The war on terror is anti-American

The war on terror is anti-American

by Paul Woodward on March 2, 2010

Philip Giraldi writes:

"The expression war on terror is meaningless. Terror is a tactic, it is not a foreign government or political movement. To use the expression a “terrorist group” is equally misleading as the groups which come in all shapes sizes and colors are essentially political and have frequently clearly defined political objectives even if they use terrorism to advance their agenda. In most cases, the groups we call terrorists seek to take over the government of the countries where they operate, replacing groups not dissimilar to themselves who are currently in charge.

"Why is what we call something important, whether we use the expression “terrorist” or not? It is important because how you name and define something shapes how you think about it and how you respond to it. It frames the narrative. Instead of bumper sticker definitions, we should instead be asking whether international groups that use terror genuinely threaten either the United States or any vital national interest. If we were to undertake such an analysis, we would quickly learn that frequently the terrorist label is misleading.

"The exploitation of fear of terrorism by those in government has led to wars that did not have to be fought. Fear has been the key to the door for expansion of government and government powers and the people in charge in Washington have seized the opportunity. It has also eroded the liberties that have defined us as a nation."

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http://warincontext.org/2010/03/02/the-war-on-terror-is-anti-american/

The few times it has really been necessary are exceptions that prove the rule. Every war pushes us into a more authoritarian, more conformist, poorer and more xenophobic society.

Okay got that out of the way.

I respectfully disagree, however, I am willing to split the hair and say that terror is more than just a tactic - it has to BENEFIT a group or ideology to be considered the tactic of "terrorism".

So that rules out lone individuals acting alone to commit murder suicide. It rules out people wearing their pants too low. We can still fight "terrorism" as a tactic, and quite frankly we're stupid if we just go play isolationist where terrorism intersects or impacts our foreign policy objectives. If somebody sinks a commercial U.S. ship to warn Americans to stay away from Somalia waters - it's not an act of war, but we will be bringing that naval war to the doorstep of their country. To just hold hands and sing kumbaya is the other extreme stepping away from the "war on terror", but to put out a meme that it is "un-American" quite frankly strikes as a bit tired.

The world is probably more complicated than can be taken care of with blanket proclamations in place of blanket definitions.

Not just an asshole expression; a 'snarling RW radio crank' asshole expression. A neocon culture war classic.

Tired? Laying there drooling on the pillow dreaming of home tired.

I can't argue. I don't care if I win.

Take both sides. Let me know how it works out. Keep my side close to this though: FOREIGN ENTANGLEMENTS ARE BAD FOR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICS.

sorry, those bitches gotta fight me for it.

it's not important to win or lose as much as to discuss. Hope that's not some other tired trite overused snarling neocon meme, but thanks in advance for any further snarkiness.

This is Assholes Anonymous after all, we should be free to be ourselves.

oy 2 the vay dude.