Our View: On the anniversary of 9/11... more frustration than success (NC)

[ncrainbowgrrl]

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/article?id=241594
In an instant, life changed for every American.

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We were at war in a way we never imagined, battling a shadowy enemy with no uniform and allegiance to no country. President Bush assures us we’re winning. We’re not so sure. Every time a “high-ranking al-Qaida leader” is plucked off a street in Iraq or a mountain in Pakistan, another takes his place. Every time a major attack is foiled, we get evidence of others. It will be a long war, with fierce battles in still-unknowable places to come.
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While the White House focused on anti-terror successes, other groups monitoring terrorist activities report that since 9/11, al-Qaida has grown from 20,000 to about 50,000 members. Terror attacks around the world are increasing and there are more insurgents than ever in Iraq and Afghanistan. At the same time, our military is stretched thin, soldiers exhausted and equipment battered from frequent deployments and a frustrating, ill-planned war in Iraq. An unbiased world view of terrorism shows we have fought the enemy to a draw. We are not winning.

We have grown accustomed to color-coded airport warnings and occasional compromises of our personal privacy. We have become wary of travel and even more wary of Middle-Easterners and Muslims, even though we know only a tiny fraction of them feel ill will toward us. We have let fear creep into our lives, despite our vows to the contrary.

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Five years of frustration is enough. We need new strategy, fueled by bipartisan cooperation in Washington and a military effort directed by generals, not politicians. The war is winnable. But not by stubbornly following a trail we have followed for five years.