Earlier quoted context omitted.
> they are clearly irrational evil people that we just need to kill We don’t need to kill them. But it’s naive to think appeasement will work with folks calling for the destruction of an entire people. I suppose if I’m going to complain about us having to learn this lesson time and again, I should learn that well-meaning but tragically-naïve people will keep trying it, time and again. (Appeasement isn’t always irrati…
People argue about what motivated the 9/11 highjackers. Some will say, bin laden hated America, forget what he says about dual containment, he actually just hates us and is using that as a justification. Others will say, look, hes pointing out exactly what hes mad about, he says it right there. The former calls the latter naïve, the latter calls the former bellicose, they could well be both wrong. Maybe bin laden did…
These aren’t suicide bombings. They’re helicopter-assisted seizures and anti-ship missile attacks.
> I find it far more likely that theyd rather be home with their kids than out in the field guarding an unguardable missile launcher
So would have many Nazis.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think the Houthis are evil. Their domestic war is entirely justified. Escalating to a regional conflict probably wasn’t their idea; the instructions came from Tehran.
We don’t fight to kill evil people, we fight to achieve objectives. Within the narrow scope of reopening the Bab-el-Mandab, negotiating isn’t an option because there is no single group who control all the Houthis’ armed forces except Tehran, and Tehran isn’t offering terms.