I don’t want to get personal here, but Lt. Colonel (Ret) James McKinney tells it like it really is in the following statement. Notice that he uses the term “all aspects of power. Included is social and educational.
Terrorists are a proven threat. Please tell me just what good it does to dwell on the potential source of their origin.
Pointing fingers and trying to prove that you “are the prettiest baby in the nursery” with comments is great for selling subscriptions to those who agree with you, but worthless when it comes to solving a problem. “Big Al”
“Military is not the answer to terrorism. And Blow Back, Chalmers Johnson, in theory has some points. But outside of the intellectual and theoretical world, the end game winner is always who is more powerful and working with clear purpose, resources and unity. The United States requires a long term, comprehensive strategy, using all aspects of power (Political, Economic, Informational, Military, Social, Educational) to address a growing threat to western free markets and free thought. The very problem with our national strategy today – to many concerns about “blow-back” and not enough about how to win a battle we are not prepared to fight. Unfortunately, our adversaries are prepared, growing with power, using all aspects of power and subjugating a large portion of the planet. Read Huntington, Clash of Cultures – 20 years old but pretty spot on view of today’s struggles. And you may note historically, the player with the most powerful military dictates the future. You can “hope” soft power will work, but if the opponent has no desire to stop the fight, you are in for a painful lesson – we are learning it all over Europe and now in the US with growing terror attacks. Good luck with wishing it away, ignoring it, or hiding from it, Mr. Paul or Gary Johnson.”