When it is over, if it is over, this war [in Iraq] will have horrible consequences….Terrorism will be aggravated….Instead of one bin Laden there will be one hundred bin Ladens. Terrorist organizations will be united. Everything will be insecure.
[Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak – March 2003]
Yesterday, news anchors across America stumbled over the name of Abu Hamza Rabia as they reported, triumphantly, a “successful hit” on yet another al-Qaeda chief of operations. Frankly, why this still rates as “BREAKING NEWS” escapes me. After all, we hear reports every other week now about the assassination or capture of some obscure Muslim – who was allegedly a top al-Qaeda terrorist or the No.1 assistant to Osama bin Laden’s no. 3 lieutenant.
More to the point, I doubt Americans feel any safer today knowing that the name of Abu Hamza Rabia or Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has been eliminated from the FBI’s most wanted list of al-Qaeda terrorists.
After all, the visionary Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned that these whack-a-mole hits were only providing pyrrhic comfort to fools. Except Westerners ridiculed him as a chastened Cassandra when he claimed that the war in Iraq would produce 100 bin Ladens, after claiming that the war in Afghanistan would produce 1000.
But the joke is clearly on anyone who thinks these high profile hits on al-Qaeda terrorists are indications of success in America’s war on terror. Moreover, Mubarak is being proven more prophetic than even he realised. After all, 1000 bin Ladens today would amount to nothing more than a gaggle of cloistered or caved clerics: notorious for their incendiary rhetoric, but incapable of organizing a terrorist attack and too cowardly to die for their own religious cause.
Whereas this war on terror – with its spasmodic hits on al qaeda leaders – has in fact converted multitudes of peaceful Muslims into Jihadists who welcome the opportunity to sacrifice their lives in bin Laden’s holy war. What’s more, they have demonstrated that they are just as committed to and capable of killing Americans (in Iraq and Afghanistan) as President Bush is committed to and capable of “routing them out – one by one”. But it does not take a genius in military war strategy to figure out who is going to win this asymmetrical war – especially on their turf.
Indeed, it is precisely this realisation that American troops are caught in a death dance with suicidal fanatics that is causing not just war fatigue with but disinterest in this “war on terror.” And, if Pentagon officials think trumpeting the assassination of one al-Qaeda deputy after another will reverse this trend, they are hopelessly misguided.
After all, the most notable thing about this war to date is the speed and ease with which al-Qaeda replaces its assassinated deputies. And, this stands in stark contrast to anxiety and foreboding amongst Americans every time there’s a report about yet more American troops being blown up by these holy warriors.
Note: President Bush has decided to deliver a series of cheerleading speeches to counter increasingly defiant calls to bring the troops home…now! But his PR initiative cannot be helped by revelations like the recent escape of 4 al-Qaeda detainees from a high security prison guarded by top America military police; or the fact that in 2003 news anchors reported, triumphantly, the capture of the man who remains the most wanted terrorist in Iraq today, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
News and Politics
Legacy Note: With over 5,600 posts spanning 20 years, I am easily the most prolific blogger on the most eclectic array of topics on the web. That makes The iPINIONS Journal an unparalleled archive of informed political and cultural commentary. Visit the ARCHIVES section in the sidebar or search by topic. You won’t find a more consistent, independent voice on world affairs.
Anonymous says
OMG! This is soooooo true. The more of those people we kill the more they multiply. Enough already!
Becker says
Right you are. It was our incessant killing of them that caused the growth of AQ in the ’90’s.
With respect to the idea that you don’t seem to like the “rankings” of the people killed so far, if you would be so kind as to supply a better organization chart I’m sure the CIA and US military would be happy to kill them too.
Until the “moderate” Arab states and moderate Islamic factions stand up and condemn terrorists like Rabia and friends (the PA for one), killing the bastards is the best option we’ve got.
With respect to your thought that we are caught in some sort of quagmire, you spend too much time reading the NYT and too little time listening to Joe Lieberman.
Anonymous says
but a quagmire is exactly what we have gotten ourselves involved in with the war in iraq. contrary to what state republican TV (FNC) claims, iraq was never the true front line in the war on terror. that dubious link is one of a batch of half truths told to the world by the bush administration. in a few years time we have managed to make it a magnet for jihadists.
however, i am not in favor of immediate troop withdrawal at this time because i feel we could actually make more of a mess by doing so. but let’s be honest. it will be years before the iraqis are capable of standing up to the insurgents on their own. this will cost us billions more and ultimately will do little to increase the security of the USA.