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galadriel2 -> At War with Violent Jihad? (7/2/2008 6:45:41 AM)
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Fareed Zakaria has put out an article that argues that we probably never have been at war with violent jihad and that if we were we have won the war. We don't need President Bush to be referred to as a wartime President or the next President either. He says that the whole conflict with Al-Qaeda and Al-Qaeda's strength has been way over-blown and as a result we have over-reacted to them and other terrorist acts.
What do people think about this opinion? I think it is important to remember what Sun Tzu says in his 'Art of War' and that mere strength isn't what wins a war. What wins a war/conflict is effective knowledge and strategies and tactics. Fareed Zakaria also argues, referring to Peter Bergen's recent article titled 'Unravelling', that Al-Qaeda is really losing a following, but Mr. Bergen has also written about that they have found a lot of evidence that Al-Qaeda is organized (in Iraq) and still calling the shots from the top down. The issue I have with Mr. (or is it Dr.) Zakaria is that this attitude towards Al-Qaeda is what contributed greatly to 9/11 being able to be pulled off in the first place so why hold onto it? I think my position is, well, a rather liberal one even so, and I think we should deal with terrorizing people along the same lines that Pres. Reagan dealt with it. He fought terrorists and their attacks with more of a police action than an act of war - and it was effective, but to not look at violent jihad and violent religion, for that matter, as something we are fighting against is a very serious error of thought, it seems to me. Does the fighting constitute a 'war'? The violent religionists view it that way. Is it to not be considered a war because the people terrorizing other people are non-State actors? Perhaps, for Barack Obama's sake, we should view things as Fareed encourages us to so that Sen. McCain's better aptitude for war and fighting won't make him seem like the better candidate.
God bless all abundantly,
Galadriel2
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