What is the "War on Terror?"

As Rumsfeld was leaving the hotseat, he unloaded on some of the madness with some rare candor and insight. Perhaps he was finally "free" to do so...

"I don't think I would have called it the war on terror. I don't mean to be critical of those who have or did or -- and certainly I've used the phrase frequently. Why do I say that? I say it because the word "war" conjures up World War II more than it does the Cold War, and it creates a level of expectation of victory and an ending within the 30 or 60 minutes of a soap opera. And it isn't going to happen that way.

Furthermore, it's not a war on terror. Terror is a weapon of choice for extremists who are trying to destabilize regimes and impose their -- in the hands of a small group of clerics, their dark vision on all the people that they can control.

So "war on terror" has a problem for me, and I've worked to try to reduce the extent to which that's used, and increase the extent to which we understand it more as a long war or a struggle or a conflict, not against terrorism but against a relatively small number, but terribly dangerous and lethal, violent extremists." -- Donald Rumsfeld, December 7, 2006

Why do I refer to the use of the term "war on terror" as madness? We're talking about what the war on terror is. Just as Rumsfeld points out above, the term "war on terror" promotes confusion. It becomes hard to explain what the war on terror is. It's an extension of a paranoid delusionary mindset. It can only make sense to anyone whom shares delusion and paranoia.

So, just, what is the "war on terror?" It's a heaping pile of contradictory hooey used by the Bush Administration for whatever the current post-9/11 "threat" is. Nearly any warlike action against us will contain acts of terror, and so we will continue to wage an endless war on terror against these states, individuals, and groups. Iraq had no connection with al Qaeda. But Bush and Cheney tried to make one, in order to legitimize the threat. The threat was outlined as a part of the "war on terror." To understand how the confusion is not only spread, but inherent, please consider actual Bush administration quotes:

"The enemy is not one person. It is not a single political regime. Certainly it is not a religion. The enemy is terrorism—premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents."

"We will not tire, or rest, until the war on terror is won."

"The war on terror is a battle for the future of civilization. It's a battle worth fighting. And it's a battle we are going to win."

"The war on terror is not over; yet it is not endless."

"I don’t think you can win it [the war on terror]. But I think you can create conditions so that the — those who use terror as a tool are — less acceptable in parts of the world."

"You bet the war on terror can be won. And not only can it be won, we're going to win it."

"The war on terror is a fight against evil."

"We'll wage the war on terror against every enemy who plots against our forces and our people."

"Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated."

"The enemy we face today in the War on Terror is not the same enemy we faced on September 11."

"States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic."

"When I speak about the war on terror, I not only talk about al Qaeda, I talk about Iraq -- because, after all, Saddam Hussein has got weapons of mass destruction and he's used them."

"Confronting the threat posed by Iraq is crucial to winning the war on terror."

"[Y]ou can’t distinguish between al-Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the war on terror."

"Many Americans have raised legitimate questions: about the nature of the threat; about the urgency of action -- why be concerned now; about the link between Iraq developing weapons of terror, and the wider war on terror."

"The central front on the war on terror is Iraq."

"The war on terror is broader than Iraq, but Iraq is the key battlefield right now."

"The war on terror is more than a military conflict - it is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century."

"Our strategy in the war on terror is based on a clear understanding of the enemy."

"I did say it's a war, the first war of the 21st century, but I've been emphasizing it's a different kind of war."

"And just as America and Great Britain stood together to defeat the totalitarian ideologies of the 20th century, we now stand together against the murderous ideologies of the 21st century."

"In World War II, free nations came together to fight the ideology of fascism, and freedom prevailed."

"Well, first of all, the war on terror goes on, as I continually remind people."

He sure does.