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Tophat665 · 09-02-2004, 03:08 PM

Y'all have figured out now that I am left leaning for an Amreican. In this situation, though, you negotiate, negotiate, negotiate, lull, and generally stall. Then you storm the place and take your chances.

It has to be this way. At the worst, a schoolful of children, a dozen terrorists, and a half dozen military men die. At the best, a dozen terrorists die. However, if you accede to their demands, it will happen over and over and over again, and many schools full of children, malls full of regular folks, military men, and terrorists will die. Look at what happened in Iraq when the insurgency got the Philipines to move up their pullout of fifty guys by a month. There were hostage situations before, but it seems to have just exploded since then. I would then, as president, personally call each and every surviving family member and humbly apologize. I would then get on the TV and really sell the idea that we sacrificed these lives now so that we would not have to do it over and over and over again in the future.

Now, I have put this callously. Do not believe I would look at it that way if I were the guy who had to give the order. Without details (and the point of the excercise here is not trick solutions), the choice is stark. I would most certainly weep and agonize over it, but it really is a no brainer.

Something that crossed my mind while I was writing this: I cannot think of a way to defeat terroism without being even more barbaric than the terrorists. I wonder what would happen (besides incurring the complete disgust of the civilized world) if we put terrorists on notice that, sure, they go to meet Allah and their 72 virgins, but we will then kill every member of their families, 4 generations in each direction. (This of course would founder when a distaff memebr of the House of Saud blew himself up in a shopping mall....) The point is not so much just mindless savagery, but how do you raise the stakes on someone who is getting ready to give up their life?

Chalk it up to frustration. I'm really concerned though that all we're really doing now is training smarter terrorists.

09-02-2004, 03:08 PM	#54 (permalink)
Tophat665 Minion of the scaléd ones Location: Northeast Jesusland	Y'all have figured out now that I am left leaning for an Amreican. In this situation, though, you negotiate, negotiate, negotiate, lull, and generally stall. Then you storm the place and take your chances. It has to be this way. At the worst, a schoolful of children, a dozen terrorists, and a half dozen military men die. At the best, a dozen terrorists die. However, if you accede to their demands, it will happen over and over and over again, and many schools full of children, malls full of regular folks, military men, and terrorists will die. Look at what happened in Iraq when the insurgency got the Philipines to move up their pullout of fifty guys by a month. There were hostage situations before, but it seems to have just exploded since then. I would then, as president, personally call each and every surviving family member and humbly apologize. I would then get on the TV and really sell the idea that we sacrificed these lives now so that we would not have to do it over and over and over again in the future. Now, I have put this callously. Do not believe I would look at it that way if I were the guy who had to give the order. Without details (and the point of the excercise here is not trick solutions), the choice is stark. I would most certainly weep and agonize over it, but it really is a no brainer. Something that crossed my mind while I was writing this: I cannot think of a way to defeat terroism without being even more barbaric than the terrorists. I wonder what would happen (besides incurring the complete disgust of the civilized world) if we put terrorists on notice that, sure, they go to meet Allah and their 72 virgins, but we will then kill every member of their families, 4 generations in each direction. (This of course would founder when a distaff memebr of the House of Saud blew himself up in a shopping mall....) The point is not so much just mindless savagery, but how do you raise the stakes on someone who is getting ready to give up their life? Chalk it up to frustration. I'm really concerned though that all we're really doing now is training smarter terrorists. __________________ Light a man a fire, and he will be warm while it burns. Set a man on fire, and he will be warm for the rest of his life.