Couple of factual points....
Pearl Harbor was culturally threatening - somebody with a lot of resources came and kicked our teeth in, and then threatened to give us a body blow.
Erm.
Pearl Harbor was incredibly damaging to the US ego, that's about it.
The Japanese never were planning an attack on the US. They wanted the Pacific. That's it. Pearl Harbor was an attempt to shock the US out of it, to give up without a fight, and if we didn't, to make it impossible to stop them.
In 1960, Robert Menard was a Commander aboard the USS Constellation when he was part of a meeting between United States Navy personnel and their counterparts in the Japanese Defense Forces.
Fifteen years had passed since VJ day, most of those at the meeting were WWII veterans, and men who had fought each other to the death at sea were now comrades in battle who could confide in one another.
Someone at the table asked a Japanese admiral why, with the Pacific Fleet devastated at Pearl Harbor and the mainland US forces in what Japan had to
know was a pathetic state of unreadiness, Japan had not simply invaded the West Coast.
Commander Menard would never forget the crafty look on the Japanese commander's face as he frankly answered the question.
"You are right", he told the Americans. "We did indeed know much about your preparedness. We knew that probably every second home in your country contained firearms. We knew that your country actually had state championships for private citizens shooting military rifles. We were not fools to set foot in such quicksand."
Japan never could have held anything across the ocean. They weren't going to attempt it.
Hitler was culturally threatening - he took over Europe!
Which was threatening to the European culture. Germany had no aircraft carriers, not even long-range bombers.. When he declared war (on the US) it was a shock even to the British... Churchill was surprised - and elated. He knew what the US coming in meant.
Germany wasn't a threat to us, either. At best, after winning the war in Europe, assuming they had, and developing the atomic weapon, there would have been a standoff - but those oceans are big, deep, and cold. They insulate very well.
OBL blew up a building. He has minimal resources for further action.
We don't know what his resources are.
And its a bit more than "blew up a building". He had an organized effort of _at least_ 20 people, who hijacked 4 planes, and apparently more were planned, and *trained* pilots to fly said planes, and then staged a timed attack.
We don't know what the intent was, but apparently it was to kill 50,000 people or more. The fact that they failed in their intent was as much luck as the preparation that the previous attempt had caused. What else was a target for the planes that didn't get hijacked?
Unless you presume that OBL's an idiot, surely he knew what the response would be - and surely he's got a plan for it, and a counter attack of *some* sort planned.
I think you're demonizing the people who want him and his ilk dead as much as you think they're misunderstanding you.
Have you seen Training Day? From what I've read, it sounds like a very similar situation. How low can you go, before you've crossed the line?
Addison
