Rogers: “Assume other countries are also populated by human beings.”

I [heart] John Rogers:

Please remember -- when you bomb people for their own good, they rarely take the point in the way you hoped. Empathy is our friend. When America was attacked, its population became incredibly nationalistic, and rallied wildly behind a leader who was of mediocre popularity beforehand. Assume other countries are also populated by human beings. (EDIT: Ezra also reminds us that President Ahmadinejad is not Hitler, primarily because unlike Hitler, he doesn't actually run anything. If you're going to argue that Iran s dangerous, then you have to start with the idea that you're talking about the Islamic Supreme Council going batshit nuts and signing their own death warrants, and move on from there. At least that will be a factually accurate discussion.)