Defining our enemies

Submitted by Boris Galinsky (United States), Nov 19, 2002 at 12:44

I agree that identifying the enemy is the key to the future victory. However, I do not agree that military Islam is the enemy. It is the preferred ideology of our enemy, but this is not a defining factor – look, for example, at North Korea. And I don't think that Saddam is as religious as Osama.

What defines our enemies is the rabid hate combined with envy toward the United States, Israel and the West in general. This hate allowed radical right wing Islamic fanatics join forces with left wing peaceniks, former South-African guerrillas with ayatollahs, KKK with Arab sheiks.

The enemy is difficult to identify because of the military tactic it uses. Nobody can directly stand up to the US – the world's only superpower. Terrorism is a convenient weapon in this scenario, especially against democratic countries.

Using an old saying that "the war is a continuation of diplomacy by other means" we can say that our enemy is whoever publicly disagrees with our policy. It sounds very undemocratic, but I think, that's what President Bush meant when he said, "if you are not with us, you are against us".

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