Some good news in the war on terror. The number 3 man in Al Queda, Al-Libbi, the main operations man, was captured Wednesday. (Of course, this happened while I was out of town, unable to comment.) Hopefully, we can get some intel on ongoing teror operations and Bin Laden's current residence/final resting place.
But even Bin Laden's eventual demise will not bring peace, love, and the Millenium. Others are still plotting, and rogue nations still scheme. Our future will be that of continual low-intensity, worldwide warfare against individuals who seek to war against nations, and occasional wars agains their state sponsors. These wars will most often involve special operations forces, and most of the battles you and I will never hear about. Defeats will be open and noisy; victories will be quiet, often anti-climactic, and usually secret.
The biggest historical parallel I can find is in the eightenth and again in the early nineteenth centuries, when the Royal Navy (later assisted by the US Navy) began agressive patrolling to end piracy. There never was a climactic final battle; instead, the pirates gradually found it more and more dangerous to do business, and either found new occupations, new hunting grounds, or were destroyed.
So, I believe, it will be with terrorism. This campaign will be a many-pronged effort, against the terrorists themselves in all their theatres of operation (possibly the easiest phase), against their state sponsors (those who provide aid, shelter, and occasionally employ them), and against their ideological leaders.
It will take a long time, but we must fight - and win. Living in fear forever is not an alternative.
P.S. Choosing the life of a terrorist can be hard on you. And no, I'm not related to the guy in the fourth picture.
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