Three years and half a trillion dollars later America is losing the war on terrorism. The 9/11 Commission has warned that more and worse acts of terrorism are to be expected. Bin Laden's planning always assumed that we, in reacting to him, would help him carry out his objectives. Well, we did. In his dreams he could not have imagined the damage done to America. So how are we losing the war?

1) Of course, turning most of the world against us is bin Laden's greatest achievement. From Africa to Latin America, from Europe to Asia, the swift collapse of confidence in America's moral leadership, and hatred for our government, is unparalleled in history. According to the July 26 issue of Time, "Bush and America are so unpopular overseas, polls show, that many foreign leaders can't agree to anything the president asks for without taking a hit in their own ratings." See also America Alone by Jonathan Clarke and Stefan Halper.

2) Al-Qaeda has now metastasized into new semi-autonomous groups in many nations, all motivated by hate for the U.S. and any nation or government that helps it. America's relations with the Muslim world, nearly a quarter of the planet's population, are subject to new hatred and fear as never before.

3) A threatening breakdown in globalization is occurring. The State Department has urged American civilians to flee from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and even the Philippines, nations where Americans have lived for generations. The long-term consequences mean loss of business contacts and investments with a chain reaction all over the world. As Fortune Magazine warned in 2001, "A Fortress America mentality in security matters could spill into economic ones ... a short hop from nationalism to protectionism ... all sorts of parochial interests in the U.S. are much more likely to get the upper hand. The effect on the economy will result in real declines in American living standards." There are growing threats to American interests in any nation with substantial Muslim populations, even now in the Far East.

4) America's government is slowly being bankrupted – President Bush's cave-in on domestic spending to gain support for foreign wars follows his father's footsteps. Bush Sr. also caved in to Democratic demands for taxes and spending in return for their support for war against Iraq in 1990. Niall Ferguson, author of Empire, argued in Newsweek that the American Empire was rare in being so dependent upon foreigners lending it money, and that the coming Social Security/Medicare financial crisis alone would eventually force America to pull back from most of its foreign ventures.

5) Al-Qaeda's strength is growing in oil vital Saudi Arabia. Even Turkey, since 1945 America's great ally and a secular nation, has cooled its relations with America. Pro-American Muslim regimes in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan are more at risk of being overthrown.

6) America's power is declining in Asia because of its preoccupation with the Muslim world and deficits, making the U.S. less competitive. Washington, focused on war, is unable to reform health care expenses, strengthen basic education or deal with other structural problems.

7) Washington's broad brush in declaring all terrorist organizations as enemies (except for Irish terrorists), even if they never targeted America, is causing them all to become real enemies. The Washington Post has reported that Hezbollah and al-Qaeda are now training together for the first time. As Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote in The American Prospect in August, America simply does not have the resources to "become a protagonist in every part of the world in which terrorism is directed against others." As he put it, Cheney is "senseless to claim that terrorists hate all nations and all peoples."

Eliminating Saddam was a victory for bin Laden, who considered Ba'athist secularism as a competitor. He hated the social permissiveness of Iraq, its modernity, its general equality for women, allowing music, etc.

9) The Iraq war caused Washington to neglect efforts to isolate, protect and destroy fissionable materials to keep them away from terrorists.

10) Plans for "usable" nukes, approved because of 9/11, undermine non-proliferation agreements, curtail collaboration with Russia, and make nuclear war permissible, plausible, and more possible. Proliferation makes more nuke material available for possible theft by terrorists. Russian and U.S. nukes are still close to hair trigger alert and subject to "mistakes." Bin Laden would gladly try to cause war between Russia and the U.S. or trade Arab cities for blowing up New York or Washington. He doesn't like cities anyway.

11) America faces a growing risk of non-Arab Muslims taking up suicidal terrorism against American interests here and overseas. The English "sneaker bomber" was not an Arab, so ethnic profiling didn't help catch him.

12) Our prisons are full of bitter young converts. The alleged "Dirty Bomber" Jose Padilla, a Hispanic-American, was such a prison convert.

13) Afghanistan is a becoming a quagmire. Our "victory" is looking ever more tenuous. Al-Qaeda is regrouping, Pakistan is becoming less secure, 20,000 U.S. soldiers are there and war looks interminable.

14) The American military is stretched thin. It is designed for conquest, not occupation. It is designed to fight nations, not guerrillas and terrorists. See Rumsfeld memo.

