[spence]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

Spence, what we have done in Iraq and Afghanistan is liberate millions of innocent Muslims from other, monstrous Muslims. I was there, as you probably know. I still get letters from some of the families I met, thanking the US for making their lives so much better than they were before. We were literally the answer to their prayers.

I'm sure some are quite thankful and getting letters like that must be personally very gratifying.

But in the context of this specific issue we're talking about a much less educated population with a more primative social and economic strucuture.

Do you think the people protesting are making a reasoned cost/benefit decision about their actions?

No, what's astounding is that liberals like you are so backwards and devoid of logic, that all you can do is talk about how horrible it is that someone would accidentally desecrate the Koran. You and you ilk somehow fail to see that the tragedy here isn't that a book got burned. The tragedy is that large numbers of Muslims feel that a few pages of paper are worth more than dozens of innocent lives, and YOU REFUSE TO CALL THEM ON THAT. If Obama had a shred of integrity or honor, he'd tell these Muslims that they should be kissing the feet of every single American soldier they see. Instead, when a bookgets burned, they use that as an excuse to commit mass murder. But because Muslims have been anointed with "victim" status by liberals like you, you won't hold them accountable for silly, insignificant transgressions like mass murder.

I'm not refusing to not call anyone out for unecessarily violent behavior, although the point might be so what if someone does?

Do you think a verbal lashing by Obama over their behavior is going to talk some sense into them or just reinforce the image of an imperialist presence which helps the Taliban?

Hence my statement that liberalism is a mental disorder. Instead of decrying the mass murder, you (and Obama) apologize for the fact that some paper got burned. You people are completely, completely insane.

No, it's a quite rational position. If the perception is that you're anti-Islam, it makes sense to ensure you correct actions that reinforce this perception...however wrong it may be. Otherwise you're going to spend all your chits on the stupid stuff instead of when you really need them.

The point of all this is to help the Afgan government maintain some sense of stability so they can further develop their own security aparatus. If a little PR is necessary to help get past a bump in the road that would seem to be in line with the mission success.

As usual, you're seeing the issue you want to see rather than what's really at the heart of the matter.

-spence