36 Ways the US Is Losing the War on Terror

This compendium by Jon Basil Utley has quite a few good links to back it up. Worth bookmarking.

August 3, 2004

36 Ways the US Is Losing the War on Terror

by Jon Basil Utley

Three years and half a trillion dollars later America is losing the war on terrorism. The 9/11 Commission has warned that more and worse acts of terrorism are to be expected. Bin Laden's planning always assumed that we, in reacting to him, would help him carry out his objectives. Well, we did. In his dreams he could not have imagined the damage done to America. So how are we losing the war?

1) Of course, turning most of the world against us is bin Laden's greatest achievement. From Africa to Latin America, from Europe to Asia, the swift collapse of confidence in America's moral leadership, and hatred for our government, is unparalleled in history. According to the July 26 issue of Time, "Bush and America are so unpopular overseas, polls show, that many foreign leaders can't agree to anything the president asks for without taking a hit in their own ratings." See also America Alone by Jonathan Clarke and Stefan Halper.

2) Al-Qaeda has now metastasized into new semi-autonomous groups in many nations, all motivated by hate for the U.S. and any nation or government that helps it. America's relations with the Muslim world, nearly a quarter of the planet's population, are subject to new hatred and fear as never before.

3) A threatening breakdown in globalization is occurring. The State Department has urged American civilians to flee from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and even the Philippines, nations where Americans have lived for generations. The long-term consequences mean loss of business contacts and investments with a chain reaction all over the world. As Fortune Magazine warned in 2001, "A Fortress America mentality in security matters could spill into economic ones ... a short hop from nationalism to protectionism ... all sorts of parochial interests in the U.S. are much more likely to get the upper hand. The effect on the economy will result in real declines in American living standards." There are growing threats to American interests in any nation with substantial Muslim populations, even now in the Far East.
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Read the other 33:
http://www.antiwar.com/utley/?articleid=3234

Thanks for the link