Home/Daniel Larison/I Thought That The Only Thing “Those People” Understood Was Force

I Thought That The Only Thing “Those People” Understood Was Force

The extremists understand only the language of power, and any reluctance or softness on the part of the Iraqi or U.S. government would only embolden them.  In this way the clearly voiced commitment of President Bush and Prime Minister Maliki was exactly the type of strong message that needed to be sent. ~Omar and Mohammed Fadhil

Apparently they also understand forceful language.  All we need to do is give them (“the extremists”) a stern talking-to, and everything could be straightened out.  That’s good to know.  It couldn’t be that with the Shi’ite militias going to ground (proof that the “surge” is “working”) we would see a replay of the rampant anti-Shi’ite carnage of 2003-2004 that originally caused these militias to begin carrying out revenge and sectarian killings, could it?  No, obviously not.

about the author

Daniel Larison is a senior editor at TAC, where he also keeps a solo blog. He has been published in the New York Times Book Review, Dallas Morning News, World Politics Review, Politico Magazine, Orthodox Life, Front Porch Republic, The American Scene, and Culture11, and was a columnist for The Week. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Chicago, and resides in Lancaster, PA. Follow him on Twitter.

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