15) Bin Laden is winning the propaganda war in the world. Washington can spend billions on weapons that are irrelevant to the war on terrorism, but has little constituency for explaining America to the outside world. The 9/11 Commission also urged Washington to reexamine its Middle East policies (see page 376), but there is no sign of either party doing that.

15) America is being equated with Israel. Nothing inflames Muslims even more against America than news reports that Israelis have been training American soldiers in suppression and torture techniques. They confirm accusations that the U.S. And Israel are in joint league against the Muslim world – exactly what Bin Laden claims. Such reports are rife on Arab TV, juxtaposing American soldiers bombing or raiding Iraqi homes with Israelis doing the same to Palestinians. America simply can't get away with using Israeli techniques; they further inflame the world against Washington.

16) American religious fundamentalists are now playing a key role in foreign policy. Their support for Israeli settlers and other hardliners works to cut off U.S. communication with Muslims – a main bin Laden objective. Many even want chaos in the Middle East to help fulfill their version of biblical prophecy. See The Armageddon Lobby.

17) American intelligence is discredited for the foreseeable future. As Arnaud de Borchgrave wrote, "The war on Iraq and ongoing occupation by coalition forces has dealt body blows to the world's two most important intelligence services – the CIA and MI6."

1 "The souring of America on intervention abroad has major strategic implications for the United States and for the world. … Intelligence on weapons of mass destruction and the intentions of dictators or terrorist gangs that seem to possess them are unlikely to be sufficiently clear to meet the standards for action demanded by the post-facto doubts and recriminations on Iraq. Intelligence analysis will become even more cautious and ambiguously stated to policymakers. Vulnerability to surprise attack could grow again," columnist Jim Hoagland.

19) The invasion and incompetent occupation of Iraq (including the humiliation and torture of captives) has terribly discredited America far beyond Iraq's borders.

20) Al-Qaeda and Ariel Sharon are both trying to promote civil war and chaos in Iraq for their own ends. Washington's threats against Syria and Iran give both an incentive to help keep U.S. troops tied down in Iraq.

21) Religious extremism is sweeping Iraq and the Muslim world – even among traditionally secular Sunnis.

22) Sunnis and Shi'ites are now cooperating against America; U.S. intelligence used to think that mutual animosities would prevent them from working together.

24) The damage to holy Shi'ite shrines well serves propaganda that America is sacrilegious and anti-Muslim. Even if the actual damage is done by Muslim guerrillas themselves, America gets the blame and more hatred.

25) Foreign students in American universities have dropped by the hundreds of thousands, thus weakening future pro-American influence abroad. Foreigners also pay full tuition and provide most of the students for Ph.D. programs in the hard sciences. Many have led American technological discoveries as inventors and entrepreneurs. New registrations of foreign Muslim students have almost disappeared, thus further separating America from the Muslim world.

26) Foreign tourism is way down because of difficulties and delays in getting visas.

27) Small charities have stopped giving overseas because of new "anti-terror" government regulations. Such "people to people" programs were among the strongest pro-American building institutions in the Third World.

2 Disputes with Europe have fractured NATO. No longer will it do Washington's bidding.

29) Russian good will and trust toward America has dropped precipitously. Russians are nervous about the new American air bases in Central Asia close to their border. Mutual missile reduction is on ice. Russia is again becoming a major weapons exporter to the Third World. Discredited U.S. foreign policies help undermine pro-American democracy forces inside Russia.

30) Russia and China have a tacit alliance in high-tech weaponry. China is rushing to build more submarines, intercontinental missiles and air defenses against U.S. air attack capabilities. They haven't forgotten that the neoconservatives first threatened China before 9/11.

31) American war ships are able to visit fewer foreign ports, thus effecting recruitment and retention of sailors. They now have "steel beach parties" aboard ship for fear of danger to sailors if they go ashore.

32) Reflecting all these developments, the U.S. stock market is showing less confidence in the future. Value Line, usually pretty accurate in long-term forecasting, expects little price increase for the next four years. Columnist Jim Glassman has written that investors now see Asia replacing America for foreign investors.

33) Scores of billions of Arab money have been withdrawn from American banks. Owners fear that at any moment they could be accused of funding a group that supported a group that supported "terrorism" (even if only against Israeli settlers taking their land) and have all their funds confiscated. These withdrawals are also thought to be a reason for the dollar's decline in value.

