Flawed Compromise Thinking

It doesn't really matter if you are dealing with a used car salesman, a North Korean dictator, or an al Qaeda terrorist, negotiation relies on two things: If all parties are willing to give up something to get what they want, and if they are willing to keep their word. Which of the previous three people do you think you could strike a deal with that would stick?

There are so many people out there that are repeating the line "Why can't we all get along?" and yet never stop to think about why that is. They believe that everyone is just like them, rational and willing to talk things over to the point of working out whatever problem there is between them, and sticking to the agreement. The fatal flaw in this line of thought is that everyone isn't like them, isn't trustworthy, and will do theirdamnest to break any agreement at the earliest point in time when they can get away with it and it is most advantageous to them.

Need examples? OK, here goes...

North Korea snookered ol' Bill into giving them nuclear technology, and then broke their promise & built a nuclear bomb. Radial Islamic terrorists will break their word to all infidels because their interpretation of their religion will allow it (talk to Israel on their negotiation history with any of the multitudes of Arab countries around them). From the historical perspective, there's always poor Neville Chamberlain who gave away another country in a futile attempt to keep Nazi Germany from going to war (and we know how that turned out). Last, Iran's nuclear program is on & off the table so much that I've lost track of where they are at, but would you trust their president to keep his word on anything dealing with the restriction of nuclear weapons development in Iran? Not with him promising the end of Israel first and the rest of the world second to create an Islamic-controlled world...

Is there any question that this is why diplomacy, negotiations, and compromise will not work in the long run with Islamic radicals/terrorists such as al Qaeda & Hezbollah, countries such as North Korea & Iran, and a host of other untrustworthy nutjobs from around the world? Not in my mind.

Yes, I do agree that peace should be given a chance to work, but you had better be prepared and have the resolve to go to war. Otherwise, we might as well just give up & pledge allegiance to Allah, put the women in burkas, scrap the Constitution & Bill of Rights, and put all of the "undesirables" according to Islamic law (such as Christians, Jews, Buddhists, atheists, homosexuals, Feminists, free-thinkers & other non-Islamics) to death.