Waterboarding

[buckman]

Originally Posted by spence

If the Middle East erupts into fire we're going to be sending a lot of our kids and parents to die outside of this country.

Hell, we've already lost 4200+ in Iraq not counting civilian contractors and another 600+ in Afghanistan. This isn't an argument that we should or should not fight, but don't these deaths and their families count?

-spence

They sure do. They are the best and bravest this country has to offer.

However, I'm not sure we have a choice but to bring the fight to them. We never fight battles on our own soil and I would just assume we keep it that way.

[spence]

Originally Posted by buckman

However, I'm not sure we have a choice but to bring the fight to them. We never fight battles on our own soil and I would just assume we keep it that way.

We've been fortunate in that we have ideal geographic location, aside from very long borders.

To be honest I think we've grown so accustomed to the fight being "over there" that it's given (North) Americans a very different perspective on war than most every other country.

The "big picture" trap here, that many US Presidents have fallen into, and that our Founding Fathers warned of, is the continued extension of US force around the world.

The fall of the British Empire is a good lesson in that we can't just assume we can fight all our battles on TV. Perhaps we need to be more selective as to where and when we apply power.

-spence