Washington Post: war on terror a total failure?

I suppose the op has a point as does the Post. Again using the unfair advantage of hindsight to criticize events, that were decided upon during a time of stress, and not listing the consequences of doing nothing is unfair. How does the infiltrating and interception of plots such as the millennium plot or the attack on the NY subway system fit into this narrative. Had the subway plot, as it is known, not been stopped there would have been many more deaths than 9/11 and paralyzed the entire city. The war on terror stopped these plots-most through commutation(spying that so many of you hate) interception and the use of informants. Millions of people ride those subways everyday so how is stopping this horrific event a failure?

reply to post by spooky24


My argument is not that stoping the Subway attack was a failure. It is that over the last 12 years we have spent trillions of dollars and over a million people have died and we have suspended the US Constitution for all practical purposes. Has the cost been worth the occasional success story? I would argue that indeed it has been a failure simply because of the Cost alone. It certainly doesn't help that a Global War on Terror has no defined enemy or way to judge if indeed anything has actually been successful. For those that say there has been no attacks since 9-11... I will say. Boston Bombings. Anthrax attacks.

It's been a total and utter failure unless of course, you are a defense contractor and are into all the draconian laws that have been enacted to increase their power.The centralization of all this power and money was what Eisenhower and Colin Powell had warned us about.

spooky24
I suppose the op has a point as does the Post. Again using the unfair advantage of hindsight to criticize events, that were decided upon during a time of stress, and not listing the consequences of doing nothing is unfair. How does the infiltrating and interception of plots such as the millennium plot or the attack on the NY subway system fit into this narrative. Had the subway plot, as it is known, not been stopped there would have been many more deaths than 9/11 and paralyzed the entire city. The war on terror stopped these plots-most through commutation(spying that so many of you hate) interception and the use of informants. Millions of people ride those subways everyday so how is stopping this horrific event a failure?

Nine times out of ten those plots are cooked up by the FBI who string along half wit patsies who couldn't blow up a box of fireworks if they tried.

IMHO, the "War on Terror" is not a failure...it's a flat out lie.

(Just like the "War on Drugs".)

Unless you are implying that the war against terror is actually about the government being afraid of it's own citizens, in which case, yes...they ARE indeed at war with the people and they have indeed failed about as miserably as they possibly could have on as many fronts as they could manage. No one trusts the state and law enforcment even less. Hollywierd is not proving an effective distraction and no one believes the MSM anymore. Instead, everyone stands poised to catch the government in another bald faced lie as soon as they can muster the air to utter the words and it's driving poor Obam-bam out of his globalist collective mind. Y'think people go grey that fast when they are having a good time?
But what do I know.

-Peace-

As a war on terrorism it's been a massive failure, as a war for terrorism it's been a huge success, all it's succeeded in doing is generating many more actual terrorists by stirring up more hatred for the west from the people who previously just didn't like us, now they are out there wanting to actually hurt the west.

reply to post by GArnold


What? I thought Obama fixed the problem with all his drone strikes.

Does this mean drone strikes aren't working either?

finitedualities
reply to post by whatsup86

 

I doubt the majority of the world would miss a "nation" that would fail to exist without leaching on the international community.

And yet you fail to point out that the nation making Palestine disappear is the biggest leech on the planet.

The war on terror is as big a failure as the war on drugs. It was only created to make money and strip us of our rights.

War on terror?

Have they finally started warring on themselves?

The most terrorists are found in the former swamp known as DC...

My argument is not that stoping the Subway attack was a failure. It is that over the last 12 years we have spent trillions of dollars and over a million people have died and we have suspended the US Constitution for all practical purposes. Has the cost been worth the occasional success story? I would argue that indeed it has been a failure simply because of the Cost alone. It certainly doesn't help that a Global War on Terror has no defined enemy or way to judge if indeed anything has actually been successful. For those that say there has been no attacks since 9-11... I will say. Boston Bombings. Anthrax attacks.

I'm not going to debate with children however since you ask this I'll respond. First what 'million people have died' are you talking about.

We haven't suspended the US Constitution. The Congress voted to allow exceptions for clandestine operation to be expanded. Yes, some of them are quite intrusive however in a democracy sometimes you must put up with things you disagree with.

The 2009 stimulus program borrowed 890 billion from the Chinese government at 22% interest. Compounded now to over 1.1 trillion.

That is more than twice what the war on terror has cost. The stimulus program accomplished nothing, even the president said it didn't work.

Why aren't you up in arms about that.

Besides, what would you do-nothing?

spooky24

My argument is not that stoping the Subway attack was a failure. It is that over the last 12 years we have spent trillions of dollars and over a million people have died and we have suspended the US Constitution for all practical purposes. Has the cost been worth the occasional success story? I would argue that indeed it has been a failure simply because of the Cost alone. It certainly doesn't help that a Global War on Terror has no defined enemy or way to judge if indeed anything has actually been successful. For those that say there has been no attacks since 9-11... I will say. Boston Bombings. Anthrax attacks.

We haven't suspended the US Constitution. The Congress voted to allow exceptions for clandestine operation to be expanded. Yes, some of them are quite intrusive however in a democracy sometimes you must put up with things you disagree with.

You don't have to "put up" with laws that are blatantly against the constitution or bill of rights.

The 2009 stimulus program borrowed 890 billion from the Chinese government at 22% interest. Compounded now to over 1.1 trillion.

That is more than twice what the war on terror has cost. The stimulus program accomplished nothing, even the president said it didn't work.

