Truman was widely criticized for labeling the Korean War a “police action,” which he meant by that was not to equate the criminal incursion over the southern border with a major war, particularly when fresh in the mind was World War II. … Now there is the inference that a more “sensitive” president would turn to policing terrorism throughout the globe, suggesting that he would not unleash total war on terrorism. … Well, I have news for Cheney, without the clear and bold harboring of Al Qaeda by the Taliban, Bush could not have unleashed a “war” on Afghanistan and because of this, dangerously miscalculated that he was free to divert the war to Iraq.
About the only strategy there is short of an all-out war on Islam is to wisely hunt down terrorists with the coöperation of other nations, Muslim regions in particular. For anyone to have thought that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq would put to rout the global cells of terrorism would be naïve.
The best one can hope for is to uproot cells through world intelligence, coupled with special forces and Interpol. Unless a nation — as in Afghanistan — openly harbors a terrorist organization, firepower is limited and yes, diplomacy is called on. If, however, we resorted to the fabricated strength of the current administration we would now be at war with Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine.
Copyright © 2004 Richard R. Kennedy All rights reserved. Revised: September 10, 2004.