War and Order (051209) by J. F. Kelly, Jr.

A commentary by J. F. Kelly, Jr. Everyone remembers where he was on 9/11. My wife and I were on a cruise ship, listening to the news in disbelief. That weekend at a Canadian hotel, waiting to reenter the United States, we pondered what it all meant. Political leaders and journalists were virtually unanimous on one point, at least. The coordinated attacks on New York and the Pentagon were an act of war. We were a nation at war, not with another nation, but with an international terrorist organization known as al Qaeda whose leader was Osama bin Laden. We vowed to track down the terrorists and their leaders and destroy their organization. In the process, said President Bush, nations that provide sanctuary or aid to the terrorists would incur our wrath. You were either with us or against us in this war. Then began the mixed messages and qualifications. We would “bring the terrorists to justice” and “make them pay for their crimes”. But whose justice? The terrorists spit on our system of justice. Justice is for criminals and these terrorists are not mere criminals. They are engaged in war, not criminal activities. The primary means of dealing with them are military methods, not those of law enforcement. Law enforcement is primarily retroactive. Military methods emphasize offensive operations. Today, less than eight years later, it has become apparent that the war on terrorism is not quite a real war. It is, of course, to the military and they are paying a real price of participation in blood, sweat and sacrifice. But the ruling classes have not really embraced the idea that we are engaged in a long-term, real and brutal war with Muslim extremists who seek to destroy America and the rest of western civilization. So while the military actually fights a war, the politicians parse terms like justice, torture, humiliation and harsh interrogation. To them, the term war is used in a metaphorical sense. War is not really in fashion anymore. The terrorists are just criminals and al Qaeda is some kind of vast criminal conspiracy, appropriately dealt with in civilian courtrooms. This, of course, is fine with the terrorists because they know how to exploit our civilian justice system. The American public backed the invasion of Afghanistan which drove the Taliban from power and reduced al Qaeda to loosely-networked splinter groups. But it quickly tired of the long and unpopular campaign in Iraq. The mainstream media and the liberal anti-war movement termed it Bush’s war and declared it lost. They turned the abuses at Abu Ghraib into a blanket indictment of the Bush Administration. Harsh interrogation methods, once endorsed by Congress, were redefined as torture. The detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, containing some of the most dangerous terrorists in the world, was pronounced a symbol of injustice and human rights abuse. Barack Obama rode to the presidency on promises. Among them were promises to end the war in Iraq in six months, end harsh interrogation practices, end wire tapping, end military tribunals and close Guantanamo by the end of the year. The promises were easy to make, but he is learning just how difficult they are to keep and how unwise he was to make them. The surge in Iraq, which he branded a failure, turned out to be a success. His decision to release selected interrogation tapes and methods greatly weakened our ability to gather intelligence that could save lives and demoralized our intelligence professionals. He has now done something of an about face on wiretapping. He is reconsidering military tribunals. Finally, he is in a quandary over what to do with the terrorists at Guantanamo now that he has ordered it closed. Many cannot be tried in civilian courts without compromising vital security information. If released, they could pose a grave threat to Americans. Congress, until recently clamoring to close Gitmo, now is balking at providing funding to do so until Mr. Obama comes up with a plan for what to do with the detainees. Nobody wants them in their back yard. Not in Alcatraz. Not in Leavenworth. Not anywhere on U.S. soil. So what is the plan? Well, there is no plan. Only another promise. Where do we stand, then, in this pseudo-war on terrorism? On rather marshy ground indeed. We have a commander-in-chief who has made promises he can’t keep and is back-pedaling, eager to get on with his domestic agenda. He wants to step up operations in Afghanistan but it now appears that Pakistan has become the center of al Qaeda operations. Gen. David Petraeus, Commander, U.S. Central Command, says that al Qaeda has reemerged into a centrally directed organization, able to plan attacks in other countries and that Pakistan has become its global base. Pakistan is ill-equipped to deal with this threat, its army tailored more to classic tank and artillery battles with arch-foe India and many of its best troops still deployed along its border with India. It still does not allow U.S. forces on its territory. Pakistan is in danger and has nuclear weapon. It borders on Iran which will probably soon also have them. Nuclear weapons in the hands of Muslim extremists will be a disaster of monumental proportions for America and the West, not to mention Israel. So what’s the plan now, Mr. President? This is not Bush’s war. It’s yours. And it really is a war, you know, not just a police action. Copyright 2009 by J. F. Kelly, Jr. Dr. Kelly is a retired Navy Captain and bank senior vice-president. A veteran of over thirty years of naval service, he commanded three ships and the Navy Personnel Research and Development Center in San Diego. He joined Great American Bank in 1983, serving first as Training and Development Director and later as Director of Human Resources. He retired from the bank in 1994 and has since devoted his efforts to community services. He served as foreman of the San Diego County Grand Jury in 1997-1998, president of the Lions Club of San Diego, the San Diego Council of the Navy League of the United States, the Lions Foundation, the Boys and Girls Foundation, Vice-president of the City of San Diego Salary setting commission and as chairman of the Business Council of the San Diego County Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Task Force. He currently serves on the board of the Boys and Girls Foundation and the Coronado Roundtable. He currently teaches ship handling, seamanship and navigation at the Naval Base, San Diego. A freelance writer, his weekly column on current events appears in the California Republic, the Coronado EagleJournal, eCoronado.com and other publications. Dr. Kelly has degrees in education, management and leadership including a doctor of education degree from the University of San Diego. He and his wife, the former Charlane Hughes, reside in Coronado.