The War on Terror to become "The Long War"

international | anti-war / imperialism | other press Wednesday February 15, 2006 13:59 by Shannon

When will this end?

The US government sent our troops into Iraq siting the posession of "weaponds of mass destruction" as the reason to enter. We've found none. As a result, the government is now telling us that we still needed to be there because it is a country accomodating terrorist organizations. Thousands of US troops and Iraqi civilians have been killed as a result of this "war on terror." Now, as I read an article in the Guardian about "The Long War" I cannot help wondering if the fighting will ever end.

As I have indicated in past comments posted on this site, I am very much against my country's involvement in Iraq for a number of reasons. Our excuse for going there has proved to be a lie, and we are still waiting for a plan for bringing our troops home. Imagine my discust at reading the article in The Gardian entitled "The Long War" (I've included a link to the article....hope it works).

Here are a few rather enlightning paragraphs found in the article:

"The message from General Peter Pace, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, was apocalyptic. "We are at a critical time in the history of this great country and find ourselves challenged in ways we did not expect. We face a ruthless enemy intent on destroying our way of life and an uncertain future."

"Gen Pace was endorsing the Pentagon's four-yearly strategy review, presented to Congress last week. The report sets out a plan for prosecuting what the the Pentagon describes in the preface as "The Long War", which replaces the "war on terror". The long war represents more than just a linguistic shift: it reflects the ongoing development of US strategic thinking since the September 11 attacks."

"Looking beyond the Iraq and Afghan battlefields, US commanders envisage a war unlimited in time and space against global Islamist extremism. "The struggle ... may well be fought in dozens of other countries simultaneously and for many years to come," the report says. The emphasis switches from large-scale, conventional military operations, such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq, towards a rapid deployment of highly mobile, often covert, counter-terrorist forces."

"Among specific measures proposed are: an increase in special operations forces by 15%; an extra 3,700 personnel in psychological operations and civil affairs units - an increase of 33%; nearly double the number of unmanned aerial drones; the conversion of submarine-launched Trident nuclear missiles for use in conventional strikes; new close-to-shore, high-speed naval capabilities; special teams trained to detect and render safe nuclear weapons quickly anywhere in the world; and a new long-range bomber force."

"The Pentagon does not pinpoint the countries it sees as future areas of operations but they will stretch beyond the Middle East to the Horn of Africa, north Africa, central and south-east Asia and the northern Caucasus."

It's a little scarry to imagine that the Government of the United States has decided to police the entire world.