Why this war may unsettle the west..

LAST EDITED ON 11-10-01 AT 04:19 AM (GMT)[p]The US has bitten off more than it can chew

This is not a war about strategy and tactics, but about hearts, minds and beliefs. The foe is everywhere and nowhere at the same time, they are not purely definable by military hardware they possess, we can not clearly present them as visible like they were in classic conflicts of the past, they have a clear and unyielding belief in what they do, and are willingly prepared to die for it on a whim.

By taking the war to the terrorists and the states that support it the US-led force is playing a very dangerous game, and one that will be in my opinion very hard to win, if that is even possible. They will be pre-disposed to fighting on many fronts, something that has defeated forces time and time again, they will be living in fear at home unlike ever before, something that will surely start to unsettle our souls within our comfortable safe and free existence, and we will more than likely have to count the dead on our side again, and if protracted and without concrete results from our counter-actions, this will only get harder and harder to accept.

The people that we now chose to fight on their turf are not soldiers of the military, but warriors of the mind and religion, they are young and old and they keep breeding, and with the collective spirit of their hatred, they will always be a threat right down to the last. It is easier for a man to tell a white lie about his belief than it is to pretend that he is a friend, and so that will only make it harder to know if the threat can ever really be quashed. How does one know how many extremists are out there, and where will the next ones come from? How do we know that we can get them all?

Severing the heads that lead them is a step in the right direction, but there surely will only be others willing to take their place, again with that much belief and dedication, it won’t matter of the danger that position holds, human nature will fill the power vacuum quickly. They are human after all.

We can smash their networks, we can cut their finances, and we can flush them out and pursue them, but with a steadfast belief in man’s own soul, even the single man, will always find a way to prevail, and when death doesn’t matter, it can only be easier. It is reasonable to say that major incidents like the Sept.11 attacks may be harder for these people to commit now, but how can you stop the loner? One man in a car or on a bus for example, he might not kill many but the psychological effect on the victims and the people that have to live with it will be devastating. I think the American people can sense this already; the polls support strongly action against these people but also point out that they want it to be quick. A protracted war, which may continue to bring reprisals directly home, may eventually start to crack the resolve in the public. As much as the President and his military wish to pursue it, the people will have the final say. Already the anti-war protests appear, and are getting louder, the Arab world at large still see this as a questionable campaign, and have warned that more action against other Arab states will be unacceptable, there is by no means unilateral support in anything other than words from most of the free world whom actually lost people in the WTC attacks. Clearly, how much action will be enough to restore pride, freedom, confidence and esteem and security back in the USA. They have been hit and hit bad, and some others have willingly dragged themselves in behind the US in support of this new campaign of a an old war that for a lot of them never touched them before, but may do now in terrorist reprisals. How long can or will any alliance stay behind the US in this action? How long will it be before the world starts to question and say, “Enough is enough, You have had your revenge, you got your man, or men, you have made your point but to continue is to only further distance yourself from the world and bring into question how we should view you, do not make yourself out to be a tyrant”

Already Britain have said that it will not support strikes on other Arab states without UN security council permission, 100% proof of terrorist network involvement, and without consulting the Arab league of nations, and this is America’s strongest partner in this fight! The enemy does not need permission, they do not need alliances, they do not need to worry about proof, and they have their goals and will go at it until they are reached regardless. Unless the West can fight a total war, and I mean politically, financially and militarily against these people and literally have them on the run ALL the time, and break their spirits with sheer unlimited brute force, there is no chance of complete victory. The US will win little victories here and there, but while the people still exist somewhere unseen there will always be the haunted mind of uncertainty in the free world.

This is an American mission, there is no doubt about that, and unless they start to consider some undeniable realities if this goes on too long, they will be truly alone in their fight and may have to re-think their strategy that appeasing the spirit is easier than breaking it.

Regards, Glenn.