There is No War On Terror
According to Zbigniew Brzezinski:
"The damage these three words have done -- a classic self-inflicted wound -- is infinitely greater than any wild dreams entertained by the fanatical perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks when they were plotting against us in distant Afghan caves. The phrase itself is meaningless. It defines neither a geographic context nor our presumed enemies. Terrorism is not an enemy but a technique of warfare -- political intimidation through the killing of unarmed non-combatants."
This also is my contention. War is conducted against people or countries. It is not conducted against emotions. Strategically, the so-called WOT was a grave mistake, as it placed the motivation ostensibly on capabilities-- WMDs-- while actually the causus belli was subjective-- a perception of intention by a relatively small number of people in the Bush adminsitration. The motivation has shifted to something even more subjective-- a desire to inculcate democracy in a land that has never know democracy and now most recently to justify the sacrifices of the dead by committing more blood and treasure.
I disagree that the WOT has caused us to be afraid. That might have been so in the early stages of the war. However, as more people began to see through the lies, the more it became obvious that the WOT was a charade initiated for political goals rather than out on behalf of genuine national security interests. The prevailing emotion I think among msot Amricans is now contempt.
I believe Congress abdicated their responsibility by not insisting on their constitutional prerogrative in declaring or not declaring war. We have Americans fighting and dying, but in the constitutional sense, this is not a war, much less a war on "terror."
The irrationality of the Iraq war has caused the erosion of support for thsi war. It is an axiom in foreign policy that war cannot be sustained in the absence of home front support. For that reason, it will be just a matter of time-- probably several months before the 2008 election-- that President Bush will declare victory and leave.
"The damage these three words have done -- a classic self-inflicted wound -- is infinitely greater than any wild dreams entertained by the fanatical perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks when they were plotting against us in distant Afghan caves. The phrase itself is meaningless. It defines neither a geographic context nor our presumed enemies. Terrorism is not an enemy but a technique of warfare -- political intimidation through the killing of unarmed non-combatants."
This also is my contention. War is conducted against people or countries. It is not conducted against emotions. Strategically, the so-called WOT was a grave mistake, as it placed the motivation ostensibly on capabilities-- WMDs-- while actually the causus belli was subjective-- a perception of intention by a relatively small number of people in the Bush adminsitration. The motivation has shifted to something even more subjective-- a desire to inculcate democracy in a land that has never know democracy and now most recently to justify the sacrifices of the dead by committing more blood and treasure.
I disagree that the WOT has caused us to be afraid. That might have been so in the early stages of the war. However, as more people began to see through the lies, the more it became obvious that the WOT was a charade initiated for political goals rather than out on behalf of genuine national security interests. The prevailing emotion I think among msot Amricans is now contempt.
I believe Congress abdicated their responsibility by not insisting on their constitutional prerogrative in declaring or not declaring war. We have Americans fighting and dying, but in the constitutional sense, this is not a war, much less a war on "terror."
The irrationality of the Iraq war has caused the erosion of support for thsi war. It is an axiom in foreign policy that war cannot be sustained in the absence of home front support. For that reason, it will be just a matter of time-- probably several months before the 2008 election-- that President Bush will declare victory and leave.
posted by My Mall and News at
9:09 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home