Since 2001 terror has been the bogeyman. Terror's
intangability causes governments much frustration, but can also
prove useful in that it can mean many things. The catch all phrase
"war on terror" has been used to bring together and to
justify the United States' recent foreign manouevres.
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NSC |
"The top National Security Council official in the war
on terror [Rand Beers] resigned this week for what a NSC spokesman
said were personal reasons, but intelligence sources say the
move reflects concern that the looming war with Iraq is hurting
the fight against terrorism." UPI
March 19, 2003 |
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US intelligence |
"There is a predominant belief in the intelligence community
that an invasion of Iraq will cause more terrorism than it will
prevent. There is also a tremendous amount of embarrassment
by intelligence professionals that there have been so many lies
out of the administration -- by the president,
(Vice President Dick) Cheney and (Secretary
of State Colin) Powell -- over Iraq." James Bamford in
UPI
March 19, 2003 |
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Australia |
War on Terrorism is global: "A critical strategic
and security dimension for Australia is that militant
extremists in Southeast Asia are prepared to take up the Al
Qaida cause and that Australia has been identified as
a target... It is not just increased lethality that sets Al
Qaida apart, but that it draws on personnel, money and equipment
organised across national borders. Since September 2001, the
international community has made concerted efforts to trace
international terror networks and identify the often-shifting
alliances and associations between them. There is still much
work to be done to find and destroy terrorist leaders and cells,
but even though the main force of terrorist attacks will often
be felt at the national or regional level, it is a global conflict.
It may eventually be seen as the most violent phenomenon of
the information age. Al Qaida cells or operatives have been
identified in many countries across the Middle East, Europe,
Southeast Asia, Africa and the United States, and it is almost
certain that others have yet to be found." Ministry
of Defence 2003 National Security update section 4. |
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September 11 |
" International war had clearly been launched. Its perpetrators
called it an international jihad, aimed not only against the
U.S. but the entire West, indeed, against the whole non-Islamic
world." Michael
Novak, American Enterprise Institute, February 10, 2003 |
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Iraq and Al Queda |
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war
on terror