Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to Uh, Raoul, the Al Qaeda declared war on the West

Europe has been dealing with terrorist acts on European soil for decades.
Mary Anne — (archived)

The voices we hear from Europe have been taught by that experience.

Please remember that the Europeans were all very supportive of the US in our efforts to go after the criminals based in Afghanistan.

If Europeans look askance at the war against Iraq, it would be because we made our case based on evidence that wasn't there, and then backpeddalled.

If the Spaniards disapprove of the course taken by their government in supporting the war on Iraq, they will have a chance to say so.

We don't wage "war" against criminals. Our spectacular failure, "the war on drugs", is the exception that proves how ineffective it is. We use the law to prosecute criminals, working with law enforcement everywhere. We use our intelligence -- used in its generic meaning -- to fight the conditions that allow criminals to recruit, and that makes criminal activity more attractive than law-abiding activity. We do not take the law into our own hands and say, "OK, everybody, we're the law now, and if you don't like it, there's the door." That's only a different form of lawlessness. It does nothing to make victims of the most egregious violations safer, but rather puts them in a crossfire, whereas formerly they only had to worry about being shot at by one side.

If international order has completely broken down, then someone has to take the lead. We still have international order. It becomes undermined by terrorism. It also becomes undermined when a leading nation decides to deputize supporters and start its own police force.

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