re: #327 PT Barnum

Fair enough Mandy, but the principle still stands. If you pre-emptively attack someone who is tactically your equal you’re going to end up just doing each other a ton of harm.

If you preemptively attack someone who is weaker but who has bigger friends, you’re going to end up doing yourself a lot of harm.

If you preemptively attack someone who is weaker and doesn’t have any bigger friends, you run the risk of losing your own friends or having to take them over and run their country as well as your own…

all in all not a winning proposition.

The concept of preemptive war does not begin nor end with the recent experience in Iraq.

If clearly threatened, you better hope like hell that you get the chance to land the first shot. Weak, strong or in between has nothing to do with it. Unless conflict is only justifiable after having had your ass first beaten of course.