Are we fighting a war on terror?

[Caliman73]

This question/poll may have been asked before a while back but I was inspired by a discussion on San Francisco Bay Area talk radio I was half listening to on my way to work this morning. What I am looking for is how many people think that we are engaged in a war against terrorists and how many do not see it that way. I you see it as a war please explain why you think so or conversely why do you not see it that way.

[leftstreet]

1. It's not a war, it's an occupation

Pipelines, poppies, presence, profits

[Rhiannon12866]

7. +1

I think that's how it started, and now that we're so invested. it's tough to get out. :-(

[mdmc]

2. war on poverty, war on drugs, war on crime..

International cartels and terror orginizations should not be military targets.
We should use law enforcement and intelligence, backed up by military force, when needed.

Bottom line is this - If we drone-bomb an Afghan site and kill 20 people (including 3 AlQuida members) we lose the war on terror in the long run. We become terrorist and build up our enemies.

I know I would be pissed if my loved ones were considered "collateral damage".

[Caliman73]

6. That falls in line with what I think as well.

The term WAR is used to incite fear and anger, to mobilize the masses, but its overuse has rendered it impotent. We have WAR on everything, but there is never the mobilization of the citizenry that is usually required in times of war.

You cannot make war on a concept, a tactic, or objects. That is my take.

[Solly Mack]

3. It's called the 'Overseas Contingency Operation' now.

I still call it the bullshit war on terror

[golddigger]

4. We are spending billions of...

dollars to bomb the shit out of the Flintstones.

[EFerrari]

13. My comedian friend Will Dust called it "Re-arranging Rocks".

[Posteritatis]

5. Yes, but I'm not sure which side we're on. (nt)

[Echo In Light]

8. Phony war "on" 'terror,' REAL war OF terror

[Caliman73]

9. Thanks to everyone who has voted.

The majority so far seem to think that we are not in a WAR on terrorism. One respondent said yes. If both sides could elaborate I would be interested in hearing some reasons.

Some background. The radio station is KGO AM 810 affiliated with ABC News and the show was the Ronn Owens show in the 9:00 hour on the West Coast. There were several callers that were backing Mr. Owens' claim that we are at WAR with terrorism and terrorists and should not be trying suspected terrorists in civil court. The discussion was based on the information from Leon Panetta and that panel yesterday that stated that we are looking at a certainty that there will be an attempt to commit a terrorist act within the next 6 months. A specific question that Owens was asking was, "What do we do with anyone we capture trying to commit a terrorist act?" which would be predicated on whether you see what we are engaged in as a WAR or as something else.

So there were several callers who said that we were at war and that we needed to hold the suspects in the way we have been holding them/try them in military court, etc...The host agreed and compared terrorist with perpetrators of other crimes like bank robbers in an attempt to draw a distinction between criminals and terrorists. I wanted to call in, but I arrived at work and could no longer follow the discussion.

I think that stating that we are in a WAR is simplistic and political. War is used to denote a state of conflict that exists between opposing groups which involves the use of military force to settle geo-political tensions. It usually brings up within a population, the feeling that there are forces who want to, and who have the capability to destroy their enemy and I think that is the aim in calling it a war. As some have speculated, in war, we do things that we normally would not accept in civil society.

I think that one cannot make war on a tactic, concept, or an ideology.

[Echo In Light]

12. To flesh it out: the phony WoT stems from the PNAC plans which required an "attack" to justify it.

In a rep democracy, the powers that be aren't supposed to be able to just say, 'let's go to war for corporate interests of empire,' so they need to use deception to get the general populace, the chief enemy of any govt, on board with what they want to do as a means of lessening democratic interference.

[whatchamacallit]

10. The "stated" War on Terror in an absurd ruse

one that a depressingly large # of Americans accept:banghead:

[TexasObserver]

11. The War on Terror is a marketing slogan.

The Healthy Forest Initiative

The Patriot Act

They use a name to sell some bundle of ideas.

[lib2DaBone]

14. Yes..and the War is coming from Wall Street Bankers who control the entire Country

...the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial... and everything that walks, crawls or exists in our society.