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Originally Posted by The Reaper
Given that we now have another ethnic group that threatens the very survival of this nation, and has already killed thousands of Americans, who show that their first loyalty (by a large majority) is to their religion over their nationality, and who freely admit that killing innocent civilians (even their own) is acceptable, does anyone envision a time when we could round up all Muslims living in the US and either deport them or intern them?
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Lets put morality aside for a sec and look at capability first...could we intern this large number (hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people) even if we wanted to? I doubt it. And even if you could it doesn't solve your problem it just makes it worse. Refugee camps are the biggest terrorist recruting grounds and havens in the world. Its like cutting yourself open to dig out a cancer...you're more likely to just aggrevate the condition and even if you get the cancer you'll likely die from the infection.
What about mass deportation? I think thats more feasable, but even worse in terms of long term consequences. You'd eradicate whatever moderation exists in Islam and completely confirm the radical position that the US is at war with the whole of Islam. Every fence-sitting Muslim in the world would become an enemy and then you're off to the genocidal races. To say nothing of the fact that you'd be driving the most skilled and by extension dangerous Muslims in the world (those with knowledge of America, with technical training and degrees, with English language experience, etc) into the cause of jihad.
What about if we just interned or deported the recent immigrants from certain large Islamic communities (Detroit, Brooklyn, LA, etc)? I don't think that works either for the same reasons stated above (destroying the Muslim center, providing new potent recruits to the jihad), plus you'd be unlikely to get the real terrorists anyway. The 9/11 bombers lived in Palm Beach, not the Islamic neighborhoods in Brooklyn.
So, maybe I'm dodging the ethical question, but I'd oppose those policies on practical grounds. Certainly they could happen though.
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Finally, I would submit that it is entirely possible to have this country reduced back to a Depression-era subsistence lifestyle fairly easily. In fact, it may be possible to destroy American society completely. If this is the price of liberty, do the ends ever justify the means, or are we better off being destroyed and enslaved while maintaining the moral high ground?
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I would agree with your statement on what is possible. UBL is a smart dude and his grand strategy to collapse the global economy (which is in direct symbosis with the American economy) is a good one. I'm not so sure I'd phrase it as "Depression-era subsistence" but certainly we're talking about a catastrophic drop in standard of living.
Ya know, I tell my fellow liberals all the time: jihadism can't defeat America, but it can kill liberalism. It can create such chaos and insecurity that we will recoil into a security state and it will take human civilization decades or centuries, if ever, before the beauty of a culture fundamentally based on individual freedoms ever graces the earth again. (Incidentally, Eisenhower had the same fears about a Nazi victory in WWII.) If you don't want to live in some kind of new dark ages with authoritarian/corporate feudalism tomorrow, you need to get on board with aggressive worldwide counterterrorism today because we are in a life-and-death race to stop the jihadists from getting a nuclear weapon.
I'm musing now. Probably because I've been watching too much Battlestar Galactica (great show, gets at alot of these same issues)...let me get back on point.
To sum up, I think we're going to risk things (and adjust tactics to compensate for those risks) in order to win the war and preserve American culture as we know it, but if we're not willing to take that risk then America isn't worth saving anyway. Speaking for my own person and without disrespect to anyone who thinks different (God knows these are hard questions), I'd rather fight the harder fight with honor than have my kids grow up with the moral stain of some of the more expedient solutions suggested in this thread. Maybe I'm a foolish Jeffersonian idealist, but I think its worth the risk to try and preserve the flower of our society.