Return-Path: <sentto-279987-3069-1003368808-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.1.0) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Wed, 17 Oct 2001 18:34:08 -0700 (PDT) Received: (qmail 20948 invoked by uid 510); 18 Oct 2001 01:33:08 -0000 Received: from n3.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.53) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 18 Oct 2001 01:33:08 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-3069-1003368808-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.1.224] by n3.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 18 Oct 2001 01:33:29 -0000 X-Sender: fc@big.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_0_0_1); 18 Oct 2001 01:33:28 -0000 Received: (qmail 76113 invoked from network); 18 Oct 2001 01:33:28 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.27) by 10.1.1.224 with QMQP; 18 Oct 2001 01:33:28 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO big.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta2 with SMTP; 18 Oct 2001 01:33:28 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by big.all.net (8.9.3/8.7.3) id SAA05435 for iwar@onelist.com; Wed, 17 Oct 2001 18:33:27 -0700 Message-Id: <200110180133.SAA05435@big.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL1] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> X-Yahoo-Profile: fcallnet Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2001 18:33:27 -0700 (PDT) Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] [fc:Exit.strategy¹.not.applicable.to.terrorism.fight] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit October 16, 2001 ŒExit strategy¹ not applicable to terrorism fight By Eun-Kyung Kim Associated Press In an open-ended war against terrorism far different than past conflicts, the Bush administration warns that even success in Afghanistan won¹t mean a quick and clean exit. The White House is starting to think about what Afghanistan might look like when, or if, U.S.-led military strikes succeed in kicking out Osama bin Laden¹s terrorist network and smashing his ruling Taliban protectors. Beyond that, there¹s no clear solution in sight. ³This will be a long war,² President Bush said recently. ³It requires understanding and patience from the American people.² Unlike many past wars, military troops fighting terrorists cannot simply storm into enemy territory, eliminate the opponent, then leave. In Afghanistan, for example, the United States will be pressured to ensure that whatever government follows the Taliban is stable enough to prevent another outbreak of war, or more support for terrorists. ³Fighting a war on terrorism is quite different than extracting Iraq from Kuwait or even bringing down the Nazi regime,² said Jack Spencer, a defense analyst at The Heritage Foundation. While insisting it won¹t choose Afghanistan¹s next leaders, the Bush administration is consulting with Afghanistan¹s neighbors and foes of the ruling Taliban militia to determine the shape a future government. Bush administration officials have denounced the Taliban as unrepresentative of the people and have insisted on change. Even if the United States roots out bin Laden¹s terrorist network in Afghanistan, the U.S. campaign is expected to go beyond that. Few experts believe the United States will ever get to the point where leaders can declare they have won the war against terrorism. Past war strategies hardly fit. Even Secretary of State Colin Powell would admit his so-called Powell doctrine ‹ set clear goals and then use overwhelming force to achieve victory ‹ doesn¹t apply because it¹s uncertain when victory can be declared. ³Forget about exit strategies,² Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said in a recent newspaper editorial. Then, as the United States launched its initial attack on Afghanistan, he said the strikes were part of a ³much larger effort against worldwide terrorism,² one likely to last ³for a period of years, not weeks or months.² Former Pentagon strategist Michele Flournoy compared the war against terrorism to another ubiquitous war ‹ the one against crime. ³Is there an exit strategy for that, where you would stop law enforcement, where you stop policing, then think there¹s never going to be more crime? Of course not,² said Flournoy, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. But some critics fear that providing a plan and time frame for withdrawal is the only way to prevent the campaign against terrorism from turning into another Bosnia ‹ where American peacekeepers remain years after they were expected to return home ‹ or even Vietnam. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says Bush is opposed to the idea of leaving U.S. troops in Afghanistan indefinitely, and opposed to the idea of using troops for ³nation-building² activities, such as building schools and creating a civil society. Bush has said the United Nations might lead such efforts. The terrorism campaign is harder to define because U.S. authorities are still trying to determine the sources of threats. ³Who would have thought that a couple of guys on an airplane with knives would turn those things into bombs that took down the World Trade Center?² said Harland Ullman, a national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. ³How do you deal with that? There¹s no order of battle.² Ullman called the liberal use of the word ³war² by politicians and the media misleading because ³this is not a war.² ³A war is between entities that have some sort of confirmed aims and objectives and prevention is not really an objective that you can ultimately declare victory,² he said. ³The problem here is that because it is not a war, and it is an ongoing campaign, there may never be an exit strategy. It¹s like war against cancer and disease. You just keep plowing through it.² ------------------ http://all.net/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
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