For what it is worth

[sirs]

You haven't answered my question Sirs.  What is the price to be paid in truly over exagerrating the threat of Militant Islam?

Yes, I did...."That we're overdiligent in protecting our way of life.  That we pay too much attention to others and their cultures".  I'll even add that we add redundant enforcement measures to our pourous border

Now, care to answer mine?, since I couldn't help notice how it wasn't:   What is the price to be paid for not taking the militant Islamic threat seriously??  What is the price to be paid for egregiously minimizing the threat militant Islam poses?  What is the price to be paid in lives, perhaps in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, if we doom ourselves to repeat history?    I'm asking a perfectly fair question myself.  Pretend I'm right for a moment

I'm asking a fair question. Can you perceive a world in which a very anti-Islam sentiment comes to the forefront due to an overexaggeration of this threat?

NO, Or more accurately, highly unlikely, since we're not targeting "Islam"

[Xavier_Onassis]

Most nations who have nuclear weapons have never used them (beyond testing).
========================================================
There is only ONE country that has ever used any nuclear weapons, other than testing. And they used them twice.

Observe that it was not Iran.

[sirs]

So Xo, care to speculate how many thousands upon thousands of lives dropping the bomb saved, by preventing the impending invasion of Japan that was surely coming to a head??  You seem to be implying that the dropping of the 2 nuclear bombs over Japan was some stunt to inflict maximum casualties, for no apparent reason.  Notice how fast it brought the war to a conclusion, that wouldn't have otherwise occurred?

And you think that such a device in the hands of Iran would only be used in the same vane??

[Amianthus]

Quite the software genius, but not anybody of particular note in political circles. As the title says, take him for what he's worth.

From the Wikipedia page about ESR:

Other than his computing interests, Raymond is an avowed anarcho-capitalist and supporter of the Libertarian Party. He is known to have strong interests in science fiction and firearms, is an enthusiastic amateur musician, and has a black belt in "Moo Do, an eclectic martial art based on Tae Kwon Do". He is an advocate of the Second Amendment right to bear arms and supported the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Raymond identifies himself religiously as a neopagan, is an initiate witch and coven leader.

Raymond has a mild form of congenital cerebral palsy, a condition which motivated him to pursue a future in computing.

Eric S. Raymond

[gipper]

OK, genius, why the second bomb?

[Amianthus]

OK, genius, why the second bomb?

Maybe because they didn't surrender after the first one?

[gipper]

Well, then, he should have played it up. Moreover, our targeting seems to have been amiss: there were military targets plentiful and ripe.

[sirs]

OK, genius, why the second bomb?

Care to make the query more civil?

[gipper]

No.

[sirs]

Then don't expect that which you wish not to facilitate

[Amianthus]

Well, then, he should have played it up. Moreover, our targeting seems to have been amiss: there were military targets plentiful and ripe.

Why is Hiroshima, a supply center for the military and the headquarters of the Fifth Division and Field Marshal Shunroku Hata's 2nd General Army Headquarters not a military target?

Why is Nagasaki, a Naval port and Imperial Navy shipbuilding yard not a military target?

[gipper]

Those uses were incidental. Both cities were inhabited by many pesky creatures called (non-military) people.

[sirs]

Those uses were incidental. Both cities were inhabited by many pesky creatures called (non-military) people.

and................?  There were many a "non-military" folk that resided in and around Pearl Harbor, on Dec 7'th, 1941, not to mention the scores of civilians that live in and around nearly every military installation & outpost, as ami has alluded to.

[Amianthus]

Those uses were incidental. Both cities were inhabited by many pesky creatures called (non-military) people.

Nearly every US military base has civilians living in and around it. Does that mean they're not legitimate military targets?

Take the City of Baltimore, for example. Naval shipyards at the harbor, an Army Testing Range right next door, a National Guard depot facility just north of town, an Air National Guard base just northeast of town, NSA headquarters just south of town.

It's not a military target? You gotta be kidding yourself. I can guarantee that it had (probably still has) a number of nukes targetted at it by the Soviets / Russians.

Few and far between are military bases that are isolated from civilians and have no civilians living at them. Area 51 and the Crystal Palace are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.

[Amianthus]

Few and far between are military bases that are isolated from civilians and have no civilians living at them. Area 51 and the Crystal Palace are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.

I was just looking up Cheyenne Mountain to get a shot of the entrance to use in my post, and I discovered that even that facility has civilian neighbors. It shares the mountain with the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun.