The costs of appeasement

If there's one thing history makes clear, it is the costs associated with inaction and appeasement. The most notorious example, of course, is Hitler's ascent, left unchecked by the ostensible leaders of Europe. Consider another painful event, brought to you by Mark "The Genius" Steyn:

...the first attack on American sovereignty was not... on American soil, was not 9/11. It was the Iranian Embassy, and we should have dealt with that problem then. When history comes a-calling, you never have a choice between good or bad options. They're only between bad and much, much worse options. And the reality of today is that we're dealing with problems that could have been, would have been easier to settle twenty years ago. If we don't settle them now, they'll be much more difficult, if not impossible to settle in ten years time.

Got that, Jimmy Carter?

RadioBlogger: Mark Steyn Interview