A new view of terrorism

"Those who would give up their liberty for security deserve neither".

Terrorists are criminals, not warriors. They do not threaten western civilization as some wild overstatements claim. Is our great edifice so fragile that it should be threatened by a small group of extremists? Not at all - that is, if we really believe in the soaring language we use to describe ourselves.

The key question is: Will the actions of a handful of men, motivated by hatred or ideology, and not representing a nation-state, cause us to abondon liberties we have enjoyed, which the world admires, and which earlier generations fought to uphold and preserve? If we are truly a super power, how can we be so dreadfully distracted from that which makes us great by this overstated threat.

Our Greatest Generation fought the most terrible of wars against a true threat to civilization - fascism, especially Naziism - and did not abandon our principles. Nor should we now. Unfortunately, instead of a reassuring "all we have to fear is fear itself", we are told to be afraid.

Okay, lets ask a few questions. What will victory look like when we win the "long war"? Is military action our only or primary means of action? What will we have to do - kill all the terrorists? How will we even know who and where they are? What will it cost in lives and treasure? And, if in the process our Constitution is in shreds, what will victory be but a failure the preserve that which we are fighting to protect in the first place?

Terrorism is criminal action, and requires an international police response. That response depends on good intelligence and friendly nations. Overstating the threat and overreaching with military power will not serve our interests well.

We should be clear-eyed about what we face. We must put a stake in the ground that our first priority is to preserve our system of government, and its principles. That is, in fact, what our public officials swear to in their oath of office.

The American idea is a powerful force. Our good deeds and founding documents have inspired freedom around the globe for 200 years. No amount of military force can approach the power of that idea. If we squander that legacy, that source of influence, we will have handed victory to our enemies, whomever they may be.