How Sri Lanka defeated the LTTE

[Ken White]

One only need to review the Leahy Amendment on human rights violations to get an understanding of how far we have gone down this road to unintended isolation from the real world.

You, sir, are a master of understatement (in the vernacular; you got that right!).

I think the West in general is getting to the point that our extremely simplistic views of right and wrong are going to result in us in having less influence on the world stage as we continue to isolate ourselves in a concoon of quixotic ideals that simply don't apply in the real world.

True, I believe -- unless someone screws up and gives us a wake-up call, a likely occurrence...

...the way we apply the policies results in indecisive action, which in turns results in conflicts dragging on for years. This results not only in much more suffering, but in lost generations that know nothing but war.

Absolutely correct. Our half baked approach kills more of us and them and does more general harm than would occur with firm and rapid action...

Tequila:

...Can you cite a single serious example of the "losers" taking the "winners" to trial? Where has this happened where the so-called "winners" didn't deserve it?

Isn't that in the old eye of the beholder as they say? Particularly the last clause...

In any event, I think Bill was looking at the future and simply discussing the trend line. It hasn't truly happened yet in a major way but the portent is obvious.

What we cannot know at this time is whether that will be a good thing or a bad thing...

P.S.

Left this off...

Re: Wilf and 155s; I think his point was that we, the US, are rather hypocritical with respect to who should shoot what and where, i.e a rule for us, another for others. I personally think he's correct.