Author: Barron's Online
Publication: The Wall Street Journal
Date: September 15, 2003
Where Is The Battlefield in America's
war on terrorism? In this solemn anniversary week, there are many possible
answers.
The "central front" may be in Iraq,
where "enemies of freedom are making a desperate stand," as President Bush
declared the other day. U.S. forces are taking casualties there, in what
appears to be a war of attrition. But that front has two theaters, and
the more important one is the more theatrical: Former tyrants and would-be
tyrants are waging war against the American people's will to fight.
The military battlefield in Afghanistan
is another important front. Ultimate victory against terrorists and their
allies there seems as far away as in Iraq, if not farther. In fact, the
possibility of victory on that front seems to be across the border in Pakistan
, in mountains where a dangerously weak government cannot govern.
The diplomatic front in Pakistan
is challenging. We have an ally who does not dare to be a public friend.
That government does not dare to give American troops permits to hunt al-Qaeda,
and does not dare to effectively curb the terrorists it has sponsored in
Kashmir. And, of course, that government possesses nuclear weapons, which
some have dared to refer to ominously as the "Islamic Bomb." We may not
wish to be seen changing Pakistan , but it must change.
There is a similar front in Saudi
Arabia, with complexity added by its financial power and its Muslim evangelism.
There too, a grudgingly allied government has given aid and comfort to
people who are its own enemies and ours. It finances religious schools
teaching hatred around the world. Its charities buy weapons for terrorists
and support the families of suicide bombers. So far, we are fighting the
money more than the people who provide it. We may not wish to be seen changing
Arabia, but it must change.
There are fronts all over the developed
world, where security agents and spies fight secret wars against underground
enemies. They should not be seen, and their victories may go unreported.
Another front is in Baltimore, and
New Hampshire, and Iowa, and South Carolina, and wherever the Democratic
candidates for President come together to debate what they see as President
Bush's war in Iraq and Attorney General John Ashcroft's war at home. The
nine candidates must remember that they are asking the American people
for authority to conduct the war differently, not to abandon it. And the
Republican administration must accept their opponents' right to criticize
strategy and tactics in strong terms, without charging back that they have
no zeal, or worse, are deserters in the war. Our enemies and our friends
will judge us and our cause by how we fight as well as where we fight.
