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Originally Posted by Mazer
Alright, I am being dramatic, but I'm trying to make a point. We may not believe that we're at war with an other culture, but that other culture does believe that it's at war with us. I'm of the mind that they're looking for flaws in our character to exploit, and if we retreat without making a concerted effort to restore peace in Iraq, one that challenges our resolve and taxes our resources, then they'll have the ammunition to defeat us in future conflicts. Those won't necessarily be military conflicts; the middle east still controls a huge portion of our energy supply and they could ruin our economy without trying too hard. The point is that we'd be teaching them that if you resist America long enough, they give up and go away. The simple knowledge of that fact might be enough to satisfy most of the Muslim world, but a minority of extremeists would be emboldened to make more direct attacks on us. That's all I'm saying.
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well then, thank Ronald Reagan for that lesson - he established that precedent by withdrawing from Lebanon in 1982, after terrorists killed 200+ US Marines in Beirut. but it takes some wisdom to recognize when your situation is untenable, regardless of the message it sends.
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there's no going back to the way things were pre-9/11.
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when this is all over, no matter what happens in the Middle East at this point, every threat that existed on 9/10 will still exist and the most effective tools to fight the threat will be those we where using then (hopefully, a bit more effectively now). pre-emptive war is not a viable tool to end terrorism - the last five years have made that abundantly clear.