The New War, Same as the Old War

A great transition is occurring in America. A new movement of people are coming into power to reshape our world. Unfortunately, this movement is based on the same set of ideals that is tearing us down right now and, although on their exterior these people may look different, sound different, or even say they believe in different things, almost all of them think the same. This is the problem with America’s foreign policy. It’s been our problem for the past eight years and though we may legitimately end one war, it’s only so we can reinvigorate ourselves for another.

I remember a time when I was young when war in any shape or form was thought of in a bad way, tragically this way of thinking has fallen to the wayside. Our leaders have come up with new excuses to fight old battles again, again, and again. If we leave in Iraq, it will only be so we can “finish the mission” in Afghanistan. The problem here is that even though we are doing the right thing by leaving Iraq, we’re perpetuating a problem in Afghanistan that isn’t a problem worth fighting about. Some may find all the right excuses to continue fighting there. “They attacked us on 9/11.” “They are part of a global network of terrorists.” “Afghanistan will become a haven for those who hate us if we leave.” All of these things may be true, then again they might be not.

We need to start being honest with ourselves and stop making up poor excuses for a poor policy. There is no need for American blood to be spilled in the sand or on the streets of a foreign country. In fact, I’d be hard pressed to come up with a good reason for America to have a standing army. It doesn’t scare unconventional fighters if we have a conventional show of force. They are not scared by that. In fact, those we are fighting are scared of only one thing: judgment. They are not afraid of death, dying, disease, or anything that may scare you or I. It’s quite the opposite in fact. Death to our enemies is victory, survival is defeat. These are not people who are dying to live, these are people who are living to die. If we give them nothing to die for, they will have to find something to live for or they will risk dying for nothing. To extremists in the Arab world, this is the only thing that frightens them: life. By giving them life we take away their perceived purpose in life; which is to bring about an honor in death that they could not achieve in life. By forcing our enemies to live, we are inflicting the utmost suffering. That is why the new mission of our foreign policy team must be one that forces our enemies’ hand. The only way to do that is to take away the one constant thing in their lives which is war, political unrest, and oppression of any kind.

Our new war should be fought using communication as our infantry, the internet for our artillery, and our beliefs as our cavalry. If you keep saying something, even if it’s completely backwards there are those who will believe it. If this is the only thing one hears, it’s next to impossible to think any differently. This is what we must do to our enemy, tell them they are wrong and leave it at that. You cannot force change, it happens out of necessity. When things do not go well as they are, people adapt to their environment. The one constant through the history of mankind is its’ ability to change over time, we must perpetuate this cause, not through force, but through thought. No occupier has ever won a prolonged military conflict. The only way we will win our war on terror is if we change the way in which we fight. If words become our new weapons, it will force our enemies to think. If our enemies are forced to think before doing something, we’ve already won half the battle as that is much more than they are currently doing.