Celaeno
You will not evade me, jack_shappa@hotmail.com (Cryofax):

Cryofax
celaeno@shavenwookie.nospam.com (Celaeno) wrote in message

If a country harbored known terrorists, then they knew that further terrorists acts originating from within their own borders was possible. That they didn't expel or arrest the terrorists means they approve of and support such activity. If the terrorists were hiding in a country unbeknowst to the country's government then that's a different situation entirely. Currently the thinking is that the Taliban knew of, harbored, and approved of Bin Laden's activities. But we need to be darn sure before we go bombing Kabul.

Celaeno
Terrorists have been harbored by assorted countries for DECADES without anyone feeling a need to start a full scale war.

Cryofax
You can't seperate the civilians from the rest of the country. They live there, they're part of the country. If that country commits an act of war we are at war with that entire country.

Celaeno
So if an American terrorist goes and bombs something in Afghanistan and goes back home, the US government is harboring him and hence the entire country is a valid target for war and punishment in the eyes of the victim, and killing a few US citizens in the act of punishing them is just to be expected and nothing to get outraged about.

Cryofax
And stop with the "you're no better than the terrorists" crap.

Celaeno
Can't handle the truth about jingoism?

Cryofax
Nobody wants to make it worse. But then sometimes things get worse before they get better...

Celaeno
And sometimes they don't have to get worse before getting better.

Cryofax
Sounds like you're saying killing people is bad.

Celaeno
And you disagree with that?

Cryofax
As a blanket general rule? Yes. Sometimes people need to be killed.

Celaeno
Funny. My blanket general rule is that killing is bad,and 'sometimes people need to die' is the exception.

In this case, I'm saying killing the right people might be good, killing the wrong people is (as always) bad.

Cryofax
Of course nobody wants to kill the "wrong" people. But if we take out all the terrorists, but unintentionally kill some civilians (not thousands, but let's say a few hundred) in the country does that mean the operation was a failure?

Celaeno
Don't ask me, ask the people whose lives you don't give a flying fuck about.

Not act rashly.

Cryofax
We haven't thus far. We could have nuked Afghanistan by now if we wanted to.

Celaeno
Whoop de do.

Cryofax
With this in mind don't you think we need to nail the whole country hard now? That Taliban government is fanatical even by Islamic standards...

Celaeno
And what makes you think all of Afghanistan supports Taliban?