Memo to President Obama

On September 12th 2001. I had conversation with a friend about about potential American overreaction to th events of the previous. My friend put it well when he said that a failed despe`rate movement (wahabbi Islam) completed a desperation Hail Mary pass (to use a probably ina ppropriate religious meta phor). and succeeded because they were able to drw the United States into a ruinous war in Iraq. Furthermore, the entire notion of A War on Terror is uniquely pernicious becuse, it is, by definition, never ending. There will always be terrorists as long as there are relatively pwoerless peoples with grievances, legitimate or not. Are we forever to warp our entire political processes ina vain attempt to achieve the unachievable? Or do we actually become realists who effectively limit the limit the capacity of these vicious criminals harn uswithout bankrupting ourselves and destroying the principles of our own society?

"But it is absurd to assign the term "transcendent challenge" to such a band of murderous anarchists."

The author didn't understand McCain. I believe McCain didn't have just Al-Queda in mind. He was talking about the mindset of radicalism being taken to a new level. The term "suicide bomber" has become common place after 9/11. Before that, people could not even imagine terrorists willing to kill themselves,
and who knows what else this extreme radicalism will lead to especially in this information age. So yes, McCain is correct. But let's not call it a war. It's like living with cancer and doing everything possible to keep it under check. Getting lazy and careless and you know what happens.
Tom from Houston

What a curious article. Sounds like a throwback to British policy in 1939. Peace in our time while the radical Islamic groups continue to export their Sharia way of life. Heaven help us infidels and people who think like the writer of the article.

The US is the leading center of extremism today. What is the difference between Huckabee and bin Ladin or Rush Limbaugh et al and the Shiite Mullahs of Iran? We need a War on Stupidity and it should start right here.

You, sir, are a left wing lunatic!! I consider myself a loyal democrat, and am TOTALLY against the war in Iraq...BUT...are you suggesting we forget about OSAMA BIN LADEN!?! Youv'e GOT to be kidding. He and his kin MUST be dealt with. NOBODY gets away with murdering thousands of Americans...PERIOD! (Bush seems to have forgotten about him too.) Get in...nail that S.O.B. once and for all, and get the hell out!!

The biggest challenge, transcendent or not, is to radically change American foreign policy which will change fundamentally the role of the military, perforce shrinking it. The inability to end the Palestinian-Israeli ongoing 60 year war is the first step to ending America's myopic policies in the middle east which are so neanderthal in their premise and negligent in their execution it almost leads one to believe they were developed by grade schoolers at the instigation of Muslim extremists,. McCain and Bush and their coterie of supporters tar a whole religion made of many nationalities with a broad, badly wielded brush. American foreign policy, as envisioned by the Republicans, and their sympathizers such as Hillary and Lieberman, along with a feckless Democratic majority whose role in government seems to be solely concerned with re-election, has been disastrous in almost every aspect. The inability to break from a cold war mentality is part of the problem abetted by the faliure to think outside the box. How else to explain placing missiles in Europe for a foe that no longer exists and the puerile battle cry of McCain against a stateless group of fanatics, with no permanent home, and whose destruction militarily would be akin to nailing jello on a wall. The essential enemy isn't Muslim extremists. It is the failure of imagination, of education, of the cleverness necessary to fathom that the world presently does not want or need an arrogant America trying to tell people how to live, trying to control oil, by war, the threat of war, and the construction of endliess military bases, If the goal is peace, these methods are all counterproductiive. This is innately understood by the public which is why the establishment candidates have and will lose. The mavericks, even though McCain is hardly that, will win. In a contest between McCain and Obama, there will be none. The US needs to retreat from the world stage, quit its affection for swaggering about, work with other nations, not act unilaterally and lead with its heart and its ideals when the world needs them, but not until and unless they are summoned.

Obama can't win a war on the bogey man under the bed much less a war on terror. One of his idiotic ideas is to go to war in Pakistan.

Pakistan is the ally of the US and the west, does not support terrorism, and has been instrumental in capturing terrorists, including 9/11 masterminds Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and terrorism suspect Ramzi bin al-Shibh.

Obama, who claims he did not support authorizing the use of force in Iraq, a country who's leader harbored terrorists and threatened the west, says he will unilaterally bomb our ally Pakistan if Osama is found in the mountains. Even though it is known that Osama does not have WMD???s.

George Bush was wrong in the way he used the authorization from Congress. But Obama is wronger than wrong, and a hypocrite.

Obama is a danger to the US and the world.

Don't believe me? Read Obamas own words here - Obama laid out a lengthy Pakistan policy last summer in a speech at the Woodrow Wilson Institute where, responding to National Intelligence Estimate reports that Al Qaeda had re-constituted its forces in Pakistan, Obama called for air strikes against Al Qaeda targets if the United States had clear-cut intelligence.

You ignore the fact that Al Qaeda is an extreme manisfestion of a anit-Western, anti-modern, anti-freedom, anti-science, anti-tolerance mindset that prevades the Muslim world in one form or another. This mindset is perpetuated by ignorance, propaganda, poverty, and fear promoted and maintained by autocratic religious and political leaders who benefit from their peoples' misery and ignorance. The Iraq war and the War on Terror is any attempt to first eliminate the present threats of harm that these groups present but also to help establish or encourage political change (for example the freedom to vote against Al Qaeda) to allow the Muslim peoples to choose their way of life free from the manipulations of their corrupt or messianic leaders.

Obama can't win a war on the bogey man under the bed much less a war on terror. One of his idiotic ideas is to go to war in Pakistan.

Pakistan is the ally of the US and the west, does not support terrorism, and has been instrumental in capturing terrorists, including 9/11 masterminds Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaydah and terrorism suspect Ramzi bin al-Shibh.

Obama, who claims he did not support authorizing the use of force in Iraq, a country who's leader harbored terrorists and threatened the west, says he will unilaterally bomb our ally Pakistan if Osama is found in the mountains. Even though it is known that Osama does not have WMD???s.

George Bush was wrong in the way he used the authorization from Congress. But Obama is wronger than wrong, and a hypocrite.

Obama is a danger to the US and the world.

Don't believe me? Read Obamas own words here - Obama laid out a lengthy Pakistan policy last summer in a speech at the Woodrow Wilson Institute where, responding to National Intelligence Estimate reports that Al Qaeda had re-constituted its forces in Pakistan, Obama called for air strikes against Al Qaeda targets if the United States had clear-cut intelligence.

The fact that hundreds of thousands (at least) of potential suicide bombers would love nothing more to detonate a WMD over one of America's cities means that we must remain on offense in this war. I find that a bit more troubling than the "man made global warming will lead to catastrophe" hysteria.

Yes, let's bury our heads in the sand and the big bad terrorist will go away. Is this another George Soros sponsored journalist?