Are we winning the real "War on Terror?"?

Question

from The Vancouver Sun, 03/31/07-http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/story.html?id=2b354bb5-32fb-4a49-8092-ed5668d841dc&k=21972

"Afghanistan Expert... Barnett Rubin recently published.... an article warning Afghanistan "is at risk of collapsing into chaos." In it, he blasts the U.S. for underestimating the influence of Pakistan, which he accuses of providing "safe haven" to the Taliban."

Are we looking for terror in all the wrong places- Iraq instead of Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan instead of Pakistan?
Oh well, you can't expect to win a war on an emotion anyway

Incredible! Not a bad answer in the bunch. There's only good, better and best.Thanks for the info on fascism, Barbara. Very familiar characteristics. I see them on display everywhere I look. And thanks to you all for giving me some wonderful reading and a great measure of reassurrance about the future. Non illigitimus carborundum!

Ooops! I missed the first answer. Well, one bad answer out of thirteen ain't bad.

Answer 1

No the true terror for America is right here at home. It insinuates itself into your lives now slowly, but once it is done with the Muslims, it will come for you.


The Fourteen Points of Fascism. (Meet the New America)

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism

From the prominent displays of flags to the ubiquitous lapel pins, the fervor to show patriotic nationalism, both on the part of the regime itself and of citizens caught up in its frenzy, is always obvious. Catchy slogans, pride in the military, and demands for unity are common themes in expressing this nationalism. It isusually coupled with a suspicion of things foreign that often bordered on xenophobia.

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights

The regimes themselves view human rights as of little value and a hindrance to realizing the objectives of the ruling elite. Through clever use of propaganda, the population is brought to accept these human rights abuses by marginalizing, even demonizing, those being targeted. When abuse is egregious, the tactic is to use secrecy, denial, and disinformation.

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause

The most significant common thread among these regimes is the use of scapegoating as a means to divert the people’s attention from other problems, to shift blame for failures, and to channel frustration in controlled directions. The methods of choice—relentless propaganda and disinformation—are usually effective. Often the regimes incite “spontaneous” acts against the target scapegoats, usually Muslims, communists, socialists, liberals, Jews, ethnic and racial minorities, traditional national enemies, members of other religions, secularists, homosexuals, and “terrorists.” Active opponents of these regimes are inevitably labeled as terrorists and dealt with accordingly.

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism

Ruling elites always identify closely with the military and the industrial infrastructure that supports it. A disproportionate share of national resources is allocated to the military, even when domestic needs are acute. The military is seen as an expression of nationalism, and is used whenever possible to assert national goals, intimidate other nations, and increase the power and prestige of the ruling elite.

5. Rampant sexism

Beyond the simple fact that the political elite and the national culture are male-dominated, these regimes inevitably view women as second-class citizens. They are adamantly anti-abortion and also homophobic. These attitudes are usually codified in Draconian laws that enjoy strong support by the orthodox religion of the country, thus lending the regime cover for its abuses.

6. A controlled mass media

Under some of the regimes, the mass media are under strict direct control and can be relied upon never to stray from the party line. Other regimes exercise more subtle power to ensure media orthodoxy. Methods include the control of licensing and access to resources, economic pressure, appeals to patriotism, and implied threats. The leaders of the mass media are often politically compatible with the power elite. The result is usually success in keeping the general public unaware of the regimes’ excesses.

7. Obsession with national security

Inevitably, a national security apparatus is under direct control of the ruling elite. It is usually an instrument of oppression, operating in secret and beyond any constraints. Its actions are justified under the rubric of protecting “national security,” and questioning its activities is portrayed as unpatriotic or even treasonous.

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together

Unlike communist regimes, the fascist and protofascist regimes are never proclaimed as godless by their opponents. In fact, most of the regimes attach themselves to the predominant religion of the country and choose to portray themselves as militant defenders of that religion. The fact that the ruling elite’s behavior is incompatible with the precepts of the religion is generally swept under the rug. Propaganda keeps up the illusion that the ruling elites are defenders of the faith and opponents of the “godless.” A perception is manufactured that opposing the power elite is tantamount to an attack on religion.

9. Power of corporations protected

Although the personal life of ordinary citizens is under strict control, the ability of large corporations to operate in relative freedom is not compromised. The ruling elite sees the corporate structure as a way to not only ensure military production (in developed states), but also as an additional means of social control. Members of the economic elite are often pampered by the political elite to ensure a continued mutuality of interests, especially in the repression of “have-not” citizens.

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated

Since organized labor is seen as the one power center that could challenge the political hegemony of the ruling elite and its corporate allies, it is inevitably crushed or made powerless. The poor form an underclass, viewed with suspicion or outright contempt. Under some regimes, being poor is considered akin to a vice.

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts

Intellectuals and the inherent freedom of ideas and expression associated with them are anathema to these regimes. Intellectual and academic freedom are considered subversive to national security and the patriotic ideal. Universities are tightly controlled; politically unreliable faculty harassed or eliminated. Unorthodox ideas or expressions of dissent are strongly attacked, silenced, or crushed. To these regimes, art and literature should serve the national interest or they have no right to exist.

12. Obsession with crime and punishment

Most of these regimes maintain Draconian systems of criminal justice with huge prison populations. The police are often glorified and have almost unchecked power, leading to rampant abuse. “Normal” and political crime are often merged into trumped-up criminal charges and sometimes used against political opponents of the regime. Fear, and hatred, of criminals or “traitors” is often promoted among the population as an excuse for more police power.

