Change of command: President Obama met members of the US Armed Forces on a visit to the Pentagon Wednesday. Obama is shifting the focus of the war on terror to Afghanistan. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)From Christian Science Monitor:
The president focuses on Al Qaeda and on repairing America’s image in the Muslim world.
President Obama’s executive orders closing the Guantánamo detention facility and outlawing torture were interpreted in some circles as closing the door on the Bush administration’s global war on terror.
But Mr. Obama – who used the word “war” in his inaugural address to describe the fight with Islamic extremists who would do America harm – is not so much ending the war on terror as he is redefining it and narrowing its focus.
The president is signaling a desire to home in on the Al Qaeda organization and its leadership, as well as on those Taliban leaders who have created a haven in Afghanistan and Pakistan from which to plot against US interests, say counterterrorism experts.
At the same time, Obama aims to cleave Muslim populations from extremist forces by emphasizing his and America’s common interests with the Muslim people, and by acting fast on issues that matter to them.
Read more ....
My Comment: War on terror????? .... Never existed. Jihad ... what is that? But Al Qaeda, the Taliban .... now that we can chew up.
Sigh .... I heard all of this in the nineties. Look at the man or men who cause terror .... but ignore the philosophical and religious context behind it.
This redefinition and playing with language will only serve to muddle and distort the fight against militant Islam.