. . .
Another response to Diplomacy Works, Violence Doesn't:
Years ago, a friend declared he needed to carry a nunchaka, a deadly martial arts weapon, whenever he went out at night. He claimed that if a knife wielder attacked him, he had to be able to defend himself. Those were the only alternatives he saw: fight or die.
Although he no longer carries a nunchaka, he used the same rationale after 9/11 to help me "understand" the need for war. Think of a terrorist as a knife wielder, he offered as an analogy. If someone comes at you with a knife, you have to respond immediately, forcefully, with lethal violence—in self-defense.
My response:
You said that when someone is coming at you with a knife, you have to fight back. Not necessarily. Here are some possible responses that don't require a lethal response:
Unless the knife-wielder is in a killing frenzy—which clearly doesn't apply to terrorists who spend five years planning their assaults—you can talk to him during most of these responses. You can calm him down, find out what's wrong, maybe come up with a solution that doesn't require a deadly fight. If nothing else, you can stall him until help arrives so you can safely disarm and arrest him.
You were right...this is a good analogy. Nice of you to help me prove my case.
Rob
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