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The Long War (September 11, 2001 -- )
Paul Greenberg
"Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety."
--Henry IV, Part I
This long, long war now enters its ninth year, counting from that fateful September morning when everything changed, or was supposed to change. After that terrible morning, not even the blindest could deny that America had been attacked. Yet this war had been going on for years. The same enemy had launched earlier attacks in
Indeed, the same
This isn't the first time Americans have been surprised to find ourselves in a war even after we were in it. The Second World War had been under way in
To look back and see a war in perspective, much like viewing a great mountain, a certain distance is required. And with great struggles, that distance may be measured in years, even decades. Consider the Cold War, which lasted half a century. Conducted under the ominous shadow of nuclear and then thermonuclear weapons, it would burst into flames from time to time -- in Korea, then
Now another long war grinds on. But parallels with the Second World War can be overdone. For all practical purposes, American isolationism ended
There are still those who see no necessity to bring the war to the enemy; they would retreat to some safe, mythical Fortress America. And their numbers grow whenever the news from
Americans seem unable to agree even on what to call this war. As administrations change, so does the name of the conflict. What was the War on Terror is now officially Overseas Contingency Operations, and the debate over it grows as long as the war itself. And will continue. For grave blunders doubtless have been committed and will be committed; that is the nature of war, which is but organized chaos, and not too organized at that.
For a war as long and twisting and full of contention as this one, it is remarkable how clearly its course was charted within days of the attacks that finally awakened America to the peril it faced:
"Americans are asking: How will we fight and win this war? We will direct every resource at our command -- every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war -- to the disruption and to the defeat of the global terror network....
"Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes, visible on TV, and covert operations, secret even in success. We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism."
That was
Today the baton has been passed to another president and commander-in-chief. And the focus of the war has shifted back to another front:
As the Long War continues, this still new president will doubtless be subjected to the same kind of demonization his predecessor was subjected to. But he, too, must persevere. Like America herself. We have come too far to let a mean partisanship divide us again. For many a new test awaits. And we dare not fail.
Golden Opportunity to Declaw Patriot Act
Robyn Blumner
You remember the USA Patriot Act, don't you? It was that 342-page bill that sped through a supplicant Congress within weeks of 9/11, dismantling our privacy rights like a castoff Hollywood set. A reauthorization in 2006 made some things better and some worse, but mostly the law stayed the same -- really bad for American freedom. Well, it is time to revisit the Patriot act
A Simple Plan for Killing al Qaeda
Alex Kingsbury Interviews Howard Clark
Howard Clark's answer is to both amplify the nihilism of its message and promote moderate Islamic voices. Clark, a former marine who served two tours in Iraq, now works as a consultant on counter-terrorism problems for the Department of Defense. He is also president and founder of Seventh Pillar, a nonprofit that seeks to combat al Qaeda's ideology. He recently spoke about his three-part plan for strengthening moderates and defeating extremists
The Default Power and American Declinism
Josef Joffe
Every ten years, it is decline time in the United States. Declinism took a break in the 1990s, but by the end of the Bush administration, it had returned with a vengeance. The history of declinism shows that doom arrives in cycles, and what comes and goes, logically, does not a trend make. Today, as after past prophecies of imminent debility, the United States remains first on any scale of power that matters--economic, military, diplomatic, or cultural--despite being embroiled in two wars and beset by the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Three Dangerous Stooges: Gadhafi, Ahmadinejad & Chavez
Victor Davis Hanson
Recenty, three dictators -- from Iran, Libya and Venezuela -- delivered lunatic hate speeches at the UN General Assembly. Why do these dictators feel so free to damn America from downtown New York? Why do their abettors spurn our requests for help? And why do creepy regimes plot to get nukes, and fund terrorists? Easy. They do not fear, much less listen ...
Available at Amazon.com:
How You Can Kill Al Qaeda: (In 3 Easy Steps)
One Nation Under Contract: The Outsourcing of American Power and the Future of Foreign Policy
Endgame: The Blueprint for Victory in the War on Terror
- Obama Fumbling a Chance for Middle East Peace
- Obama's Missile Defense Concession Holds Opportunity for European Security
- A Simple Plan for Killing al Qaeda
- Obama Faces Reality on Iran, Middle East
- Afghanistan and the Prospects of World Order
- Afghanistan - Situation in Afghanistan is Serious
- Afghanistan - Going Where in Afghanistan?
- Afghanistan - Mission of Ignorance
- Afghanistan - At Afghan Crossroads
- Afghanistan - Going Where in Afghanistan?
- Hard Decisions Ahead on Afghanistan
- Afghanistan Isn't Worth One More American Life
- Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan and Memories of Indochina
- All U.S. Presidents Need a War to Call Their Own & Obama Has His
- Obama Foreign Policy: In Honduras, Etc.: Pas d'Ennemis a Gauche
- Puzzling & Dangerous U.S. Foreign Policy Comes to an End
- Obama Foreign Policy: For the Community Organizer, Peanut Farmer Simpatico
- Obama Foreign Policy: In Honduras, Etc.: Pas d'Ennemis a Gauche
- Russia - History Made to Order
- Obama Foreign Policy: Seems Like Old Times
- Obama Foreign Policy: Afghanistan - Uncertain Trumpet
- Letter From Tokyo: New Regime, New Relationship
The Long War (September 11, 2001 -- )
Copyright 2009 Paul Greenberg.