He is correct.you do not wage war against terrorism, which is a method, but against those using the method.
Bruce http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/13/MNGECMUMQ71.DTL Rumsfeld says he regrets the phrase 'war on terror' Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is a man of few regrets, but he has acknowledged that he's had second thoughts about the Bush administration's often-used phrase "war on terror" to describe U.S. military endeavors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Asked by conservative commentator Cal Thomas what he would have done differently during his often-stormy, nearly six-year tenure as President Bush's defense chief, Rumsfeld replied: "I guess I don't think I would have called it 'the war on terror.' " Thomas interviewed Rumsfeld last Thursday, and the Pentagon made a transcript of the interview available Tuesday. Rumsfeld continued: "The word 'war' conjures up World War II more than it does the Cold War, and it creates a level of expectation of victory and an ending within the 30 or 60 minutes of a soap opera. And it isn't going to happen that way. "Furthermore," Rumsfeld added, "it's not a war on terror. Terror is a weapon of choice for extremists who are trying to destabilize regimes and impose their -- in the hands of a small group of clerics -- their dark vision on all the people that they can control." "So 'war on terror' has a problem for me, and I've worked to try to reduce the extent to which that's used, and increase the extent to which we understand it more as a long war or a struggle or a conflict, not against terrorism but against a relatively small number, but terribly dangerous and lethal, violent extremists," Rumsfeld said. Rumsfeld acknowledged that he regularly used the phrase to describe efforts following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and added that he meant no criticism of those in the administration who still use it. Rumsfeld also told his interviewer that he would have done a better job explaining to the American public why the current U.S. troop level in Iraq -- more than 140,000 -- is the right level. "The people who argue for more troops often, I think, are thinking World War II ... a conflict between armies and navies and air forces," he said. More troops in Iraq "can increase recruiting for extremism, it can increase financing for extremists, it can make more persuasive the lies of the extremists that we're there for their oil or for their water or to take over their countries. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
