“Time to Weed the Garden”
© 2001 by Wesley A. Fryer
9-14-2001
Many US citizens are angry and outraged at the terrorist
attacks launched this past week in New York City and Washington D.C. Emotion
should give way to reason, however, as public responses and government
reactions to these events are crafted. Rather than “declaring war”
on terrorism, the American public
and long term US policy
would be better served by an affirmed commitment to “weed the
garden” of terrorists who will, like it or not, continue to threaten US
security in the foreseeable future.
President George
Bush declared on September 13, 2001, “My
resolve is steady and strong about winning this war that has been declared on
America.” While his declaration was bold and emotionally appealing, it
could foster unrealistic perceptions about US military capabilities and actions
in the wake of recent attacks.
The noted German
military strategist Carl Von Clauswitz defined war as the
employment of force to convert the will of the enemy. Analogies have been made
comparing these terrorist acts to Pearl Harbor, and politicians have glibly
spoken of our capability and intention to wage “war on global
terrorism.”
While the United States is, like many nations in the world, in the midst of a difficult struggle against terrorism, use of the ‘war’ analogy is problematic and even dangerous. In a war, or traditional military conflict, objectives are usually defined and pursued by identifiable actors. The US military has trained for years to employ overwhelming force against enemy targets, to achieve defined military objectives in support of broader political goals. This type of conflict is what our military forces are best prepared to promulgate.
In the struggle
against terrorism, however, ‘war’ cannot be carried out in the same
manner. The victims of terrorism are easily identifiable, but the perpetrators
much less so. These individuals may be associated with a nation-state, but
often are ‘non-state actors’ against whom overwhelming force can
rarely be marshaled. US responses to Embassy bombings against targets in
Afghanistan and Sudan demonstrated the limitations of military actions against
elusive terrorist groups.
During the
administration of President Richard Nixon, a popular analogy for government
efforts to combat illegal drug production and
trafficking was ‘weeding the garden.’ This analogy better suits the
struggle the United States and other nations of the world face in fighting the
scourge of terrorism.
Like
a garden with weeds that continually crop up despite a gardener’s most
diligent efforts, terrorism is a political reality that is not going away. The
United States certainly can step up its efforts to apprehend and bring to
justice those responsible for acts of terrorism, but a final
‘victory’ in a war against terrorism will never be achieved. Like a
gardener, we can pursue new and more effective methods to find and get rid of
weeds, try to prevent their growth, and even collaborate with neighbors in
joint efforts at weed control. But the weeds will return, as will the terrorist
threat, and vigilance will be required to protect ourselves against them.
If we recognize
the ‘center of gravity’ in the declared war against terrorism is
the will of the terrorist to carry out his/her acts, the never-ending nature of
this endeavor should be apparent. Overwhelming military force is unlikely to
eliminate this desire on the part of terrorists and potential terrorists. Final
victory is therefore not achievable.
Public
perception is very important, not only to politicians, but to average
Americans. We support people we believe are effective as well as principled in
their actions. To this end, we need to view our nation’s efforts to
combat terrorism more as a process of weeding the garden rather than fighting a
war.
Recognizing the
open ended commitment on the part of the United States and other countries to
combat terrorism certainly does not discount important steps which can be taken
to prevent further acts and bring to justice the perpetrators of terrorism as
well as their supporters. These actions will by their nature be more
effectively carried out by law enforcement and diplomatic officials, however,
rather than military forces.
I wish I could
personally fly a F-15 Strike Eagle aircraft and deliver a retributive package
of ordnance to all of the people responsible for the terrorist attacks on my
homeland. Unfortunately, that will not be possible. I can, however, be
supportive of reasoned and realistic public policies in the wake of this
tragedy.
The United States
needs to be realistic about both the security threats confronting us as a
nation, and the way we formulate our responses to those threats. The weeds
of terrorism are not new in the garden of geopolitics. Some large ones have
our national attention now, and it is appropriate for us to focus our energies.
Let’s support our officials, representatives, agents, and soldiers as
they take up garden hoes and pesticides. It’s time to weed the garden.
While the job may never be finished, we certainly can take steps to catch
weeds when they are yet seeds, and vigorously deal with those which dare to
enter our backyard.