Yes Art, I agree that if the world had taken a unified stand against Hitler / Franco they wouldn't have caused the mayhem they did. But the times were different then. It would have been damn nigh impossible to get all the major countries to agree on a unified course of action. Just imagine convening a meeting, in 1935 say, with the Americans, Russians, Japanese, French, British, Italians and Poles and expecting agreement on a plan against Hitler.
Today of course we have the benefit of rapid communications and much better educated masses. The horror of the Twin Towers was transmitted "live" around the world. It enabled people to quite clearly see that this was terribly wrong and that some positive course of action had to be taken. It made for a unifying of major nations with a common cause and, whilst the events haven't fully played out yet, it would seem that a reasonably successful outcome is not far away. Of course there will always be internal and internecine strife in Afghanistan, that's the nature of the beast in a country where a clapped-out Kalashnikov is more cherished than a combine harvester.

JG / FME.