Winning the War on Terrorism

Its a baby-step, to be sure, and it will be withdrawn if for even a moment we waver in our fight in Iraq, but its a start:

CAIRO, Egypt — Arab leaders will endorse greater participation by their people in running their nations’ affairs — but aren’t spelling out how, according to a draft proposal for the Arab League summit this month in Tunisia.
The five-page proposal, agreed to Monday by Arab foreign ministers and obtained by The Associated Press, is short on specifics. However, it pledges to respect human rights and freedom of expression, enhance the position of women and promote tolerance.
It says the leaders’ aim is “more progress on the course of political, economic, social and cultural development for our countries.”

So, years of UN human rights conferences, years of US diplomacy, years of working with our allies in the Arab world…nothing; a couple liberations later, all of a sudden the Arab world’s leadership wants to be seen to be liberalizing their regimes. Sure enough, its window dressing for now – but there’s one thing we know about things like this, you can’t get the cat back in the bag after its been out for a bit.
We stay strong and stay the course in Iraq, and they’ll actually have to deliver on a bit of the promised freedom…and once a little of its out, they wont be able to take it back without provoking revolution. This is what the war is all about – its the actual purpose of being in Iraq…and its why we must win.

7 Responses to “Winning the War on Terrorism”

1. john says:

   May 13, 2004 at 11:24 pm

   Great post Mark! I’m sure the trolls are coming soon, but they have no chance of changing my mind.
2. Red says:

   May 14, 2004 at 12:09 am

   Here is another small step.
   LIBYA has decided to renounce all arms trade with countries accused of favouring proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
   Link: http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9558146%255E1702,00.html
3. Elliott says:

   May 14, 2004 at 12:39 am

   With any luck this will work just like Glasnost did in Russia.
4. Scaramonga says:

   May 14, 2004 at 9:10 am

   This bit of news from TCS looks encouraging:

   The fights in Iraq appear to be having a positive effect on the War on Terror. Osama bin Laden has had a lot of reasons to hit the bottle of Old Jihad lately. According to a State Department report released last month, terrorism hit its lowest level in 34 years in 2003. While terrorists killed 307 individuals that year, it was still a pronounced improvement from the 725 killed in 2002. There are two likely reasons for that dramatic reduction. Over 3,400 suspected members of al Qaeda have been locked up. Many others have likely gone to Iraq. While being engaged (and being detained, and being killed) by Coalition soldiers, those terrorists are not attacking Western civilians.

   I Blame Bush for this.
5. Not a Liberal, Not a Democrat says:

   May 14, 2004 at 1:38 pm

   [Deleted - Trolling]
6. B says:

   May 14, 2004 at 2:04 pm

   Wow that was a load of propaganda….seriously, do YOU ever get out? The newspaper that was closed down was closed because it incited violence against U.S. soldiers. It was a threat to our national security, therefore it was dealt with immediately.
   Hell, just pick up virtually any major newspaper in America and you’ll get more than your share of “the other side.”
   Luck isn’t a factor at all regarding the introduction of democracy in the middle east. In case you don’t read the papers, let me educate you a little bit……in Iran, students are protesting for greater freedoms. The same thing is going on in China and in several other countries. Why are these protests allowed? Because the host governments are hestitant now more than ever to crack down on pro-democracy movements.
   I’m willing to bet you claim to be an Independent and you plan on voting for John Kerry. Seeing as you’re criticizing Bush for allegedly having “no strategy,” tell me, smart one, what is Mr. Kerry’s strategy? Leaving our national security in the hands of the U.N. like he plans on doing is no strategy at all. It will endanger the lives of all Americans and indeed the world as a whole. Some “strategy”…….
   From your comments it is pretty obvious that you don’t understand the policy of preemption one bit. Destroy the terrorists where they are abundant, before they destroy you. It’s a simple philosophy.
   So please, before you try to spill your propaganda next time, open your eyes to the real world and all the good that the United States has done. Leave the “blame Amerca first” crowd, it’s going nowhere fast.
7. Thinking Out Loud: Thought Leadership from an Enterprise Architect says:

   March 21, 2005 at 10:01 am

   More thoughts on Terrorism

   According to Patricia J. Williams in her article Grim Fairy Tales she learned on NPR that “William Poole, a high school junior from Kentucky, was taken into custody and charged with threatening to commit second-degree-felony terrorism for writing a sto…