War on Terror.Will we ever defeat it?

[Brad]

There has always been Terrorism.But since 9/11 we have pulled out all the stops to rid the world of it.Are we in a losing battle?

[TNRighty]

In 1970, people thought the same thing about Communism...was it a war we could really win? During and immediately after Vietnam the prevailing attitude was that communism was something we were just going to have to deal with forever. What we needed was a leader who said, "yes, we can defeat this enemy once and for all." Enter Ronald Reagan, the rest is history. With the exception of a lame-duck Cuba and Uncle Vinny, I'd say we pretty much whipped Communism. Communist ideals still exist, but the threat of communism is dead. Still though, we have to keep a watchful eye on the smoldering ashes and stomp them out before they flame up.

The war on terror certainly can be won, and the key is that for the first time in our nation's history we have a leader who believes that. Establishing a free Iraq is a huge step in that direction. To defeat terrorism, you have to spread liberty to areas where terrorism thrives, like Afghanistan and Iraq. You kill terrorism by first killing terrorists, and second by increasing the number of people who WANT to kill terrorists. Basically, you have to confine it. I think we're in the confinement stage right now, or close to it. 70% of al-Quaida has been killed, and the rest are on the run. Right now, their fighting for their own lives, not trying to kill others.

Just like communism, there will always be terrorist ideals, but the threat of terrorism certainly can be defeated. But also like communism, any future flare-up must be neutralized immediately.

[TNRighty]

I'll continue,

I'm not saying the war on terror is the same as the war on communism. There are some strategical differences between the war on terrorism and the war on communism. The Cold War was a political and economical war, thus the name. Reagan didn't win the war against communism simply because we had bigger guns so to speak. We won because he lured Gorby into an arms race that Reagan knew would bankrupt the Soviet economy. That was Reagan's genius. Reagan never intended to nuke the USSR. He knew that once the citizens of the Soviet Union began starving they'd revolt against the communist regime. The war was won without ever a shot being fired.

The war on terror is different. There is no nation called "Terror". There is no "Terror" ambassador to the USA. There are no "Terror" representatives in the UN (aside from Kofi Annan). There are no citizens of "Terror." There are only terrorists. And thus, this war cannot be won diplomatically or politically. Terrorists don't have to worry about their nation's economy or people starving. They are responsible only to themselves. There is no government to topple, no economy to destroy, only people...terrorist people.

[DoubleX]

Very well said TNRighty.