kerry's war on terror strategery
I think Marc is right that any sort of "victory" in the war on terror could backfire on Bush by being seen as mere political gamesmanship, but I think there's something the Kerry campaign can take from all of this tactically. I think Kerry's been wrong, both tactically and realistically, to boil the entire war on terror down to catching Osama bin Laden. Just like catching Sadam Hussein earlier in the year didn't realistically make the world much much safer, though it did make us feel better about ourselves, catching Osama bin Laden isn't going to be a decisive blow to the terrorists in the larger war on terror. It will make us feel better, but the bottom line is that these terrorist groups don't operate like regular countries and institutions. They replenish and rebuild at an astounding rate (thus why Bush's statements about catching 75 percent of al Qaida are disingenuous at best, total lies at worst), and taking out their supposed leader is not going to hinder their efforts much.
Just like Bush has done in every speech since 9/11, Kerry has in the last two debates way oversimplified this administration's errors in the war on terror while at the same time opening himself to political peril should Bush and Rove pull a proverbial rabbit out of a hat. In his foreign policy speeches from now on, he should make it clear that Osama's an important symbolic goal, but that the fight is much larger, and this president has failed at both the symbolic and the real.
The way to win the war on terror is to have a comprehensive strategy that targets our troops, special forces and soft power where they're needed -- in countries that really spawn terrorists with lawlessness and poverty. Afghanistan was and has once again become that kind of place, and Bush missed a huge opportunity to win the larger war by focusing our energies on that country and building it, over time, into a free and open democracy. Instead, what we now have there is a dangerous, poor country that is run by warlords and the financial power of the world opium market because Bush diverted our resources to a place that was stable, albeit under the rule of a brutal tyrant. And he did so under false pretenses. Kerry has made a number of these same points, but he's wrapped it all into this failure to catch Osama bin Laden, and that's not only opened him to political peril should they find him, but it's also simply not true.
I'll have better thought-out posts in the future, but I'm not in such an articulate mood at the moment.
Just like Bush has done in every speech since 9/11, Kerry has in the last two debates way oversimplified this administration's errors in the war on terror while at the same time opening himself to political peril should Bush and Rove pull a proverbial rabbit out of a hat. In his foreign policy speeches from now on, he should make it clear that Osama's an important symbolic goal, but that the fight is much larger, and this president has failed at both the symbolic and the real.
The way to win the war on terror is to have a comprehensive strategy that targets our troops, special forces and soft power where they're needed -- in countries that really spawn terrorists with lawlessness and poverty. Afghanistan was and has once again become that kind of place, and Bush missed a huge opportunity to win the larger war by focusing our energies on that country and building it, over time, into a free and open democracy. Instead, what we now have there is a dangerous, poor country that is run by warlords and the financial power of the world opium market because Bush diverted our resources to a place that was stable, albeit under the rule of a brutal tyrant. And he did so under false pretenses. Kerry has made a number of these same points, but he's wrapped it all into this failure to catch Osama bin Laden, and that's not only opened him to political peril should they find him, but it's also simply not true.
I'll have better thought-out posts in the future, but I'm not in such an articulate mood at the moment.
posted by Anonymous at 9:23:00 PM
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