34) Washington is doing nothing to diffuse the threat by facing up to the real reasons American was attacked. This is helping bin Laden recruit new money and resources.

35) We have lost freedoms under the PATRIOT Act and endless time and money from more and more security costs, e.g., government guards who will retire after 20 years with pensions and full medical care. With more terrorist attacks, we may eventually look back on the Nineties as the "Golden Age" of American freedom and prosperity.

36) America's loss of "soft power" is the most significant effect of these failed policies. Its costs will be with us for a long time; indeed, America may never recover its image in much of the world as the shining city on the hill. As Anatol Lieven of the Carnegie Institute told a Cato Institute audience, "America, which benefits most from the rule of law in the world, has gone about destroying it."

That's a point I wanted to make myself. Turkey was always the one Muslim nation which backed the US up 100%, politically, militarily, culturally, economically. Turkey loved the US and the US loved Turkey and her liberal people.


The Turkish government did not support the US in defiance of her people's wishes, since its population loved the US and her values. Today the government has cooled relations and where she completely reflective of her people, she would have severed ties months ago, because the sympathy is gone.

This whole mess smells of incompetence, that's what you get when a evangelical, not too bright C-Student (I bet he got a lot of help) and disloyal Israeli partisans run a nation's foreign policy.

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"Never confuse an open mind with one that is vacant"

We're not gonna lose this "war".

No doubt the Bush Admin has dug this country into a hole by its many strategic mistakes (not going all out in A'stan, invading Iraq, it's torture policies, arrogant & devisive national and international politics, short sighted energy policy, etc), all of which has prolonged the armed phase of this conflict needlessly. But they have also made a few good moves (expanding NATO, maintaining closer ties with China/Russia/India, finally realising that the USA needs an alternative energy policy).

In two years the USA will have a new adminstration, one that can hopefully work smarter, better, and able to quickly adapt to any situation.

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The United Church of the Latter Day Tangential Tarts
"When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission!" -Capt. Zapp Branigan
"Did you know that Republicans are stupid and evil?" -Bill O'Reilly, Feb 2010

1. Most of the world is allied to the USA and fighting alongside the USA. The myth that most of the world is not is just that a myth.

2. Yeah after getting much of your leadership killed and being basically nothing more then noise makers since 2002.. Means you don't have much choice but that. al Qaeda has always been rather loose with only the core orginially around Osama directly controlled by him anyway.

3. Globalizaton does not require American livig in country x. Every nation mentioned has been improving economic ties with the USA. The only thing hurting us is such things as that stupidity over the UAE deal lown up I might add by the same crowd who made this list.

4. Yeah?..welcome to the same saying of every decade since the 1770's.

5. al qaeda has been seriously hurt in Saudi Arabia. Turkey is just as close to us as ever. The governments of SA/Egypt/Pakistan have alwasy been threatened by nutball Islmaic types.

6. Americas power and influence in Asia has been increasing steadily as the threat of China grows. Even Vietnam hs been steadily relations with the USA. Just about every nation in Asia/Pacific is an ally of the US.

7. Our focus is primarily on Islamic terrorists...not all but Irish...

8. Maybe in his mind but in reality its been a serious problem. He now is stuck with Iraq and barely able to do much else. Its sucking up his resources like crazy. So much so that he is bascially incapable of aiding the Taliban to any great degree or much else.

9. I have no idea what this is in reference to.

10. Referring to small tactical bunker buster weapons..to say that nuclear war is acceptable and that they are causing proliferation?..yeah right.

11. You don't have to be arab to be a nutball and subscribe to the nutball islamic crap. John "Taliban" Walker and others are proof to that. If its growing.oh wel more stupdi trash that will get cleaned up.

12. Lol ok they are also full of Mexican Mafia, Aryan Brotherhood, Black Guerilla Army, and numerous other trash groups. Having some of the scum convert to radical islam is about as surprising as having a rapist rape again.


13. BS (but HELLO MoveOn)

14. Ah this stale old line. I'm to bored of it to care anymore. Lets just say its very overhyped.

15. He is?..I guess you could say he is amongs nutballs who are on his side anyway..but for most of the world he's a pile of crap murderer.

15. Always has been.

16. Uh yeah every time a Republican is in office this nonsense is played

17. It has been harmed by its failures in regards to WMD..but then so was every inteliigence group othe planet..so whatever. Peopel are stil goginto believe what US intellignece finds..excluding of course the far left who evenif anuke goes off o their gheads iwl sitl deny they exist.

