public. A much higher percentage of our population is willing to reinforce that dangerous theory about America than I ever thought possible. They want to withdraw from Iraq now that the going is tough, and they want to treat captured terrorists like favored guests at a tea party. That's precisely the America that Osama bin Laden thought he detected, and it is the world's most dangerous theory.

[Arne]

Yeah right... The USA must be feared all around the world for Americans to be safe...

This sounds pretty much dumb.

In the words of Emerson: "The only way to have a friend is to be one".

Ever heard of the blowback theory which has been accepted by the Commission report and the CIA? That's the world's most dangerous theory. You should rather listen to the CIA than to some anonymous person on the internet...

[dude1394]

Originally Posted by Arne

Yeah right... The USA must be feared all around the world for Americans to be safe...

This sounds pretty much dumb.

In the words of Emerson: "The only way to have a friend is to be one".

Ever heard of the blowback theory which has been accepted by the Commission report and the CIA? That's the world's most dangerous theory. You should rather listen to the CIA than to some anonymous person on the internet...

So should we be friends of the Saudis, Egyptians, Iraqi's, Afghani's? You do understand that it's those friendships that Al Queda is trying to sever don't you?

Yes I've heard of the blowback theory. I've also heard of the CIA(I think the last book they wrote was WMD'sRUs wasn't it?). Not too enamored of the CIA lately but okay.

If the thoughts are interesting, they are interesting are they not? And let's try not to put the commission up on too high of a pedestal shall we? I would expect this poor blogger has as much smarts as those guys, but not the "realpolitik" experience.

[Mavdog]

we should have as many friends as possible. that equates to fewer enemies.

the 45% of the public this blogger points to wants the iraqis to run their own country. the iraqis want to run their own country too.

like the link mentions, the definition of what is a "win" in iraq is tough to determine. from one perspective, the war was won years ago.

it's the peace that's so difficult to acheive.

if the vast majority of violence is al queda (the stand of bush) it seems credible that with us troops gone, the terrorists of al queda would move on too. after all they aren't in a jihad against the iraqis, whichever sect of islam they are, they are in a jihad against the us.

americans support waging the battle against al queda. getting killed amongst the iraqi deaths is what isn't supported.

[Silk Smoov]

Originally Posted by Arne

Yeah right... The USA must be feared all around the world for Americans to be safe...

This sounds pretty much dumb.

In the words of Emerson: "The only way to have a friend is to be one".

Ever heard of the blowback theory which has been accepted by the Commission report and the CIA? That's the world's most dangerous theory. You should rather listen to the CIA than to some anonymous person on the internet...

Look here:

Originally Posted by On Christopher Lydon

"The first volume, Blowback (2000), written just before 9.11, was an account of why something like the World Trade Center attack was bound to happen… an alternative answer to President Bush’s question, “Why do they hate us?” The term “blowback,” as he explained, is a CIA coinage that “does not mean revenge but rather retaliation for covert, illegal violence that our government has carried out abroad that it kept totally secret from the American public (even though such acts are seldom secret among the people on the receiving end).”...