Coordinated Attacks in Paris, France

[Jay Cunningham]

No, that was in response to his assertion that we were doing really well economically in that period of non-interventionism.


We didn't?

Wilson and FDR involved our boys in foreign wars after they swore they wouldn't.

[JAD]

Wilson and FDR involved our boys in foreign wars after they swore they wouldn't.

Maybe because that's the kind of thing you shouldn't swear to.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

My dad (RIP) was on a troop ship with 1st Cav en route Japan in 1945 when they dropped on Hiroshima. He always said he was in favor of the bomb. I can understand that.

My uncle was a pilot and was at Pearl Harbor when attacked. We were discussing the war. He said that he agreed with the atomic bombing at the time as he wouldn't have to fly in the invasion of Japan. Later he said maybe we should have waited longer for the second. That's a counterfactual we will never see.

However, my aunt started to scream that if we didn't drop the second bomb we would be speaking Japanese now. I said - well, I'd be driven a Toyota, eating sushi and my TV would be a Sony. Oh, well.

Modern intolerant Sunni Islam seems to be a critter of the Saudi's support and spreading of Wahabeeism. Add to that the centuries long Shiite/Sunni split and our perceived support of the Shah and we get the mess we have now. Note that I'm avoiding the Israeli/Palestinian struggle as that seems to be a minor factor in what's happening now outside of that region.

The Ottoman Empire was actually pretty tolerant in its time as it governed various Muslim sects, various Christians and Jews. When that failed, the ethnic religious tribalism due to the European construction of artificial countries set a fire we see today.

Back to nuking them to diminish the herd - look at a map of Iraq and Syria. There are only two big cities that you could bust - Raqqa and Mosul. Otherwise you are hitting towns of 20,000 to 50,000 to 100, 000. Who even knows who lives there now. How many are trapped Christians or other sects?

I'm no dove but I'm not a ranter without sense in how we fight.

Do we send in WWII level forces and redo a new Sykes-Picot agreement along Tribal / religious lines? It has been suggested before by old Joe Biden. You end up with Kurdistan, Sunni Land and Shite/Alawite Land. The Christians are out of luck.

Turkey, Iraq and Iran don't like the idea of the Kurds. The Turks said they would attack Isis and then went after the Kurds.

Also, who supplies the forces for such? If you pay attention, you see that the Europeans have gutted their ground forces.

When we look at the Muslim world for engaging in ridiculous conflicts, check out Europe from 1500 to 1700. Fighting about different views of Jesus and the ever popular greed.

This similar to what happen after WWII, where populations were resettled in Middle and Eastern Europe. The Czechs tossed the Germans, the Poles were moved and others were displaced. It was similar in the Balkans more recently.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Wilson and WWI - debatable. Some scholars think a German win might have been better but the Kaiser wasn't a sweetheart so who knows.

FDR- sorry guys, the Nazis were an existential crisis for us.

[Joe in PNG]

Now on to one of the stinking, most awful, stupid ideas being bandied about when this kind of thing happens. The idea that we need to either kill all the Muslims, or just run all of them out of the USA.
Killing all of them is a stinking, most awful, stupid idea because the old cliche is true- most of them aren't savage head chopping terrorist. Work to kill them all, and guess what- they'll fight. You think terrorism is bad now? Try a total war that would make WWII look like a kindergarten shoving match.

Throwing them out of the USA is a stinking, most awful, stupid idea because that means we have to also throw out the First Amendment. Do that, and it will come back to bite you right in the arse.

[Jay Cunningham]

Wilson and WWI - debatable. Some scholars think a German win might have been better but the Kaiser wasn't a sweetheart so who knows.

FDR- sorry guys, the Nazis were an existential crisis for us.

The Nazis were not an "existential" crisis for The United States of America. Saying that is simply hyperbole. Otherwise you're saying the Nazis would have caused The U.S. to cease to exist... because that's what your choice of words means.

[Dagga Boy]

Now on to one of the stinking, most awful, stupid ideas being bandied about when this kind of thing happens. The idea that we need to either kill all the Muslims, or just run all of them out of the USA.
Killing all of them is a stinking, most awful, stupid idea because the old cliche is true- most of them aren't savage head chopping terrorist. Work to kill them all, and guess what- they'll fight. You think terrorism is bad now? Try a total war that would make WWII look like a kindergarten shoving match.

