I wasn't at all arguing that he doesn't have the power, or that he wouldn't be justified in using it.Otaku-sempai wrote:The simple fact is that military diplomacy can be brutal. If the Dunlendings refused to negotiate and persisted in attacking Rohan then King Elessar would be completely justified in launching a campaign that would decimate the Dunlendings and make them afraid to stray from their hovels for a full generation or two.
I'm not saying that he should, but it is justifiable by the ethical codes of past history.
I was saying that there would be a cost (political, financial, human lives, etc.) to doing so. If the Dunlendings have been raiding and have not yet faced an army from Gondor, then saying, "Ok, we'll give you a bunch of our land if you'll stop raiding...but if you don't stop, then we're going to slap you one" just isn't very credible.
Makes me think of Qaddafi in the 80's, constantly moving his "Line of Death" backward as the American fleet kept deliberately crossing each one.