Since 9/11, President Bush has correctly maintained a policy of aggressive pursuing Al Queda terrorists. Certainly, America and the UK have the right, even the obligation, to pursue Al Queda members. The dividends of this policy are unknown to most citizens, as the results are clearly classified information, except for the occasional news announcement of a capture or strike.
Al Queda, because it is not a formal organization, and exists in small clusters all around the world, operates with the goal of driving the US and the UK from the Middle East (not to bring Islam to the West, as uninformed TV pundits and bloggers state). Certainly, all people, including Muslims and Arabs, have the natural right to live free from occupation and aggression–and Ameica and the UK have been very aggressive in the Muslim world for decades.
President Bush incorrectly asserts that by invading Iraq, the US and UK prevent terror “at home.” The London and Madrid attacks disprove that ridiculous but good sounding notion. There is no evidence to suggest that the invasion of Iraq–a country never linked to terror–has lessened the terror threat in America or the UK. In fact, Spain’s support for the war in Iraq led to a massive terror attack on its trains.
Because both the UK and the US are open societies, civil liberties permit free travel, free speech and privacy that ironically protect terrorists moving inside their borders. Therefore, the terrorists cannot be stopped without a significant curttailing of the rights of all US and UK citizens. Moreover, because of the innumerable soft targets available to terrorists in both countries, it is economically impossible to guard against all terror attacks. Traditional military responses like the occupation of Iraq have yielded no demonstrable results for the war on terror, and have only served to increase anti-Western sentiment in the Arab world.
Thus, it is clear that America and the UK will not win the so-called “war on terror” by dumping troops in various Muslim countries, nor by stationing police officers at ever bus stop. Israelis are able to attack Palestinians because Palestinians are confined to small portions of land. The problem is not that we don’t want to fight terrorists; it’s just that we can’t defeat an enemy that we can’t track. Therefore, it’s clear to me that other solutions must be put on the table, including the withdrawal of our troops from Iraq, a realistic and honest (not made-for-TV) resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the withdrawal of support for illegitimate oil -producing or allied regimes in the Arab world.
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