Throwing them out of the USA is a stinking, most awful, stupid idea because that means we have to also throw out the First Amendment. Do that, and it will come back to bite you right in the arse.

I would agree with this. You want to be an American first who happens to practice the Muslim faith.....well, perfect. That is a universal for me.......you want to be a non-hyphenated American and assimilate to this country and its culture and language, I think we are better for it. You want to have a totalitarian Islamic state somewhere......knock yourself out as long as it is a voluntary practice. I think places like Jordan work well. As long as you are not on a path to conversion by the sword by ANY religion, I have no bones. I would not advocate for a Muslim genocide......I would just appreciate the same in return. I am a Golden Rule kind of person. Want to live in peace as neighbors, I will happily respect your beliefs and wish you well. Want to eradicate me because of my religious beliefs or force me to convert.....well, one of us is going to die trying and I will work hard at making it you. Want to support those who wish to subjugate by the sword........two way street.

[Jay Cunningham]

My uncle was a pilot and was at Pearl Harbor when attacked. We were discussing the war. He said that he agreed with the atomic bombing at the time as he wouldn't have to fly in the invasion of Japan. Later he said maybe we should have waited longer for the second. That's a counterfactual we will never see.

However, my aunt started to scream that if we didn't drop the second bomb we would be speaking Japanese now. I said - well, I'd be driven a Toyota, eating sushi and my TV would be a Sony. Oh, well.

Modern intolerant Sunni Islam seems to be a critter of the Saudi's support and spreading of Wahabeeism. Add to that the centuries long Shiite/Sunni split and our perceived support of the Shah and we get the mess we have now. Note that I'm avoiding the Israeli/Palestinian struggle as that seems to be a minor factor in what's happening now outside of that region.

The Ottoman Empire was actually pretty tolerant in its time as it governed various Muslim sects, various Christians and Jews. When that failed, the ethnic religious tribalism due to the European construction of artificial countries set a fire we see today.

Back to nuking them to diminish the herd - look at a map of Iraq and Syria. There are only two big cities that you could bust - Raqqa and Mosul. Otherwise you are hitting towns of 20,000 to 50,000 to 100, 000. Who even knows who lives there now. How many are trapped Christians or other sects?

I'm no dove but I'm not a ranter without sense in how we fight.

Do we send in WWII level forces and redo a new Sykes-Picot agreement along Tribal / religious lines? It has been suggested before by old Joe Biden. You end up with Kurdistan, Sunni Land and Shite/Alawite Land. The Christians are out of luck.

Turkey, Iraq and Iran don't like the idea of the Kurds. The Turks said they would attack Isis and then went after the Kurds.

Also, who supplies the forces for such? If you pay attention, you see that the Europeans have gutted their ground forces.

When we look at the Muslim world for engaging in ridiculous conflicts, check out Europe from 1500 to 1700. Fighting about different views of Jesus and the ever popular greed.

This similar to what happen after WWII, where populations were resettled in Middle and Eastern Europe. The Czechs tossed the Germans, the Poles were moved and others were displaced. It was similar in the Balkans more recently.

Your post is thoughtful. If the members of the Greatest Generation were shown video of today's Europe back in 1939... I wonder what they'd have thought?

[Glenn E. Meyer]

A Nazi occupied Europe that developed high tech weaponry from jets to missile and nuclear weapons would have been a great threat than the Soviet Union. The latter had some rationality. The Nazis didn't.

Nazi theorists had plans for subverting countries like Argentina and moving into South America.

We would have eventually had to face them in a much more powerful position and that's existential and not hyperbole. 20,000 Nazi nukes - I'll pass on that counterfactual.

[Jay Cunningham]

Now on to one of the stinking, most awful, stupid ideas being bandied about when this kind of thing happens. The idea that we need to either kill all the Muslims, or just run all of them out of the USA.
Killing all of them is a stinking, most awful, stupid idea because the old cliche is true- most of them aren't savage head chopping terrorist. Work to kill them all, and guess what- they'll fight. You think terrorism is bad now? Try a total war that would make WWII look like a kindergarten shoving match.

Throwing them out of the USA is a stinking, most awful, stupid idea because that means we have to also throw out the First Amendment. Do that, and it will come back to bite you right in the arse.

How about banning all immigration from all Middle Eastern and African countries? Does that violate our Constitution?