"And then we're all stuffed, and on our species' death certificate they'll have to put "stupidity" as the cause of death"In my darker moments, that's pretty much the way I see it going down.
They have the advantage by a long shot; they have no ROE and we have restrictive ROE.
So, they'll always be able to strike at a time and place of their choosing.
Eventually, the US will be either damaged enough or enraged enough.. or probably both together... that there will be retribution on a scale never before seen in the history of mankind. Innocence at that moment will not matter.
Hypothetically assume the smallpox or anthrax variation. Successfully and repeatedly introduced into the US, it quickly kills 1/2 the population with more dying every day. You think we'll go gentle into that goodnight? I don't. A nuke strike against NYC or LA? Or both? Same result.
Yes, it would mean abandoning all we've tried to be, all we've tried to stand for....
but in the last extremity, that will not matter. Blood will call out for blood and the call will be answered... in spades.
Problem is, as I said, this outcome would be pretty much independent of ANY actions the US takes or does not take.
The terrorists are not going to stop, no matter what we do. Stop supporting Israel? They'll say it's the sanctions against Iraq. Lift the sanctions against Iraq? They'll always have another reason. They do this because it makes them important, because it gives reason to their existence.
There are more than enough countries that will hide them or fail to actively seek them out. Bound to be some folks that are privately enjoying the US getting whacked, no matter what they say in public.
So, although I'm sure not the Biblical type
, this may be the beginning of The End of Days.
I see no way out. The terrorists have finally reached their "takeoff point" and they now control the game in toto.
Bad news for all hands on Spaceship Earth, I fear.
