But you see...
Our concept of Modern War is that: the boys must not be placed in actual danger, except in carefully orchestrated scenarios.
B-52s, helicopters, missiles (some believe that Missals will help too) - anything which provides Action-at-a-Distance and costs at least $10K/# are our preferred tools.
I think your analogy of the "known Crack House in a neighborhood which promises too many Cop casualties if we actually storm it" is not far off the mark. (Though as to why the use of the white-man's Yuppie cocaine in a sl. altered form: should merit the Death penalty? - is another thread)
Of course in WW-II, at Tarawa, Guadalcanal.. and many others - we indeed threw legions of astoundingly valorous semi-trained and underequipped 'boys' at stubbornly entrenched opposition: determined to die with surrender not being an option. We did this because it was the best 'we' could manage in a war on 2 fronts, etc. - not because we were stupid or uncaring [well, there was enough of that, too, but it's also another thread].
This current bugaboo is simly too Large a one to be entrusted to the sloganeering and simplistic thinking of a Selected Village Idiot - WITHOUT a National debate upon our aims and the methods we *would* employ to attain them. In any 'next' event.
I do not expect that such a debate shall *actually* be allowed, of course. We live by Spin, maudlin talking heads.. dissembling under Patriotic-like slogans in all things, today.
(We did also in WW-II! but *then* there was an identifiable 'enemy' - it was an actual war and not a hysterical flailing-out at.. an invisible collection of dispersed, camouflaged God-besotted wackos)
Ashton
