He absolutely should do something effective, agreed. He’s made Holocaust comparisons, if I caught that right, and “blasted” the federal government, but right now it appears to be mostly rhetorical posturing (which is still important preparation for any non-rhetorical face-off, but isn’t yet enough to effectively stop them).
I understand that it’s a delicate situation to be placed in, because confrontation may prompt the deranged terrorists into targeting him, which would most likely escalate into civil conflict of some scale. If that happened, he’d want all ducks lined up and ready to make that conflict as quick and decisive as possible so the rest of their force doesn’t have a foothold and hopefully decides to write off the incident rather than continuing to escalate.
He’s in too critical a position to just do nothing out of fear, but he’s also a civil administrator with military training handling what’s liable to become a military affair with civilians in the crossfire. It’s a fucking powder keg and he doesn’t want to blow it up if he can avoid it, whether for his own sake or for that of his people.
Still, like I said, keep pressuring him. His people need to show “we’re willing to fight these terrorists, whether with or without you.” If he’s hesitant to inflict this on his people, it eases the weight of the decision. If he’s hesitant for his own sake, it risks making him the enemy. Better to pressure him into an organised response than to wait for an uncontrolled one.
Me saying “I understand why he’s holding back so far” doesn’t mean “He should keep doing that”. It’s an appeal to remember the human that’s being faced with a terrible choice, so that efforts to pressure him may do so in a conscious, focused manner.
He absolutely should do something effective, agreed. He’s made Holocaust comparisons, if I caught that right, and “blasted” the federal government, but right now it appears to be mostly rhetorical posturing (which is still important preparation for any non-rhetorical face-off, but isn’t yet enough to effectively stop them).
I understand that it’s a delicate situation to be placed in, because confrontation may prompt the deranged terrorists into targeting him, which would most likely escalate into civil conflict of some scale. If that happened, he’d want all ducks lined up and ready to make that conflict as quick and decisive as possible so the rest of their force doesn’t have a foothold and hopefully decides to write off the incident rather than continuing to escalate.
He’s in too critical a position to just do nothing out of fear, but he’s also a civil administrator with military training handling what’s liable to become a military affair with civilians in the crossfire. It’s a fucking powder keg and he doesn’t want to blow it up if he can avoid it, whether for his own sake or for that of his people.
Still, like I said, keep pressuring him. His people need to show “we’re willing to fight these terrorists, whether with or without you.” If he’s hesitant to inflict this on his people, it eases the weight of the decision. If he’s hesitant for his own sake, it risks making him the enemy. Better to pressure him into an organised response than to wait for an uncontrolled one.
Me saying “I understand why he’s holding back so far” doesn’t mean “He should keep doing that”. It’s an appeal to remember the human that’s being faced with a terrible choice, so that efforts to pressure him may do so in a conscious, focused manner.
But he must be pressured.