Winning The War
“THE War on terror, five years on.”
What with this being the front page of the Independent, readers half expect this story to focus on how the war has impacted on the flora and fauna of Afghanistan, Iraq and Tipton.
Are carbon emissions caused by suicide bombers creating a hole in the ozone layer above Baghdad? The Indy investigates.
That for later. For now, the paper looks at the human cost of the war triggered by al-Qaeda’s attack on New York.
And George’s Bush’s response. According to the Indy, “Bush’s tactics of using overwhelming military might to fight extremism appear to have rebounded, spawning an epidemic of global terrorism that has claimed an estimated 72,265 lives since 2001, most of them Iraqi civilians.”
Many are dead. Too many. The US based National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism (Mipt) says that in addition to the thousands killed by terrorists, 30,626 “have been killed in a combination of terror attacks and counter-insurgency actions by the US and its allies”.
This on the day the Times leads with the faces of 14 British servicemen killed in that country. Since November 2001, 36 Britons have died in Afghanistan (15 killed in action and 21 from illness, non-combat injuries or accidents).
Have their deaths been in vain? The answer is no. The odious Taliban are proving hard to crack but they are no longer in power, dominating the people and ruling with fear. Indeed, the belief is that the war there can be won, especially if British troops are given the necessary equipment.
So too Iraq. Saddam Hussein is out of office. And he was hardly a paragon of peace and human kindness.
If there is no good news, there is at least news to encourage us to believe that there can be an end to the war.
The Telegraph reports that Hamid Juma Faris al-Suaidi, who is also known as Abu Humam or Abu Rana, has been captured. He’s the second-in-command of al-Qaeda in Iraq.
What Adam Gadahn makes of this, we have yet to learn. As the Times reports, he’s America’s answer to Lord Haw-Haw, the man whose “Germany calling, Germany calling” broadcasts tried to undermine the morale of the British people.
Gadahn, known today as “Azzam ther American”, is aged 28 and delivers his thought on Christianity and Judaism to the world at large. This is quite a step up for a “teenage slob” and fan of “horror-slasher” death metal bands. Who says people can’t change.
Azzam the American tells his countrymen that “Dubya has sent you to die – you know the war can’t be won”. He is wrong. Americans should know they can win.
No war goes on forever. And no war in history has ever ended with both sides claiming defeat. Even King Pyrrhus enjoyed “victory”.
Al-Qaeda can be defeated. And if Bush is seen as the baddest man who has overreacted to an attack on his country, it must be remembered that his administration will not last for much longer.
Posted: 4th, September 2006 | In: Uncategorized Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
