Monday Morning QB (aka, how would you have fought the WoT?)

[zaj]

We are all pretty much in agreement that the Bush administration has mismanaged the post 911 handling of the war on terrorism by trying to link it to their longstanding desire to overthrow saddam.

If you could rewrite history, what would you do differently? How would YOU have gone about fighting the WoT?

[Sean138]

1. Here's an interesting idea...

Actually fighting the terrorists, domestic (FIRST!) and otherwise. Ideal concept, eh?

[Loonman]

2. Put the Saudis on the hotseat

That's where AQ gets the lion's share of their money. We could also try to appeal to the youth before they jump on the terrorism bandwagon.

Reagan didn't win the Cold War, youth culture did, as in rock n' roll and Levi's jeans.

[jfxgillis]

6. That's a good plan, too.

SMILE.

I'm not wedded to my own plan below.

[jay-3d]

3. I would

Not call it a war. It can not be fought with the military.
I would try to calm down peoples fear "the terrorist want us to be fearful, and as long as we are, they are winning/ and growing".

[jfxgillis]

4. Strangely enough, my plan would've included deposing Saddam. But ...

... like this:

1. GROUND TROOPS in Afghanistan to do two things, first, render the capture of bin Laden in Tora Bora almost certain, and second, to secure the country from warlordism and to truly nation-build; then

2. From the secure base in Afghanistan, undermine and destabilize and eventually topple the Ayatollahs in Iran employing a strategy similar to that used to undermine General Jarezulski in Poland in the early-to-mid 1980s. No guns, the battle of IDEAS weilded against a population more and more sympathetic to liberal Western values. For the record, the Iranian Ayatollahs INVENTED radical Islamism; bin Laden et al. merely adapted it from Shia to Sunni;

3. From a now secure base streching across central Asia (Iran and Afghanistan) ratchet up the No-Fly Zone bombings, encourage and support both Kurdish secession and Shia majoritarianism until Saddam's world shrinks to the Sunni triangle. Then let him stew until cooked by his own people.

At that point we would control Afghanistan and have friendly regimes in Iran and Kurdistan. Foreign aid and democratic reforms in those places would eventually cut the legs out from under the core greivances of the radical Islamists.

Take about ten years and cause extremely minimal casualties.

[Sandpiper]

5. A few things

Withdraw all US troops from Muslim nations.

Strengthen our own borders.

Increase funding for intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

Pressure Saudi Arabia to stop funnelling money to terrorist orgs.

Pressure Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories.

Assist in the creation of a Palestinian State.

[Robbien]

7. What's this WoT you talk about? I see that term on Faux all the time

Makes no sense. How is it possible to have a war on an activity?

[stevedeshazer]

8. It should have been prosecuted as a criminal matter

These people (terrorists) don't really belong to any nation. They should have been hunted down and prosecuted. Instead, we fight illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

[kaitykaity]

9. Here's a novel idea.

GET OSAMA BIN LADEN DEAD OR ALIVE!!!!!!!

Also, I would have spent the money to really rebuild
Afghanistan. And as another person said, I would have
continued Clinton's policy of "shaking the trees" and
give the information to law enforcement.

[Walt Starr]

10. Number one, the "War on Terror" is a myth

You cannot declare war on a methodology as there is nobody to surrender. It's flippant political bullshit. There is no war on terror, only a war on freedom.

I'd approach the problem as I would any international crime problem because that is precisely what this is, an international crime issue.

[robbedvoter]

13. "War on a noun" - Madeline Albright

[Canuckistanian]

11. Simple.

1. Finish what was started in Afghanistan. Rout all Taliban and remnants of Al Qaeda.

2. Rebuild Afghanistan with a an ultimate respect to their local cultures and sensibilities.

3. Put massive pressure on Pakistan to destroy all militant Islam organizations. And, for good measure, restore free and fair elections in that country.

4. Put massive pressure on Saudi Arabia to crack down on their own militants. Stop the cash flows to militant organizations, even if it means punishing members of the Saudi monarchy.

5. Foster closer ties to allies(!), to coordinate anti-terrorism intelligence and counter-strikes.

6. In general, stop supporting dictatorships in the ME, such as Egypt and Kuwait.

7. Stop supporting the extreme right wing of Israel and act as a true "honest broker" between moderate Israelis and moderate Palestinians.

8. Coordinate (by law, if necessary) all intelligence and law enforcement agencies in the US. The CIA, FBI, Homeland Security, NSA, and all armed forces should be forced to work together, share intelligence and enforce national and international security.

My 2c, anyways.

[robbedvoter]

12. No war on terra - police action on terrorists. International.

Some had this down pat way back. On September 12, 2001, Wes Clark had this in WaPo:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4257771-103677,00.html

> Decisive force
>
> We must target and destroy the terrorist network. There is no room for
> half measures
> Special report: terrorism in the US
>
> Wesley Clark
> Saturday September 15, 2001
> The Guardian
>
> America is indeed at war. The attacks in New York and Washington have
> raised the dangers posed by international terrorism to a new level. But
> despite the awful familiarity of the devastation, an effective US
> response is likely to be something unfamiliar.
>
> For the US, the weapons of this war should be information, law
> enforcement and, rarely, active military force. The coalition that will
> form around the US and its Nato allies should agree on its intent, but
> not trumpet its plans. No vast military deployments should be
> anticipated. But urgent measures should be taken behind the scenes
> because the populations and economic structures of western nations will
> be at risk....more

[DrWeird]

14. Well, I would have gone after Osama.

Instead of bombing a bunch of weddings, watched the Northern Alliance overthrow the Taliban and massacre a bunch of innocent people, and then taken credit for the "victory" and pretend like I did something worthwile.