Martial Law. The Italians, the Israelis, the Colombians, the Serbians, the English, and others have gotten good results by putting troops on the streets. Not only does using the military help to save the lives of innocent people, but, in the cases of Serbia and Colombia, doing so enhanced democracy by giving people the option of being part of the democratic process using civic institutions, hell, even cooperating with law enforcement, without fear of being harmed.

Ycktr you sound like a professor! Did you go to college before? Speaking of writing you should be writing for Time magazine or something.

And the situation in Baltimore city is similar to serbia in what way? They're both home to mammals? By your statement I'm assuming you don't consider murders BY the military forces "polictical murders."

And actually, the use of military forces did not keep the IRA "in check"...that summer would prove to be the bloodiest of the entire war.

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I can tell ycktr,you sound smart like a professor. Go Ycktr..go ycktr! Move over Albert Einstien theres a new brain in town!

You give me too much credit Tim. Trust me, what I don't know could easily fill a large sized thimble.

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Just make sure you dont forget your mouthpiece then! Did you and Anne ever have a disagreement before?

The ycktr vs iamwise debate is being sponsored by Geico...so easy a caveman can do it..a 15 minute call WILL NOT save you a bunch of money on your car insurance! FUN FACTS...both of the contestants have college degrees! One actually teaches at a college part time. Its teacher vs student! Is the student who he says..iamwise? Watch it right here.....unless you want a pair of dentures its highly recomended you were a mouthpiece! You thought Obama vs McCain was a war...then you aint seen nothing yet! Its showtime!

Yes, I am.

Ycktr i meant to ask you are you a boy or a girl? If your a guy,dont be offended. I just couldnt tell by your name thats all.We need to get more people on here! And my 2 week vacation is almost over, i hope Monday never comes. What field are you in at work? I think you got serious writing potential after that law stuff comment. You and wise lost me in the 1st sentence!

you the man ycktr...i agree girls are 100%equals...hot girls...there just on a whole nother level....i consider them godesses! Some girls are so hot you just want to fall down and kiss there feet followed by a...thank you jesus for creating this girl! Them girls make me say HAAALLLOOOYYYYAAAA!

Serbia in the early 2000s (I am referring to the post-Slobo period) was plagued by crimes committed by highly armed thugs that had little regard for law and order, a justice system that frequently failed to cage the animals, a police force that rarely caught them, and a apathetic citizenry that generally didn't care and was often subjected to threats and violence when they did care.

The Djindjic murder gave motivation to the Serbian government to get off their duffs and do something and an excuse to lower the boom. It was sad to read about sponsor girls, Ceca, and the families of local hoodlums having their sleep disrupted or having to spend a few days in dirty prisons, but that was a far better fate than those who were raped, murder, ethnically cleansed by their boyfriends, husbands, or family members.

I took your advice and talked with some former Yugoslavs.

I'm confused Mr. Wise. In your original post with respect to implementing martial law you said, "in the cases of Serbia and Colombia, doing so enhanced democracy." You do realize that the martial law directive included censorship of all media...including news and music right? Doesn't sound too democratic to me. But then again, if you're engaged in legally sanctioned looting and personal assault, democracy probably isn't a very popular topic.

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In Serbia, exercising one's rights to freedom of speech, press, and association frequently led to journalists and even regular people being killed by criminals.

After the Djinjic murder and the subsequent declaration of martial law, many of these hoodlums were caged, their property seized, and thus their ability to strike at opponents was diminished.

In turn this allowed people to complain about crime, testify against criminals, and protest their activities without fear of getting bullets to brain.

In Baltimore, having the 82nd and 101st airborne divisions patrolling the West Side would increase democracy in Baltimore a number of ways. Here are two examples.

1)My freedom of speech would increase. I would have been more willing to testify against the hoodlums who vandalized my car, stole my money, and physically assaulted me if I knew military police and infantry were patrolling nearby and were able to render quick effective assistance. (More importantly, a strong military presence would have probably deterred the crime to begin with or ensure that the perps were caught.)

2)The good people on the West Side would have their freedom of association boosted by having the ability to tell the thug life element to get lost with a greatly reduced fear of retaliation. Plus, unlike now, there would be enough law enforcement presence to respond to complaints of drug dealers.

FARC, ELN, and the right wing hooligans like AUC used to terrorize Colombian residents. Criticism of these gangs was met with death. Even associating with the enemy (as defined by each gang) could result in execution by a group.

Then Colombia ramped up military spending, engaged in a rather effective professionalization program for its armed forces, and then brought down the hammer. AUC has been brought to heel, ELN is reeling, and FARC is teetering on collapse.

Colombians can now protest against the gangs, their cronies, and even the government with a much reduced fear of death. They can associate freely without fear of hanging out with the wrong person and dying because of it.