Defeat an Idea with a Better Idea

May 5, 2011

Tags: bin Laden, Nuremburg, terrorism
Posted in: Afghanistan, Democracy, Iraq

I’m not sad that bin Laden is dead, but there is a bigger issue here. Once the SEALs were in the room with bin Laden, it was no longer about bin Laden the man; it shifted to policy. Bin Laden was off the grid dead or alive at that point.

You can kill a man with a bullet, but to defeat an idea you need to offer something better. We spent billions trying to teach rule of law in Iraq and Afghanistan and then do just the opposite when the tough case comes up.

Nuremberg, not a bullet to the face of an unarmed man. You defeat an idea with a better idea.

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