I am going to send this to my newspaper about the War on Terror

[Beaver Tail]

The So-called War on Terror

Regardless of what channel I turn to, the newspaper I read or what ever web site I look at the phrase “War on Terror” is becoming a best an irritating phrase. We are being deceived into believing this is a winnable “war” and in its current state America is guaranteed to lose.

Wars are won against organizations, societies, countries and so on. They are not won against and idea, ideology, belief or method. These are all intangibles and you cannot kill and intangible. Imagine trying to win a war against a religion. What ever happed to the “War on Drugs” (Richard Nixon started this)? How about the “War on Poverty” (Lyndon Johnson)?

What I am trying to say is we cannot win wars against ideas by using force. The only way to win wars of ideas is by changing our collective behaviour.




Inputs and comments welcome

[Jade Fox]

1. Very good!

Succinct and to the point.

I don't understand the second half of the last sentence in the first paragraph,
and a few more commas might be good. It's "an idea" not "and idea" (second
paragraph).

Otherwise, great!

[Beaver Tail]

2. Does this make better sense

We are being deceived into believing the War on Terror this is a winnable by using force.

Wars are won against organizations, societies, countries and so on. They are not won against an idea .....

[Jade Fox]

3. Yes, that's clearer.....

but I liked your "guarenteed to lose" point, too. It was just that the original
sentence didn't make sense. It would probably work as two sentences.

[stellanoir]

4. all war is terror

"war is the terrorism of the rich. terrorism is the war of the poor."

"you cannot win a war against an abstract noun."