Quote:
Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
do you think a lot of these differences between us and you flow from you seeing 9/11 as a a crime where we should try to identify the guilty few, and the rest of us seeing it as an act of war?
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Sorry Hank, but I don't see it as an act of war. I see it as a crime. The Talibans assistance of the criminals was an act of war, but not the act itself. I think you can only wage war against countries. That is why I think the war on Drugs, poverty etc are all misues of the term "war" and the misuse of that word has led us to not deal with those problems effectively. A war implies that there is a sovereign government we need to take out (or at least a unified organization )and then the mission is accomplished. In this case we are not fighting against a sovereign nation but people all over the world, some of whom are even citizens of our own country.
The term "war on terror" makes me uneasy because we are not at war with a country. I would prefer the term Global fight against Terrorism. We have been fighting terrorism for decades and will continue to do so for years to come, but when we are not taking on a sovereign nation (and trying to replace their regime) I don't believe we are truly at war.
I also don't believe we are in a war in Iraq. Right now we are helping a weak democratically elected government defend itself against an insidious insurgency.
