The Global War on Terror - great name, but unfortunately has no basis in reality, founded on ignorance, and has achieved the exact opposite of it's original intention.
The crisis in Lebanon has finally proved Bush and his Administration have completely lost the plot.
Pre 9/11 there were various groups, defined as terrorists, dotted all over the Middle East and Asia. Each had its own goals, some hated America, others hated Israel, but all were united in their hatred of each other.
Shi'ite groups hated Sunni groups, and before a Jihad on the US or Israel was possible, it was necessary to destroy the other in order to unite the entire region in their favourite brand of Islam.
Gradually groups like Hamas, the PLO, Hizbollah started to fracture. The moderates started aid and welfare programs to help their own people, the fanatics wanted to kill Israelis. Having seen the fracture in the PLO widen, the Israelis and the US decided to strengthen the moderates, which eventually led to the first true attempt to create a Palestinian state. This is what happens when we allow our intelligence organizations latitude, and prevent ideology from forming our foreign policy.
Now reverse course and go back in time to 9 days after 9/11. The Grand War on Terror is announced. We're going to target global terror wherever we find it. We're also going to lump all terrorists into the same group, and refuse to talk to governments that whilst we agree they sponsor terrorism, we also know they have considerable influence over those terrorist groups.
We're going to keep lumping these groups together until they start doing something unprecedented in the long history of terrorism. They are going to be given their very own nexus of hatred. We're going to give them a chance to co-operate with each other, providing a central playground filled with American targets.
Content with that? Not a chance. As previously mentioned all these groups had their own goals, some where truly global, but hardly coordinated. Pre 9/11 Al Qaeda couldn't tie it's own shoe laces without help, and everyone was intent on killing everyone else.
So what do we do. We continually issue statements lumping these groups together, mixing Shi'ites with Sunnis, secular with religious fanatics. We give fuel to the notion that America is at war with Islam in all its facets. We give them the propaganda that will unite groups that thought killing each other was more important than the destruction of Israel or attacking America.
All the while our intelligence agencies are screaming stop. You've created a monster and we can't do our job. By refusing to recognize that each group is different, that some have very decent goals as well as their crazy talk, we don't see the fractures appear, then use our money and influence to widen those fractures and drive out the fanatics. In effect we cut off our ability to destroy terrorism from within. Remember the example of the PLO, well we could have achieved the same with Hamas and Hizbollah.
Instead of creating two new allies in the Middle East, convincing them to recognize Israel in return for our support, we've allowed the region to self destruct in hatred.
After Hamas won it's victory over the PLO, Al Qaeda thought they could influence their Sunni cousins in ways they knew were impossible with the more secular PLO. Hamas told them where they could stick that influence - you see the moderates wanted nothing to do with death and destruction, they wanted to help their own people, the Palestinians. Even if that meant recognizing Israel.
So okay, we've missed that opportunity, but never mind the War on Global Terror must role on. After all we've created more Global Terrorists than have ever existed before.
Next on our list of Brilliant Things To Do, we decide we're no longer going to talk to Syria and Iran, because they sponsor the Shi'ite group Hizbollah. Truly inspirational, so where as in 1996 when more or less the same thing kicked off, a US diplomat wandered over to Syria to ask them to reign in the terrorists, thus ending what could have been every bit as serious as the current crisis, we're left with no option but to back Israel - which in turn allows groups like Al Qaeda to shift blame for all those civilians dying to the US.
Not only that, but our support has left Israel with no course to go but onwards with the destruction. Without the US asking for moderation and a ceasefire, the Israelis have no way of saving face when they realize that all their doing is creating support for the fanatical elements of Hizbollah. Remember the example of the PLO.. again. By supporting the moderates you drove fanatics from power? Well you've fucked that up big time haven't you?