Article
2 July 2002
War against what?http://www.spiked-online.com/Articles/00000006D961.htmBin Laden, the Taliban, terrorism, evil, poverty, tooth decay, boredom...
what are allied forces fighting against in the war on terror?
by Brendan O'Neill
'I don't have a particular name affixed to what I'm going up against.'
So said lieutenant-general Dan McNeill, commander of US troops in Afghanistan, at the end of June 2002, after being asked the million-dollar question 'what about bin Laden?' once too often. 'I'm not solely fixated on bin Laden', said McNeill. 'If is incidental in our operations and we get to him, that's fine.' (1) One US commander claims that the real war on terror is against 'something bigger' than bin Laden, 'something less knowable'.
It's official: American forces in Afghanistan are fighting an enemy with no name. From President Bush's declaration in January 2002 that the USA is fighting a 'shadowy enemy dwelling in dark corners of the Earth' to the US commander's 'something bigger' than bin Laden, US forces seem to be up against an unknowable, unnameable, indescribable enemy. 'Evil people', said Bush in September last year, naming the enemy in the war against terrorism. 'We will rid the world of evil
.'
The more the war drags on, the more trouble US leaders seem to have pinpointing what America is fighting against. The war has moved from focusing on bin Laden to focusing on 'evil dictators everywhere'; from 'destroying terrorism' in Afghanistan to 'rebuilding hope' across the third world; from bombing terrorist camps in Afghanistan to a 'first strike' policy that will target 'over 60 nations' to keep international terrorism in check. One left-wing US commentator argues that 'what started as a war against one man... has turned into a war against the world'.
How did that happen? In the wake of 11 September, after initially declaring 'war' against persons unknown, American leaders talked up a clear public enemy who they were determined to destroy: Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network. President Bush declared that bin Laden was 'wanted: dead or alive'. 'If he thinks he can hide and run from the USA he will be sorely mistaken', said Bush in September 2001. 'Those who make war against the USA have chosen their own destruction.' (2)
We know less about bin Laden now than we did on 11 September 2001
But after months of failing to locate bin Laden,
US leaders announced in March 2002 that he wasn't such a big threat after all.
'I truly am not that concerned about him', said Bush on 13 March 2002.
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