WP: Winning Badly (why we can never win the "war on terror")

If you follow the logic of this op/ed, 1. we are at war 2. wars are declared over by the LOSER, not the winner. By the nature of asymetrical warfare (terra, guerilla, whatever) we can not expect the "enemy" to accept and announce defeat, hence perpetual war.

A great read brought to my attention by Josh Marshall at www.talkingpointsmemo.com .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21855-2003Oct26.html

As our casualties continue to mount, America's leaders could do themselves and us a favor by calling things by their right names. What's going on in Iraq and Afghanistan today is not nation-building. It's not postwar reconstruction. It's not pacification. It's war.

It's not war just because both nations are crawling with troops. So are others. Nor is it war just because people continue to die violently. That happens every day in every city in the world. Nor is it war just because some of the victims wear uniforms. That too is not uncommon even in peacetime.

It's war because our undefeated enemies say it is and behave accordingly.

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The key word is "accept." Very few wars have ended in the loser's annihilation. Most end instead with his acceptance of defeat, aware that no amount of courage, stamina or self-sacrifice can reverse the outcome. The challenge is to bring that condition about as quickly and inexpensively as possible.