As for the so-called war on terror, mark my words: it will end the same way the war on drugs did (and that war has realistically been over for a long time). Billions spent in dollars (and I will not attempt to belittle human life by measuring it as a mere statistic) going after the symptoms, instead of the cause, and nothing achieved in the end except entrenching the enemy in even deeper. I for one have seen this story before.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and I fear we have hurtled down it faster than we know. A sorry lack of serious planning, and some dreadful miscalculations, have put the west’s response to terror in a position where I am not currently certain we can ever achieve any of our aims (not that I actually believe our leaders are even clear on what those aims truly are), should we carry on this way.

I am not, by any means, a republican supporter. Far, far from it, to be frank I find many of their policies absurd. I do however respect that Bush, as a leader is if nothing else a man that tries to stand by his word. It is through that blunt honesty that his popularity, such as it exists springs. It would just be nice if his words were the kind that led to more deeply thought out decisions.

The west had every opportunity to collectively open our eyes to the genuine state of the world outside of our privileged bubble after 9/11, a chance to ask “how did this happen” and to craft a new, more effective answer to the question of “how can we ensure it does not happen again”. We declined, and carried right on with the “we know best, what works for us will work everywhere, and that’s all there is to it” plan. As I said, I for one have seen this story before. That decision will have consequences that will ripple through the rest of this century, at least. Instead of looking for a new path, we drew the line in the sand deeper and dared them to challenge us again.

I understand why that decision was made. I fully sympathize with why that decision was made. But in the end, I cannot support that decision. The consequences it has already had on both sides, and perhaps more importantly will continue to have, are simply too high for me to justify the action for myself.

Perhaps Mahatma Gandhi summed it up far better than I:

“I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”