Quote:
Originally posted by Trihead:
Eat a turd I was asking the question because I do not know the answer.

I have seen the down side of violence in the mideast up close and personl. It was back in the 80's and 25 years lafter we/they are still bickering over the same shit. I really don't know if the cycle of violence is breakable. I have heard NYMM (and if I am wrong MM let me know please) and others say that the Muslim religion is based on hate for non-muslims. So where do we draw the line? Is it possible?
Yes, and I have been too close to the violence for my taste in a different theater--the Balkan War (same Muslim vs. Christian crap, just in Europe)--while I was studying in Austria.

Is the cycle unbreakable? I honestly do not know. If we want to try, however, it's going to be a long haul and it's going to be a lot uglier than Iraq is right now. "Nation building"? Yes, that's an almost laughable statement. But, it's the best option we have short of going on some wild killing spree, because it gives moderates in predominantly Muslim nations a chance to break the cycle. I would rather be an optomist in that direction than an optomist in the direction of pretending it's all going to go away if we ignore it and allow it to run its natural course.