Quote:What I am asking is if we have a threat in the world who is making it pretty clear that they intend America harm will Kerry wait until that threat acts to defend us
The problem is, man, that this just isn't that easy to do.
We don't see many classical threats, IE, WWII-style threats anymore; the US is just too powerful to be challenged by a tank-and-plane style army. Not only are we protected geographically by our isolation from other major powers, our forces are head and above - can you see anyone challenging those new Raptor jets we have? I can't, they are bad-ass!
So, the real question becomes, what is the threat to America? Many feel that the biggest threat is terrorism. But terrorists don't just come out and warn you they are going to attack.
Therefore, some amount of offensive needs to be taken in order to curb the problem of terrorism worldwide. Both candidates have stated that they don't think you can outright
win the war on terrorism, but you can reduce it to a tiny level.
How do we identify terrorists? How do we react once we have identified them? All these are difficult questions to answer, and not something that can be summed up in a sound byte, though Kerry certainly makes a good attempt: 'we will find terrorists across the world, and KILL them.'
The problem with killing terrorists, is that unless you go about it the right way, you end up making more terrorists - every terrorist out there has a family. Many believe they are fighting for a just cause. The dead become martyrs. It's a real problem.
So, what Kerry has talked about doing (once again I'd direct ya to his website) is using more of a international police-style response to terrorism; go in, get the bad guys, get out, don't bother overthrowing the country that isn't supporting the bad guys on the way. Which is what Bush has done.
Cheers and welcome to A2K, hope you'll stick around - we don't have many voices here that have been on the ground in Iraq. I'm sure my fellow debaters on here would be happy to hear some of your thoughts and experiences on the subject.
Cycloptichorn