From: "John D. Giorgis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Reply-To: Killer Bs Discussion <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Winning the War on Terror Date: Wed, 24 Mar 2004 00:09:49 -0500
I've been thinking lately about what it would actually mean to *WIN* the War on Terror.
When would you declare victory?
These thoughts were inspired in large part by some of ABC News' reporting from Iraq on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Iraq War last week. As part of this reporting they conducted a series of "person on the street" interviews, which assuming that their reporting truly captured typical Iraqi opinions, was nothing short of stunning.
Some of the comments include: "I know that one day we are going to turn on the radio in the morning and hear that the United States has occupied the whole Arab World."
"No matter what, we know the Americans are working for Jewish interests."
So, it occurred to me - what could possibly account for such startling opinions?
I'd think it's rather obvious, really. The US has quite a history of using political and military force against countries with a US-unfriendly government, and the US is still supporting Israel (despite the occassional criticism). So, basically, the US has a huge PR problem -- a real bad reputation.
In the long term, only a fundamental change in Iraq to a free and open democracy will truly be able to turn the tide in favor of eventual victory in the War on Terror.
It will never happen. Agreed, replacing the various dictatorial regimes in the world with democratically elected governments is a big step in the right direction, but it will not totally eradicate terrorism. There will always be people who are so opposed to a government's actions (FREX, the US using its military strength to get what it wants) that they will resort to extreme measures.
You can reduce terrorism, but a terrorism-free world is a Utopia. Besides, whether you call an act "terrorism" is often a matter of perspective; as the saying goes, one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Just ask the Palestinians.
JD
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