A Post 9/11 View of the World

"Republicans have a post-9/11 view of the world. And Democrats have a pre-9/11 view of the world. That doesn't make them unpatriotic, not at all. But it does make them wrong -- deeply and profoundly and consistently wrong." Karl Rove said today.
What is a post 9/11 view of the world, Mr. Rove?
It isn't the idea that someone out there hates America, Mr Rove. Even the Small Town Hick read Lederer's The Ugly American when his was young - and the book's been around since the 50s.
Is it the idea that somebody out there can actually hurt SuperCountry? Has the World's Only Superpower discovered that most of the world's nations has a stock of kryptonite?
I think that everybody, from the farthest left appeaser to the farthest right apocalyptic, knows that now. So, no, I don't think that this is what Mr. Rove was thinking of.
No, I suspect that Mr. Rove's view of the world, post 9/11, is that only strength counts. You can't talk with these people, you can only shoot them. Might is Right.
Wrong.
Civilization depends on talking with people. Even Ghengis Khan didn't kill everybody, even Hitler negotiated.
The Rove post-9/11 view of the world is a cowboy sitting at the door of his house, rifle in hand, peering out into the darkness. He's told the womenfolk and hands that this is Injun Territory, and that the woods are probably full of savages, waiting to charge in and kill them all. He hasn't done much of a job of barring the doors and windows, everything he does do, whether the hands like it or not, is always excused with the comment "You want the injuns to get you?" Inside, he is hoping that the cavalry has done its job of keeping the injuns busy; he may even believe it. Thing is, he won't know until the first face peers in through the window, whether he is safe or not. And of course, by that time it's too late.
However, the Rove view doesn't allow any other course. No peace pipe, no bars on the window, no detatchment of cavalry kept nearby, no asking the neighbors for help. Stubborn old coot.
And while he's in control, that's how it's going to stay.
Let's hope he's right. If he's not, . . .