18. ok.

19. Hardly

20. Wow how old is this one?

21. DUUUH. Thats like saying Nazism is sweeping Europe in 1942.

22. Not to any large degree..and boy in light of current rhetoric this one shows just how much you guys change what you say when its convenient.

23. <-most intelligent # of all.

24. Only for those who are ignorant.

25. I highly doubt this is true.

26. LOL

27. Nonsense. If anything such aid has exploded do the Earthquake and Tsunami.

28. Nonsense. NATO is at this moment completely involved and leading combat operations in Afghanistan. NATO in fact has been enpowered in the light of a weak willed and impotent UN.

29. Mainly becasue Putin has been "reforming" Russia into some sort of nationalistic state. Most Russians don't fear the US they look to it as an example of what they can become. But like usual their governent is a problem.

30. China has been moderniziang and expanding it miltiary by extremelly large levels for a few years now. Its not because the NEOCONS threatened them........god. Its becasue of they wnat to realize their own ambitions and couldn't with what was basically a 1950's era military.

32. Wow thats been shot to hell.

33. This seems about as real as #25.

34. ok.

35. LMAO.

36. Oh the typical leftist drivel of how the USA sucks. Barring the nutball nations, morons like Chavez, or communist types every Democracy is framing itself and either meeting or striving to attain that shining example that America is.



Bleah...theres a whole hell of alot of half truth..mumbo jumbo.and obviously dated crap in there.

Anyway... you want to provide the link to this 2004 campaign talking points list from Moveon.org or wherever you got it from?

Don't claim you made it becasue its obvious you didn't.

I'm betting its origianlly MoveOn.Org becasue of a few key lines that stink of them to high heaven.

Given the current rhetoric being prattle around by this crowd... I especially enjoyed #22. I just love when their old lines bite their current noise in the ass

Duh, lemme ask you something.

Leaving out partisan political party bs, how would you rate the Bush Admin's performance? Have they made mistakes or do you honestly believe everything they've done is beyond criticism?

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The United Church of the Latter Day Tangential Tarts
"When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission!" -Capt. Zapp Branigan
"Did you know that Republicans are stupid and evil?" -Bill O'Reilly, Feb 2010

Yes, the Bush Admin has made mistakes, but think about the alternative.
Gore or Kerry? Now that's frightening. How many times do you think the US would of been attacked? How many times were we attacked under Clinton? Godless democrats are incapable of defending America.

I realize you scare very easily, Sleepy. So aside from the usual imaginings from your panic stricken mind, fear mongering, politics of destruction and hate towards your fellow americans... do you have anything to offer that is constuctive?

__________________
The United Church of the Latter Day Tangential Tarts
"When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission!" -Capt. Zapp Branigan
"Did you know that Republicans are stupid and evil?" -Bill O'Reilly, Feb 2010

How misguided is it to believe that any 'hate' for the U.S. began with President Bush? It's dangerously misguided! If there is any additional hate now....it's because Pres. George W. Bush has stood up to them and come back strong offensively against them. From THEIR point of view, they'd much rather have someone in as our president who doesn't do that.

However, all one has to do is to look at how far back terrorism goes. Remember the Jewish American who was thrown overboard....wheelchair and all......on a cruise ship in the 80's? Remember the capture of our Embassy workers in Iran during 1979? Remember Khobar Towers? The first WTC 1992 attack? Mogadishu? The USS Cole? Danny Pearl? The U.S. embassy bombings all over the world? And how about the attacks on OTHER western countries? Terrorism has struck virtually EVERY country there is. And the sooner you realize that it has nothing to do with THIS president, the more enlightened you'll be.

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"If the President simply adds a couple of Republican solutions to a trillion dollar health care package that the American people don't support, it isn't bi-partisan. It's political cover," Rep Eric Cantor (R-Va.)

u mean America is losing the war on Jewish parazites? oops i mean islamic terrorists?

sorrrrrrrrryy jewish parazites was hitlers term, sorry to confuse, this is another century and another thing....

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“You can’t keep saying you’re a peace candidate and keep voting to fund the war” – Dennis Kucinich http://kucinich.us/

wonder how people are so sure that if Gore or Kerry was President, things would have been worse? How do we know that?

Its almost as stupid and dumb as saying IF Gore were President, the TWIN TOWERS will still be standing...How do we know that?

Can't we even argue on "what we know"?

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"Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet."