The War On Terrorism

Has the war on terrorism already gone the way of the war on drugs, more a cover story for unaccountable military expenditure and operations? The war on drugs has always been an abject failure, costing millions upon billions of dollars, and never amounting to much. But it sure justified a lot, and made for excellent political capital.

Will the war on terrorism be the same? Less a fact than a charade, used as a justification for anything and everything politically desired? Or will we really build a global coalition, and root out and defeat these terrorists, along with examining and changing our own destructive actions that feed them?

We are not without responsibility for the state of the world today. We are not innocent. And not perfect. If we never address our own shortcomings, we will not engage the whole struggle. The enemy and evil is not only outside, they are also within. If we ignore our own shadows, we will only fight an enemy that continues to exist into perpetuity, as long as we ourselves exist.

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Ultimately, the technological shadow will also have to be engaged. What is the vision of the world in which we are not threatened by WMD, and yet we continue to respect freedom, sovereignty and conscience, individual and national? These are tough questions, and they are not answered by the Project For A New American Century. Catastrophes may happen by natural means, and by indirect means of humanity, such as ecological catastrophes. We must engage all of the emerging threats, all of which are shrouded in uncertainty.