The war on terror is a false metaphor that has led to counterproductive and
self-defeating policies. Five years after 9/11, a misleading figure of speech
applied literally has unleashed a real war fought on several fronts -- Iraq,
Gaza, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Somalia -- a war that has killed thousands of
innocent civilians and enraged millions around the world. Yet al Qaeda has not
been subdued and, as our intelligence agencies have been telling President Bush,
the terrorist threat has actually increased.
Unfortunately, the "war on
terror" metaphor was uncritically accepted by the American public as the obvious
response to 9/11. It is now widely admitted that the invasion of Iraq was a
blunder. Yet the war on terror remains the frame into which American policy has
to fit. Most Democratic politicians subscribe to it for fear of being tagged as
weak on defense. The "alternative treatment" of terrorist support has just been
codified by Congress.
What makes the war on terror self-defeating?
• First, war by its very nature creates innocent victims. A war waged
against terrorists is even more likely to claim innocent victims because
terrorists tend to keep their whereabouts hidden. The deaths, injuries and
humiliation of civilians generate rage and resentment among their families and
communities that in turn serves to build support for terrorists.
•
Second, terrorism is an abstraction. It lumps together all political movements
that use terrorist tactics. Al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Sunni insurrection
and the Mahdi army in Iraq are very different forces, but President Bush's
global war on terror prevents us from differentiating between them and dealing
with them accordingly.
• Third, the war on terror emphasizes military
action while most territorial conflicts require political solutions. And, as the
British have shown by foiling a plan to blow up to ten airplanes, terrorists are
best dealt with by good intelligence. The war on terror increases the terrorist
threat and makes the task of the intelligence agencies more difficult. Osama bin
Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri are still at large; we need to focus on finding
them, and preventing attacks like the one foiled in England.
• Fourth,
the war on terror drives a wedge between "us" and "them." We are innocent
victims. They are perpetrators. But we fail to notice that we also become
perpetrators in the process; the rest of the world, however, does notice. That
is how such a wide gap has arisen between America and much of the world.
Taken together, these four factors ensure that the war on terror cannot
be won. An endless war waged against an unseen enemy is doing great damage to
our power and prestige abroad and to our open society at home. It has led to a
dangerous extension of executive powers; it has tarnished our adherence to
universal human rights; it has inhibited the critical process that is at the
heart of an open society; and it has cost a lot of money. Most importantly, it
has diverted attention from other urgent tasks that require American leadership,
such as finishing the job we so correctly began in Afghanistan, addressing the
looming global energy crisis, and dealing with nuclear proliferation.
With American influence at low ebb, the world is in danger of sliding
into a vicious circle of escalating violence. We can escape it only if we
Americans repudiate the war on terror as a false metaphor. If we persevere on
the wrong course, the situation will continue to deteriorate. It is not our
will that is being tested, but our understanding of reality. It is painful
to admit that our current predicaments are brought about by our own
misconceptions. However, not admitting it is bound to prove even more painful in
the long run. The strength of an open society lies in its ability to recognize
and correct its mistakes. That is the test that confronts us.
Title: George Soros: A Self-Defeating War
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