[CaptainHaplo]

UnderSea - a well written response - and feedback is always good.

Regarding political suicide - maybe - but I won't change a stance just because its politically uncomfortable.

Now - let me thank you for your service. Like so many here, myself included, service in our armed forces is something we undersand, both in its blessings and tribulations. I also have seen friends lost and while we all may disagree on many things, let us be truly thankful we have the freedom TO disagree - thanks to the sacrifices of such good men.

I have spent way too many days in sun and sand myself - so I do fully comprehend what your talking about regarding the difference in perspective. The culture we are dealing with when it comes to the middle east - and not just in Iraq/Afghanistan, but throughout the region, is drastically different than our own. It is these differences that make the problem of terror so difficult.

As for the policy you suggest, you said "It doesn't solve the terrorist problem, but it does make it someone else's problem.". Unfortunately, that isnt the case, as 9/11 showed. Do you think all of this hatred for the West is because of Israel? You have proven smarter than that. The fact is that the extremists hate our way of life - our freedom, our capitalistic market, our heathenism - literally - everything we stand for they stand against.

I asked a middle eastern man one day how it was that, though the population liked us personally, why they still looked at America and our way of life with a jaundiced eye. Here we were, helping them be safe, giving them an opportunity to taste at least a sliver of freedom - the likes of which they had never had - and were relishing - yet aside from an individual basis - there was great distrust and hostility toward our way of life. It made no sense to me. You know what he told me? He pointed to his little girl and said what basically amounted to "I don't want her to ever turn into a whore." There was ALOT more to it - but the fact is that what they knew of our way of life came from what we export most - and what we export most is seen by them on things like tv, movies, radio "news" about which celebrity is fornicating with the other, all the things that are MORALLY reprehensible to them as a society. Then he talked about how we were so high and mighty in our attitudes - thinking that just because they didn't have all the "modern" things and ideaas that we did they "must" backwards. As he talked, jealousy and dislike crept into his voice, as he was a father just like me, who wanted to give the best he could to his children, and here he was confronted with the fact that he had little chance, and yet had to see those that could do for their sons or daughters what he could not. Add in the fact that there was a feeling that we were all to "smug" for our own good - and you had a genuine undercurrent of hostility that you just can ... feel.

And yes my friend - those feelings make for some long patrols.

In some ways they do think different than us. Just as they don't understand that most of us could care less who is banging who because we live our lives day to day for our families just like they do. Sure, conditions are different, but they don't see the "everyday" American. The odest thing is - most of them think more like us than they would ever believe. They love their families, they want to have the chance to make life better, but they define better simply differently than we do. As that man told me - "We will take your freedom, but we don't want the corruption that comes from it".

The majority of middle easterners are more secular than they let on, but their moral base is not lost. Add in the limited opportunity and the pervasiveness of muslim theology in that part of the world, and one can see why terrorism has taken such a strong root.

But to think that the theocratic leadership of Islam would somehow be content to focus purely on the destruction of Israel (and your policy would lead to its destruction, rest assured), and then decide that they could sit inside the region content to not bother anyone - is dreaming. If you look at what even current muslim leaders have done - it has been call for pursuing Jihad worldwide until the world itself is united under the crescent of Allah. You can even look at the riots in northern europe, the bombings in France, the violence in South Africa and in South America , etc... to see that to simply turn a blind eye in the hope that they would somehow "turn nice" and "stay home" just isn't realistic. Heck - even Russia has struggled with Islamic terror - as the Chechen rebels have caused.

All your proposal would do is allow the Islamic extremists to consolidate their power and become stronger before they turn their concentrated power on us. Not to mention the policy would have use stand by while genocide takes place - which I would hope you and every other citizen of this country would find morally outrageous. Will you still stand by while they take Europe and the Far East as well? Are you willing to face the fact that ultimately it would be left to the US to stand alone in the future against the rest of a islamic world bent on eradicating our way of life?

I am sorry my friend - but your policy is appeasement. History has shown - whether it be muslims, a short french guy, a half-german with a bad mustache - or any other person or group, appeasement never works - it never gives enduring safety. If there is anything one must do when looking at how to deal with world events, is to look at history. For as is often said - you either learn from it - or are doomed to repeat it. Would you have this country follow the lead of Neville Chamberlain until the enemy is at the gates? Sorry - but I could not agree to such a thing.

Also - for some reason people seem to think I was talking nukes - I don't believe I ever indicated that.

I will speak to the other issues when I can - but for now I will close with the words of a few philosophers that should be contemplated when it comes to the war on terror.

Let them hate us as long as they fear us - Caligula
Pardon one offence and you encourage the commission of many - Publius Syrus
We make war so that we may live in peace - Aristotle
The cruelty of war makes for peace - Publius Syrus
A bad peace is even worse than war - Tacitus