Winning the War on Terror and Bombings in Israel

Yesterday, both Senator Kerry and President Bush declared that the so-called war on terror is winnable by the United States, and that under their leadership it will be won. These comments come a day after the president declared, "I don't think you can win it. But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world." Bush was right the first time. Both candidates are demonstrating a choice of short-term political posturing at the expense of the future.

What does winning this war mean? How do you define victory? That's the first problem. As long as there have been explosives, there have been men and women willing to strap those explosives to their chest and walk into a crowded building. No amount of military might will prevent some lunatic from killing himself this way. Therefore, there will always be terrorist activity. The war the United States has been waging for 3 years, the nation of Israel has been fighting for 56 years. After all the death and destruction, on both sides, is Israel any closer to victory in their war against Hamas and other terrorist groups? Ask the survivors of yesterday's twin bus bombings.

It is wise to remember and learn from history. There was a time in Vietnam where the war was actually popular in the US, across the political spectrum. What happened? The political and military leadership continuously assured the American public they were winning the war in Vietnam, but the war dragged on and on and death toll mounted. Enemy activity continued unabated despite our constant march to victory. This is the great significance of the Tet Offensive. It demonstrated conclusively the lies and distortions of the American leadership. We were not defeating the enemy as we had been led to believe.

This is the problem with what both candidates said yesterday, and with a lot of other things surrounding this war. As Americans, we must realize that this war on terror is a permanent state of affairs. But our leaders constantly paint a picture of a temporary condition that will some day come to an end in a glorious victory. The color-coded alert system has values indicating low threat. The implication of that is that someday there will be a low threat of terrorism. After 56 years, has Israel reached the point of low terrorist threat? Ask yesterday's victims. Using the word "heightened" to describe security at airports implies that it is temporary and will someday go back to the way it was. Airport security will never go back to the way it was, at least not with reasonably competent leadership. Victory in military confrontation with Al Qaeda or arrests of their operatives are portrayed as bringing us closer to a mythical victory. The president insists on saying, "make no mistake about it, we are winning and we will win."

Long term, this risks the situation the nation experienced in the 60's, when the public was confronted with the image of an effective enemy even after being told for years they were being defeated. Let the dead in Beersheeba make us realize the kind of war we are in, and let us then be honest about it. This war will be unending, and while we may win the battle, victory simply does not have meaning.