Modern Warfare

Best View has opined on this subject before, but now is as good a time as any to repeat my theory of warfare. World War II ended when the Japanese were convinced by 2 atomic bombs that continuation of a war they started was not tenable. So, they surrendered and they are now an ally. Germany had cities like Dresden carpet bombed to oblivion and they too got the message. They also surrendered and now they too are allies of sorts. The thing to remember is civilians in both countries were killed in large numbers. There was no call to "play nice" and use proportionate measures and all the baloney we are hearing now. If you are going to war, go to war to win and to win quickly. We did not do that in Korea and it lingers as a problem 60 years later. We did not fight to win in Viet Nam and that is now widely viewed as a tragic experience. In Iraq, we are left with a festering mess because Bush I did not want to press Saddam to actually surrender. Now we are also just sitting there hoping all sides will play nice.
I think the reason for this is found in the widely expressed opinion of those on the left that if such and such happens the "world" opinion will turn negative and we must respect that. I say screw the opinion of those who will do nothing and are not affected by terrorism at the present. Until Israel eradicates those who have an expressed intention to wipe them off the map, there will be no peace and there might as well be an unpopular level of war by-product--civilian deaths and the destruction of infrastructure.