During the Spring/Summer months those with the special gift of the green thumb plant and cultivate their gardens. Others use decorative plants to improve the aesthetics of their home with interior/exterior flowers, shrubs, bushes, trees, etc.. Some of the most beautiful arrangements can be produced with the right mixture. It is recommended to trim or prune these plants occasionally in order to control growth and remain appealing. The debris is left to be swept up as trash. One of the most popular of these plants is the rose bush, especially when in bloom because of the sweet scent. Another popular plant is a shrub from the barberry family; vibrant with mauve, green and violet colors. These plants share a commonality: thorns.
In the international community, super powers tend to use the same gardening tactics with 2nd and 3rd world countries. If a country grows too power too fast, it is viewed as a threat; pruning is applied. The United Nations (UN) is act as shears that are used to impose sanctions or embargoes on countries that want to impose upon there neighbors. This is a necessary activity to prevent another Hitler from rising in the world.
With the world attentive to terrorism, Al Qaeda and the Taliban are viewed as international threats. These groups do not represent a nation by which the UN can apply commerce tactics that have been effective for the past 65 years. Military force has also been used by the UN to suppress aggression, but again terrorism does not have political land boundaries.
With Osama bin Laden's death in May, 2011, the United States removed a 10-15 year threat to its national security. Recently, Al Qaeda's #2 Atiyah Abd al-Rahman was killed by a drone operated by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). This is another celebrated international victory against terrorism, but should we be let are guards down.
As landscape and garden activities continue during seasons throughout the year, debris from roses and barberries may not get cleaned up as accurate as expected. This oversight results in dead leaves or flowers that wither and die, but not thorns. Dead thorns must be handled just as live thorns -- cautiously!
Likewise, sovereign nations cannot let there guards down, because the threat of terrorism is still there and it takes one suicide bomber, one missile strike, one political unrest, etc. and the prick of this event will spill blood that a medical gauze cannot withstand the pain. The UN must remain vigilant to find these terrorist thorns of the world and cast them away.