Blogtrek

Abstract Wars

I read that the official national military strategy of the US includes the principle, "The enemy is terrorism." Whaaa??? How can our enemy be an abstract concept? There are no guns, no grenades, no rocket launchers, no artillery shells, and certainly no weapons of mass destruction that are effective against an abstract concept, for such does not exist as material objects in our world. It's like holding a non-abelian group up at gunpoint. Or holding the number 666 up at gunpoint.

Let's stop warring against terrorism and see if we can control these violent acts by (3) defending ourselves against terrorist acts, (2) getting rid of terrorists, and especially (1) ensuring by our behavior and cooperation with other nations and people that there are no terrorists in the world to begin with.