Quote:
Originally Posted by queequeger
Once again, it's a good thing we invaded Iraq to stop al-Qa'ida from imposing their will on us. They were so close before that. How can you possibly draw that connection after all that's been said?
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You came to scoff, but you've stayed to raise an excellent point.
For the foreseeable future, the troubles in the global body politic will spring from the Gap nations, not the Old nor the New Core nations. Iraq and Afghanistan are two of the Gap nations. To reduce troubles from Gap nations, you reduce the Gap.
As a practical matter, Gap reduction is likely to take place one nation-state (failed state or not) at a time -- in the hope of keeping any conflicts manageable by the forces available. This is not a process solely of military conquest, but one of social and economic development. That development must take place for the reduction of the Gap to be real and permanent. Military campaigns are only an adjunct to this, but there will be circumstances where they are a necessary adjunct. We have to expect that factions opposing global connectivity will resort to exerting force, human unenlightenment being what it is, and human fondness for exerting power likewise.