Posted by
Gary A McAvin on Friday, January 19, 2007 5:58:03 AM
"Speak softly and carry a big stick, and you will go Far.", the famous quote by President Theodore Roosevelt.
The Big Stick policy is described as:
“Big Stick Diplomacy, a nickname coined by Roosevelt in quoting the old African proverb “Speak softly and carry a big stick, and you will go far,” was the foreign policy that was later called the Roosevelt Corollary. It is an addition to the Monroe Doctrine of 1823. The Roosevelt Corollary stated that the United States had the right to enforce an “international police power” over the Western Hemisphere. It affirmed that other countries did not have the authority to cause unrest in the Western Hemisphere, most specifically in reference to conflicts between Europe and Latin America in the early 1900’s.
Eventually, the phrase “Big Stick” was used in reference to any foreign policy that made negotiations with diplomatic grace, backed by the possible threat of military force.”
(Jennifer Garner, World Politics 116, Vincent Ferraro, Mount Holyoke College)
With this in your face incivility by cowards posing as men, we should be considering President Roosevelt’s approach to dealing with these terrorists. Are we using enough military force in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other terrorist locations? You might say yes; but is the force we are using sufficient? No; we are not generating enough pressure to cause these infidels to yield. Where are Generals like Patton and MacArthur when you need them? These real time men never bowed to pressure while doing their jobs in their assigned command locations. They finished the job.
One of the major disappointments President Bush has suffered; has been the lack of co-operation from the opposing party and the anti-war establishment. President Bush wanted to work with the opposing party and stretched forth his hand in friendship and peace across the isle. But knowing the mentality and personality profiles of these errant failures, I personally thought; that this friendly gesture would be a waste of time. And; I was right. A leopard cannot change its spots, and that party cannot change their worthless ideologue. To me stretching your hand across the isle would be like sticking your hand into an angry Rottweiler’s mouth. He will just chew it off! (According to statistics these dogs are the most often involved in fatal attacks on humans.) Not much difference here, is there?
Should we hold the sword of Damocles over the heads of our enemies? Should we offer peace to these terrorists? Yes we should; but; when they refuse terms of peace and respond with acts of aggression, we should drop that big stick right in their midst. The wicked can never know any peace. And this applies to enemies foreign and domestic. We should rally behind President Bush and the Generals in charge of this anti-terrorist operation until it is finished! Already there are too many Islamists in the USA. And soon we will live to regret this allowance. As it was once said “pay me now, or pay me later” so; what’s it going to be?