I’ve never liked that GWOT phrase. After all, how can you wage a war on Terror? Terror is fear, and fear is not a person, group or country that can be defeated with the tools of modern warfare.
The Global War On Terror (GWOT) has been a fatally flawed narrative, in my opinion.
Fear Can Be a Good Thing If You Let It
How do you overcome fear? In my experience you confront it straight on at the source and with an open mind. After a SEAL teammate died in a skydiving accident when I was a “new guy”, I became fearful of learning to skydive. It lasted briefly, I knew I had to jump and this foregone fear is one of the reasons I still skydive today. I enjoy it quite a bit; meeting fear head on is one of the greatest experiences in life.
We Are Not At War with Fear, We Are Fighting A Radical Philosophy
Al Qaeda has always represented a radical philosophical interpretation of Islam. To say Al Qaeda is dead is a fool’s story. Bin Laden’s message lives on.
Radical Islam is alive and well and for those of us on this planet that wish to live free and without fear of the next terrorist attack, then we must first realize that we are not fighting terrorism. On the contrary, we are fighting a radical Islamic ideology that continues to take root with over 73 million (according to the most recent Pew poll) sympathetic Muslims. That’s a lot of “haters”.
Meanwhile US Special Operations Command runs around putting out the fires (UBL, Awlaki, Qaddafi, etc.). Most politicians aren’t concerned about getting rid of the Radical Islamic tinder that allows the fire to happen in the first place, the same tinder that produces the Bin Ladens of tomorrow.
What is the major fuel source? In my opinion it comes down to one word.
Intolerance
Intolerance towards other human beings is as alive and well at home in the U.S. as much as it is in Israel, Pakistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, China and Iran, to name just a few.
The heart behind most major conflict the world has seen beats to rhythm of intolerance. Until we realize this and start getting the world on a healthy diet of acceptance, US SOCOM will continue to treat the symptoms via kill or capture; mostly kill these days.
American Idol and Our Heads in The Box
Meanwhile we can look forward to giving up more civil liberties at home while more unconcerned Americans get fat watching the reality TV box, and remain more concerned with voting for the next American Idol than our next President. More people voted for the last Idol than they did in the last Presidential Election. And between commercial breaks they will bitch about how they are owed this and owed that while the rest of us work and pay taxes.
What ever happened to hard work and the American dream and JFK’s vision of civic duty?
The Dénouement?
Standby for next terrorist attack America and the EU, it’s coming to a city near you and will not be pretty.
My chips are on a Chemical or Biological attack. The summer Olympics in London is a great place to start a fire. Best you buy a gas mask on eBay if you plan to attend.
(Featured Image: ForeignPolicy.com)
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