Yassin Musharbash writes in Salon that:
U.S. and French intelligence agencies are convinced that terrorist network al-Qaida has reorganized and, what’s more, developed new training camps in both Afghanistan and the remote tribal regions of northern Pakistan. They believe that a new generation of terrorists has come of age, and some are suspected of planning attacks in the West.
I’m not surprised, but I am saddened. The Bush administration, and its allies, are losing the War on Terror (a related note: Great Britain has decided to stop using that term) for the simple reason that its strategy has little focus on the long-term. In the short term, yes, it is acceptable to kill those who are directly trying to kill you. But the son will always rise to take his murdered father’s place — unless he is convinced otherwise.
This is a crucial problem in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (which I’m currently addressing in this series of posts), and it also affects the West and its battle against terrorism. The number of potential terrorists (angry, unemployed, oppressed, Muslim males) is increasing due to a “Middle East Baby Boom.” But how is the West — and moderate Muslims — reaching out to them? We’re not.
What was President Bush’s decision following 9/11? To invade Afghanistan. Two years later? To invade Iraq. (The former was justified while the latter was not.) War is easy, but there are other solutions. The United States may have decimated the Taliban, but little was done to create a civil society and rebuild the country – and now the Taliban is returning. I don’t think I need to mention the chaos in Iraq.
Military solutions, when they succeed, only work in the short term — in the long run, they frequently inflame passions for generations and worsen the situation. Unless the West can determine a way to improve the image of the United States, the West and Israel in the so-called Arab (and Muslim) Street, then America will be at greater risk each year. Until the West can reach the hearts and minds of moderate Muslims throughout the world and motivate them to take back their religion from murderous zealots, the United States will be in danger.
But President Bush has done nothing in this capacity. This is his true failure: A lack of imagination led to 9/11, and a lack of creativity will cause another.
