The August 2008 issue of Wired magazine has an article titled, “A Better Weapon for the War on Terror” by Jonathan Stevenson. The writer says that our country’s current military strategy of fighting al Qaeda is “a little like holding a .44 Magnum on a buzzing mosquito. “
Stevenson makes the argument that al Qaeda has no county to protect and pose no threat warranting nuclear payback. Yet America is risking thousands of American lives and spending billions of dollars trying to fight a conventional war. On the other side, al Qaeda improvises with old techniques like crude roadside bombs and using hijacked planes as cruise missiles. And they are using this strategy effectively.
The author suggests a better way to fight al Qaeda is using the internet. “…harness the Net’s unique ability and privacy to shape the debate within Islam about the best mechanisms for political change.”
In my opinion, the United States is not making friends in the Muslim world by invading countries and creating a situation where hundreds of thousands of innocent people die. In Iraq, the American military is seen now as an occupying force, not liberators. We have overstayed our welcome.
Back to the Wired article. Israeli expert Reuven Paz calls the internet an “open university for Jihad studies” covering everything from indoctrination to DIY car bombs. The author Stevenson says the U.S. government should quietly promote more websites to radical Muslims admitting the Bush Administration has made some mistakes and offer nonviolent solutions. The article sites current polls showing only 10 percent of Muslims in Saudi Arabia view al Qaeda favorably. In Indonesia, Lebanon and Pakistan, support for suicide bombs has dropped dramatically.
America has an opportunity to influence moderate and even radical Muslims peacefully. Violence begets violence. After World War II, America turned Germany and Japan into close allies not by leaving a large occupying force in each of those countries, but with significant rebuilding and aid. Maybe its time to fight a different kind of war.
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