The battle is against militant Islam, not “Terror”

I recently read the most profound article on the 'War on Terror'. It's by Andrew McCarthy of the National Review. It's a lengthy piece, but well worth it.

Well, we are now well into the third year of what is called the "War on Terror." That is the language we all use, and it is ubiquitous. The tabloids and the more prestigious journals of news and opinion fill their pages with it. The 24-hour cable television stations are not content merely to repeat "War on Terror" as if it were a mantra; they actually use it as a floating logo in their dizzying set designs.

Most significant of all, the "War on Terror" is our government's top rhetorical catch-phrase. It is the way we define for the American people and the world, especially the Islamic world, what we are doing, and what we are about. It is the way we explain the nature of the menace that we are striving to defeat.

But is it accurate? Does it make sense? More importantly, does it serve our purposes? Does it make victory more identifiable, and hence more attainable? I humbly suggest that it fails on all these scores. This, furthermore, is no mere matter of rhetoric or semantics. It is all about substance, and it goes to the very core of our struggle.

Terrorism is not an enemy. It is a method. It is the most sinister, brutal, inhumane method of our age. But it is nonetheless just that: a method. You cannot, and you do not, make war on a method. War is made on an identified and identifiable enemy.

In the here and now, that enemy is militant Islam ; a very particular practice and interpretation of a very particular set of religious, political and social principles.

There are so many cogent points, it's difficult to pull selected quotes. Suffice it to say, we need to become diligent in this battle against Militant Islam! After viewing the Berg tape, I went searching for the Daniel Pearl's tape. Needless to say I found it; along with several other Militant Islamic executions. Everything from a captured Russian PVT getting his throat slit (extremely graphic!) to Pearl's over-produced propaganda film. All I know is I'm now galvanized against these 'people'.

Palestinians? Your choices have caused your suffering, everthing from choosing corrupt leadership intent on siphoning off millions of dollars *Mrs Arafat* to not agreeing to a peace accord which would have given them over 90% of their *demands*. But I'm sure I'll do another post on the poor Palestinians.