(September 16, 2017 at 9:54 am)Khemikal Wrote: Yeah, it was us, we broke the place. The middle east was all lollipops and cotton candy before we showed up.
Yeah, that's totally what I said.
(September 16, 2017 at 9:54 am)Khemikal Wrote: Let's recall for a moment that the reason we are feeling this malaise, is that we botched the removal of two regimes who were both guilty of crimes against humanity............
There's no need to deliver help at gunpoint. I've certainly never handed anyone an MRE while pointing a rifle at them. There is, however, a need for a gun in places where help is needed most. It is difficult, it does make enemies. -That's the reality on the ground, again...not ideal at all, just a practical necessity of a conflict zone and a consequence of the predictable ways that people respond to outside intervention, whether it's armed or not.
My point is that the folks there are pissed-off at us because we're responsible for the crummy state of affairs they're living through.
(September 16, 2017 at 9:54 am)Khemikal Wrote: The comment above, about our interests, isn't strictly true. We have a compelling interest in preventing the mass execution of citizens by government. We've made statement after statement and commitment after commitment to that effect. It;s very much an interest of ours...hell, you could even say that it's part of our brand. This is why rebels are so giddy to get us on their side, and why they get so shitty when we abandon them. The global humanitarian crisis it caused effected us through our allies, and directly. The phrase "one global village" springs to mind. It's simply no longer the case that others peoples problems can be expected to remain their problems if we pursue some form of detachment or isolationism as a solution.
Either that, or we've stuck our hands into a Chinese finger-trap ... except that this one doesn't loosen the deeper you dig in.
