Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
We don't need to understand it; we merely need to destroy such sources of madness.
|
An utterly pitiful approach to national policy. Using such an approach you will be playing whack a mole for decades and gaining zero ground.
I fully support going after those who conduct terrorist attacks and the nations which harbor them. The LONG TERM solution though must be understanding the driving factors, of which poverty and ignorance are certainly two, and properly countering them.
|
I believe my point still stands: Pull out the root and the weed will die. Pull out the roots of the weeds before they flower and go to seed and the infestation will stop. We only need to know what the driving factors are (and not necessarily understand them thoroughly either) and then act to remove the worst of them (which will effectively destroy such sources of madness). Spending the time to reach a definitive and thorough understanding of the situation also means that time wasn't used to change the situation either.
There is also the possibility that gaining a significant understanding isn't really possible. Such is the case in US dealings with North Korea: Their society is completely closed and we know very little about North Korea because the government is so hostile and paranoid. The North Koreans probably don't understand us at all, but they do know what we aren't willing to do and using that knowledge they've consistently manipulated the US like a chess piece for many years.