(I must caveat this with the acknowledgement that I have just finished a bottle of Zinfandel, so my judgment and keyboard skill is necessarily somewhat suspect.)
I've just finished watching 2 shows that ran 2.5 hours on the History Channel concerning Hiroshima with my wife, who is, for those paying attention, half Japanese. I frequently caught myself muttering expletives under my breath. Of course, my opinions concerning the appropriateness of dropping the bomb haven't changed one jot. But it is painful to experience the true horror of having done so, even when it was the right thing to do.
Which brings me to where we find ourselves today. Iran. North Korea. Al Qaeda. These bastards have to be presented with the same option Japan was offered at Potsdam. Surrender or perish. Surrender. Or. Perish. Negotiated settlements, cheat and retreat, and MAD are no longer on the table. I don't claim that we -- America, Western Civilization -- are the be all and end all to the human condition, but I am quite comfortable in believing that we are the best humanity has offered up to date and I will be damned if I will lie down and allow them to conquer us just for no better reason than they have a louder megaphone, I have more useful idiots in my midst, or we are unable to muster the will to do the hard things that must be done for our survival.
For the second time today I will quote William Tecumsah Sherman, "War is all hell." And yet, like any Jacksonian, while I do not seek a fight I will not shy away from it.
The bomb dropped on Hiroshima had the equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT. Most nuclear weapons today are measured in megatons of TNT. With the awesome power of these weapons today, we cannot wait and respond to an attack as John Kerry proposed last year. We must proactively seek out those who wish to harm us and take the fight to them. God help the Marines in western Iraq tonight.