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption

Those in business circles and close to the power elite often use their position to enrich themselves. This corruption works both ways; the power elite receives financial gifts and property from the economic elite, who in turn gain the benefit of government favoritism. Members of the power elite are in a position to obtain vast wealth from other sources as well: for example, by stealing national resources. With the national security apparatus under control and the media muzzled, this corruption is largely unconstrained and not well understood by the general population.

14. Fraudulent elections

Elections in the form of plebiscites or public opinion polls are usually bogus. When actual elections with candidates are held, they can usually be perverted by the power elite to get the desired result. Common methods included maintaining control of the election machinery, intimidating and disenfranchising opposition voters, destroying or disallowing legal votes, and, as a last resort, turning to a judiciary beholden to the power elite.

Does any of this sound familiar? As America sinks deeper and deeper into corporate greed will this country continue to be a democracy by the people and for the people or will it be ruled by the few? Will the trinity of money, power and greed over come one of the greatest countries in the world? Only we, the people, can keep it free. SPEAK OUT AND LET YOUR THOUGHTS BE KNOWN...ONLY BY SILENCE WILL WE BE DEFEATED!

"What no one seemed to notice. . . was the ever widening gap. . .between the government and the people. . . And it became always wider. . . the whole process of its coming into being, was above all diverting, it provided an excuse not to think for people who did not want to think anyway . . . (it) gave us some dreadful, fundamental things to think about . . .and kept us so busy with continuous changes and 'crises' and so fascinated . . . by the machinations of the 'national enemies,' without and within, that we had no time to think about these dreadful things that were growing, little by little, all around us. . .
Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained or, on occasion, 'regretted,' that unless one understood what the whole thing was in principle, what all these 'little measures'. . . must some day lead to, one no more saw it developing from day to day than a farmer in his field sees the corn growing. . . .Each act. . . is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the next. You wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join you in resisting somehow.
You don't want to act, or even talk, alone. . . you don't want to 'go out of your way to make trouble.' . . .But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds or thousands will join with you, never comes. That's the difficulty. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves, when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. . . .You have accepted things you would not have accepted five years ago, a year ago, things your father. . . could never have imagined.

America, Please... Remember What America Used to be, Not this MOCKERY of civilization called Fascism you now live under.

Answer 2

Of course not. Winning the real war on terror would have started with getting Bin Laden and as many of his Al Qaeda as possible.

Here's a quote from a neoconservative who often has Bush's ear:

"One [war] is in Afghanistan, a geographically marginal backwater with no resources and no industrial or technological infrastructure. The other is in Iraq, one of the three principal Arab states, with untold oil wealth, an educated population, an advanced military and technological infrastructure that, though suffering decay in the later years of Saddam Hussein's rule, could easily be revived if it falls into the right (i.e., wrong) hands. Add to that the fact that its strategic location would give its rulers inordinate influence over the entire Persian Gulf."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/29/AR2007032901987.html

This tells why the US went into Iraq, right?

Answer 3

Of course we're not winning. We've used up most of our resources fighting in Iraq and what progress we did make when we first started fighting in Afganistan has since been lost. We needed to put much more energy on fighting the Taliban and Al Qaida instead of going after Iraq. Because we invaded Iraq, we've allowed the real Terrorists to go free and continue to gain support and we made ourselves even more hated in the Middle East. We could be winning the "War on Terror" if it wasn't for an incompetent President.

Answer 4

The "war on terror" is a marking phrase. Like the war on drugs.

Declaring war on a concept is like marrying a poem. It may look good as a PR move, but it is meaningless in practice.

The war on terror simply means we oppose terrorism. Which is nothing new, since people have had to suffer terrorism since the dawn of civilization. We just used different words back then -- Huns, Vandals, barbarians, brigands, pirates, criminals, etc.

But thinking that by occupying one country in one part of the world, we can somehow stop all other terrorists everywhere else in the world, that's just foolish and naive.

Answer 5

No, but congress never actually declared war on Iraq in the first place, so our troops are over there just to keep the peace, get revenge, and mix things up. They are losing their lives for a war that was never even really declared a war according to congress!

Answer 6

It was never about winning but about prolonging the market for the military industrial complex. Ever listen to the Generals who come before Congress they have a covert language that incites revolutions and conflicts in peaceful regions to ensure that the Military corporations have their 30-40% growth in profits.

It has been that way since the Civil war.

Answer 7

This is a really hard question to answer in one setting, its kind of like predicting crime. However, I am move to say in a philosophical sense we have lost The War on Terror. I will speak from that point of view; we have failed to engage Taliban and the other leaders into conversation, or our way of thinking is not influencing change over in the Middle East....One big failure is the way we fail to go after true terrorist in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yaman and parts of Africa.

How can we speak democracy and freedom, when we will not event talk with leaders that we don't agree with. A person cant get through life successfully only talking to the people that agree with them all the time. We have to talked to them to understand them, and to change their way of thinking.

Terrorism is passionately installed in hearts of various terror groups from birth. We have to recognize them, listen to them, speak to them and come to realization is hard to fight a group that believes they were born to die for the cause

I wonder if we really need to go to the United Nation and plead for support and try to start this process all over again. We cant fight the world on our own, no one country is that powerful. I voted for President Bush twice and I must say that I question my decision at this point of the game.

Answer 8

No. We are just killing a bunch of rag heads and getting nowhere. Iraq was supposed to be finished two years ago but it has lasted longer than WWII.

Answer 9

The war on terror is a smile on a tail wagging dog.

Answer 10

If you want to find the real terrorist look in the White House mate.

Answer 11

hahahahahahhhhhhhhhhhhhahhahahhahahahahhahahahahhahahahahhahahhahahahahahhahahahahhahahahahhahahaha YEAH RIGHT!! with george bush leading the american country never will, all they do is steal, and thats what happened in all these so called wars they just stole!