Dr. Rice today highlighted how important and "right" the change of strategy from police action to the more offensive WAR ON TERROR(tm) approach.
The thing most disturbing to me was the fact that she stated this as an obvious fact, that WAR was the solution to terror.
As one of the commisionners pointed out - Terror is a tactic, not something you can actually WAR against.
In my opinion, as we have seen with the Iraq mis-adventure, wars produce not fewer terrorists, but in fact produce:
- Death. Iraqi and US soldiers, and civilian death.
- Inflamed tentions - the US has drawn the world against it by fighting battles in other nations.
- More terrorists. The results are obvious. Misapplication of asymetric power produces not traditional nation vs. nation wars, but asymetric attacks, of which we are most familiar suicide bombings and classic 'terror' responses.
So, we need to call out this obvious 'fact' - that the Clintons did it right - Police and Justice can stop more terrorists than Wars and the Bush administration will ever be able to do.
Want your heart to stop - read this transcript from Dr. Rice from 2000.
Dr. Rice: First there is the matter of maintaining the peace, because the goal of extending the peace and stability in the international system is disproportionately that of the American Armed Forces and a few of its closest allies. Peace, first and foremost, must be maintained through the prevention of conflict of global strategic significance. There will be no extension of prosperity; there will be no extension of democracy if we cannot make certain that big conflicts do not again dot the globe in places of global strategic significance. I have in mind problems in East Asia. I have in mind problems in the Persian Gulf. Places where global stability is really at stake.
The United States with its allies, therefore, must make certain that it has the right forces, that it has the right combination of alliances and coalitions, and that it has the will to make certain that large-scale conflict does not break out in places of global significance.
Stunning. I guess the world did change on September 11th. Certainly not for the better. Its a shame too. Dr. Rice used to have it right.
Read the full transcript for more twists and shockers. Also note the absence of ANY concern for international terrorism.