| That had so much rhetoric it's starting to drip.
Ignoring the problem isn't going to make it go away. That worked wonderfully back in the 90's didn't it? The existence of America and the West itself is enough to keep these people who will do all kinds of harm in power.
Not being able to fight and win does make us weak. The next time you try to use "presence" as a deterrent, it won't work. You'll have to fight yet again, lose, then come back with the enemy with yet another great recruiting tool.
I think the hurt dollar, the rising oil costs (not necessarily all because of the scarcity of oil) and what Muslim extremists are doing in the UK does suggest that Al Qaeda has the capacity to not only harm Americans but America itself. It will lose all its influence abroad wherever extreme Islam has control.
There's been a slight change since the 70s. Back then, terrorists didn't want a whole lot of people dead. They wanted publicity. But now it seems they want not only publicity but also a whole lot of people dead. America is now the target, not simply the audience. And you can forget about "not doing anything" because the press will cover all the events and show it to the world.
Do you know how doing nothing will be perceived here? It will be perceived as such: the Americans have lost the will to fight. We are now taking the fight to them. Victory shouldn't be too far away now.
That's how it is seen over here (Not America) |