Why aren't you up in arms about that.

I bet he is as I am as well. We are not here to socialize business. Let them fail and another will rise in their place.

Besides, what would you do-nothing?

I would find out what really happened on 9/11. Then I would invade the homes of every single person responsible. Then I would bring all the troops home and re-establish relations with Russia in an attempt to finally build a supertrain that would connect our two countries via the Bering Strait. That alone would bring a major boost to the economies of Russia, Canada, and America. I would suggest it run from Moscow to Los Angeles.

I would mandate all utility companies to pay the equal rate they charge their customers rather than the curtains of fees they currently hide behind. Citizens deserve to be compensated for their equal share using net metering.

I would reduce the size of the US Army, and US Air Force, and US Marines by 50% while increasing funding into space based and unmanned projects.

I would create a flat tax that eliminates loopholes for the most wealthy while at the same time requiring a zero tax on clothing and food which offers relief to the most impoverished people.

I would legalize marijuana and tax the crap out of it. I would send a thousand surveillance drones over mexico and bomb the cartels out of existence.

I would end all campaign finance and corporate lobbying. I would make it law that any deficits running for a fiscal year results in congress receiving a severe wage penalty and zero bonuses. If it continues for more than one year members are automatically relieved of their positions.

The minimum wage and age requirement should be eliminated from law. The central bank would be relieved of its duties and that power given back to the treasury.

I would eliminate illegal immigrants from receiving welfare checks while at the same time cleaning up the immigration process so it doesn't take years to legally move to America.

I would instill a policy to turn every vehicle into natural gas driven. Then I wouldn't stop until every homeowner in America has access to free energy. Zero utility or gas bills.

I would take back the countries water supply from corporate interests that basically steal it from us and sell it back to us.

And many other things..

no one is going to do crap...why?...because the wealthy are not out to help the common people, and they are in full control. when the supreme court ruled that corporations have the same rights as humans, the wealthy owners gained all the power they need, to stop any legislation in it's tracks. they don't want you to vote, so in many states they have made it harder, they are blocking legislation for a minimum wage raise. they are lobbying congress with millions of dollars, trying to stop people from getting healthcare. they are continually raising prices on goods and services, while not raising wages or hiring people. they are undermining Dodd-Frank financial legislation (after 5 years, still no law against or restricting "derivitives" , which are still in play, and what led to the financial collapse in the 1st place).
to effectively improve Americas situation, you have to have a focused attack on the "money"...the Achilles heel of those in power.

The war on terror isn't meant to be a success, it really amounts to declaring war on a boogie-man that doesn't exist. Clever way of justifying endless war by the banks which write the loans to finance endless wars.

If those pricks who try to fix everything wrong with the world actually did succeed, they would no longer be needed, they would be unemployed.

It's just a joke, and it's the banks that are laughing.

To be more clear, one must look at the events which followed the 9-11 incident. Never mind loss of rights so much as the cost of the means for taking away your so called "freedoms", one can feel pretty damned free if one isn't "terrified" to enjoy those freedoms, and then we had the underwear bomber, disregard the fact that the "grundy-bomber" failed, enough of the people supported taking measures to make themselves feel "safer", to justify the expense of all of those different types of scanners and security procedures. In the end, it appears they begged for exactly what they constantly complain about now.

"Freedumb"

I think it is a success.

We are in three declared wars, war on drugs, war on poverty and war on terror. While folks were sleeping those wars were declared.

In times of war, the constitution is suspended - danger is high. The war on drugs allowed the cops to stop and search if they simply thought there were drugs - no warrant needed. but more importantly, it allowed the confiscation of property without due process. All a cop has to say is, "gee I kind of think that maybe your car came from money you got by having something to do with drugs" and then he can say, "now its mine." Just like during war.

The war on poverty, well look around and what has been done in the name of poor people.

The war on terrorism allowed for: "hey, you, stop, let me see your papers." It allowed for war time spending of trillions on who knows what.

The reason for the war on terror was not to get the bad guys, it was to allow for "let me see your papers." That was the intention all along. To argue, whether it has stopped a plane bomb, or an embassy blowing up is to argue the PR and not the reason. When a husband beats his wife with a baseball bat, he usually tells her he loves her - that is why he is doing it. Then, the two argue about love, instead of arguing about the bat and the use of it.

If you think about it, since all the terrorist attacks have been made up by evil parts of our government, why ,we haven't had 1 foreign terror attack,,,ever! so what's with all this silly security and added police??

The 'war on terror' has worked a treat. The war hawks have got their steady stream of conflicts since Emperor George W. first announced the policy and it has also resulted in the subjugation of the Western community through fear.

reply to post by wrabbit2000

well we have come close a few times of being a complete failure, NYC SUV bomb that by chance some one noticed it , the 2 in Boston , and a few others that have been misses than hits. Then only thing the war on Terror has done is made us more fear full and less free , this is a win for the terrorist and a loss for freedoms. if your keeping score Terrorism 5 Freedoms 1 top of the ninth Syria at bat, Kerry pitching.

The last 20 years or so, the USMIC and everything associated with it, is best described by the "Runaway Train" model.

I think they called it "Transformation". It's a term I never have seen used here, but I'm willing to bet some of the original founding spooks still have their tentacles tightly around that goose egg.

is a fail , not only did it take freedoms away, it does nothing to stop an other 9/11 event worldnews.nbcnews.com... it might be an other 10 years but one is coming.