Belial,

The War on Terror is a world war, fought by in England by the English, in Indonesia by the Indonesians, in France by the French, in the Philippines by Filipinos, in the United States by Americans, etc. On occasion, terrorists are interdicted outside the boarders of the target nations. Commonly, these are covert operations, but on occasion large scale offenses are employed.

No one should confuse the downfall of the Taliban as anything other than a particular theater of operation in a global conflict. The government of Afghanistan gave succor and sanctuary to a particular terrorist organization, Al-Qaeda, and was overthrown by those who preferred a different government. The reason that they were overthrown was that THERE WAS NO PEACFUL MEANS to select an alternative. The fact that the Taliban did not stand a snowball’s chance in Hell against the might that their misbegotten foolishness brought down upon them in no way excuses their reprehensible policies which, among other savageries, included the destruction of the Binyamin Buddahs as well as a substantial faction of Afghanistan’s cultural heritage.

The War on Terror will take a long time, and success is not guarantied.

__________________
Eudaimonia

This "War on Terror" you speak of in your first paragraph is merely the enforcement of the laws of these nations. It is not a holistic initiative to eliminate terror.

The downfall of the Taliban had nothing to do with their activities inside Afghanistan and everything to do with the ability to blame them for al-Qaeda. And did they give succour and sanctuary to al-Qaeda? Remember that this is hardly the same situation as al-Qaeda existing in their territory.

__________________
I want to know everything
I want to be everywhere
I want to fuck everyone in the world
I want to do something that matters

Sorry to have been away these few days to have missed the post "war on Terror" posted by Vigil--a great thread in that this is an important topic.

I see that Jseal had taken some issue with my posting to the previous thread--sorry you have and misunderstand my position. But as for Poland and Denmarks assistance in our involvement in Irqac amounts to next to nothing--barely enough troops contributed to guard a shopping mall and they are more dependant on US forces to keep them safe from terrorest--been there and seen it first hand.

Any person who is killed in war is one too many--loosing flower of our youth though shameless borrowed by me is a fact. It doesn't refer to just a body count--it also refers to the lost innocents, and bitter memories that will haunt the lives of many a serving soldier. Personally I would have perfered to exist ignorant of the ugly face of war and been happier for it. Sadly that is my lot and not the lot of others.

And yes the invasion of Afganistan was to end a terrorest safe havean--and as much as I hate to admit it--it was and should be to kill "verman". I would dearly wish with all my heart that these verman can be reasoned with to end the hate and violence. Yet they will not listen to reason and ignore the parts of their own beliefs that don't suit their views. Thus what else is there but to destroy them? Its reality as hard as it seems.

Now that is the fact of our times--that many young men and women will die and many an act and threat of violence will be ours for an unforseen score of years.

Yet to win at least a truce is to first recognize the evil we the US have done on the area, and accept the responsibility as well as apologize for it. Lastly where possible even atone for our mistakes.

Correct that we armed and trained "freedom fighters" during the Soviet invasion. But after the Soviets left--what did the US do after that? Nothing! We left Afganistan a mess. We crushed pro-democracy movements in Iran in the 1950s-60s, supported tyrants; oh yes Saddam was an ally at one time when he was at war with Iran. Many a shorted sided policy of ours is to blame for todays problems. It is time to address those past mistakes openly and honestly.

Then we need to encourage and foster a change for the better the lives of the people. In Saudi, far too many people suffer poverty despite that country's wealth. We support still the ruling family and ignore the people there. When live has no joy in it and despairation is the norm, people reach for things to find some hope. Or is the lesson of the rise of the Nazis lost to this current generation. Perhaps had not the Germans not been so disperate the sick person of Hitler would never have come to power.