Dialogue on the war, Day 3

How many men can say they have so many friends who disagree with them so strongly? ;-)

Terry:

Strong words. I was getting ready to read you the Riot Act, but I cooled off and this morning realized that you had not actually gone so far as to call me and those who think like me 'stupid' or 'assinine', so I'll dial down my response.

The war and its grounds may be 'stupid'. Something (possibly) good about the Bush Administration (and you know I'm no big fan): they fought back. We might eventually see international repercussions if we continue to go unilateral, but we're not close to that yet. The economy and debt service by foreign countries (esp. China) continue apace. Support for the war is slipping and I worry that the price of gas and the devastation of Katrina will further erode support for sticking it out in Iraq and trying to get to an acceptable outcome.

I don't want any life to be wasted. Out government must be as judicious as possible in the commitment of American troops. But, we have an all-volunteer force. If people don't want to be deployed by their Commander-In-Chief, in conjunction with the Congress, then they shouldn't sign up.

Jaq and John:

You can choose to totally disregard Hitchens, but I find many of his points to be valid.

Subsequent attacks have occurred, but they have been much smaller in scale than the attacks of 9/11. Yes, Al Qaeda is, famously, a network, but I think the scope of their activity has been limited.

The situation in Iraq has certainly given terrorists ammunition. It may also have given them to think that they have a greater chance of dying in their activities than they did before. Sure, some are suicide bombers, but most are not, and none of their potential recruits are yet.