It's like Mardi Gras meets the bombing of Dresden...
Friday, July 08, 2005
London Bombings
First off, I no longer have an internet connection at my house so I'm confined to posting and commenting while I'm at work. Secondly, Hurricane Dennis is growing stronger and stronger. While it looks like the eye will miss us, apparently we are going to get a ton of wind and rain for the next couple days. I'll be honest, while a hurricane coming ashore in Alabama or Mississippi does a lot less economic damage (but a lot more trailer park damage), I hope Dennis turns east and hits Central Florida for a couple of reasons. I like storms, I don't like work, and I love to get wasted (run cheap vodka through a Brita filter a few times and it tastes like Grey Goose) the night before a hurricane comes ashore. Now if I could only find a way to place bets on it...

That said, I'll move on to the London Bombings.

While the London bombings were a horrific event, it is also a testament to the success of the Global Community cracking down on terrorism. Unlike the bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, the US Embassy bombings in East Africa, and the attacks in Spain, the London Bombings were on a smaller scale with each bomb being under 5kg and only four of them.

Also, I believe that the London bombings coupled with the report of attempts to smuggle Highly Enriched Uranium (which on the CNN and FOX crawl gets it own acronym-HEU) out of Georgia is scary. Compared to the London bombings, a dirty bomb or a suitcase bomb is like drawing Rambo in the first round of your local toughman.
I'm deadlier than widespread contamination

We are all aware that Jihadists will target women and children, and that they will use any weapon available to them. Can you seriously doubt that Saddam would have sold weapons with biological or radiological agents to terrorists if he had the chance? Whether or not he had them, the best defense is a good offense, and America needs to continue to deal severely with rogue nations. Do we really need to wait until a bomb made with Iranian Uranium (fun to say, not so fun to think about) takes out a few city blocks in New York, Washington DC, or the Vatican?

Much of the argument at redhurt and pragmaticism has been over the justification of the Iraq War. Here is my question, is there any case where preemptive action can be sanctioned? Are there certain levels that a nation such as Iran can reach, short of building a dirty, suitcase bomb and exploding it in American territory, that will allow you to sanction force in the effort to prevent loss of life?

5 Comments:

Blogger RJ said...

I'd like to see that hotdog/man vs. beast guy go for a few rounds with ol' sylvester.

7:53 PM  
Blogger CharlesPeirce said...

I would argue that our "severe dealings" with rogue nations have CAUSED more violence than they've prevented. We've sold weapons to everyone and their mom, and then when they turn around and use them on each other and us we're surprised.

"Are there certain levels that a nation such as Iran can reach, short of building a dirty, suitcase bomb and exploding it in American territory, that will allow you to sanction force in the effort to prevent loss of life?"

Yep--see, had Saddam HAD WMDs, we would have been justified in taking him out. He didn't, Bush knew he didn't, the weapons inspectors knew he didn't, and I knew he didn't. We went to war anyway.

1:10 PM  
Blogger Justin said...

I think that waiting for a country trying to develop or purchase WMD's to get them is bad policy. I would rather take them out prematurely than give them a window, however small, to use them before offensive action.

Also, I think you overestimate our intelligence capabilities and the transparency of other nations. I would think a country, let's say Iran, would do everything they could to hide their capabilities- in order to stave off action from other countries and give them time to act should they decide to use them.

5:44 PM  
Blogger CharlesPeirce said...

Well, we'd better go "get" Iran and North Korea, then, right?

12:28 PM  
Blogger Justin said...

I'm thinking we need to do something...

5:27 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home