Reply #129: That lesson is not lost on me...

[Senator Obama]

I am posting on about 6 boards simultaneously and I throw those tidbits at Reichwingers all the time. I also like to inject some reality into this conversation and amongst folks who are more aligned with my overall political thinking. We are forced to consider things as they are, not how we wish them to be. As is always the problem with having this discussion with doves, they are always a little short in the reality department.

Like it or not, we didn't win the cold war by always being the nice guys. Sometimes you have to go to war to create peace. And yes that means that sometimes you create circumstances that do not result in the best of circumstances for the citizens of the countries involved. But without that proactive defense, we would have been a sitting duck to attack ourselves. It is a truism that war will not end until the will of those who will not live in peace are subdued. Hence the lessons learned from WW1 and the subsequent WW2.

Just because we have a big hammer, I do not see every problem as a nail. But you better be ready to use that hammer if necessary, and the opposition had better be convinced that you mean business. Foreign policy is useless if diplomacy cannot be backed by the threat and will to use force if necessary. Many who live in second tier countries can scoff at the necessity of war, but consider the number of wars they have started that we have had to end. And consider that if we hadn't gone to war, you might very well be speaking German or Japanese instead of English.

Obama