The War on Terror.
This name harbors some of the largest misconceptions in the Western World. By definition it is the predominantly militaristic conflict against Islamic terrorists or radical forces.
Do we know what happens in the Middle-East? Day by day we receive news and updates pertaining to the advances in the Middle-East, but do we understand what these advancements necessarily mean? How do these issues affect us?
The fact that we wage war against these individuals as some ridiculous terrorist entity is highly contentious. The subjectivity in our use of the word "Terrorism" is alarming. Terrorism is a tactic of war, which cannot be fought against. The whole concept is flawed, but at least the establishment of a Democratic state is not completely out of the picture.
Without proper knowledge of the subject, we are ignorant to the vagueness of the common goals/interests set in Afghanistan, and whether we are anywhere near attaining them.
The common ground here is that the public, no doubt, wishes for a peaceful Democratic State in Afghanistan, but we do not have the means. In all seriousness I believe that this CAN be attained; but the means in doing so must be changed.
The fact that we feel that our ideology is undoubtedly the right one makes us hypocritical in our application of it. The fact that the United States is occupying Afghanistan makes it seem as if we almost enforce our ideas.
This implies that we actually are ignorant of these people, we are being far too objective in our assessment of their ideals, and application of our ideals.
Obviously, as is in many other countries, there are breaches of Human Rights, and undoubtedly these can be frequently be linked with terrorist activity. However, this is aside from what is currently being done, and mostly what has been done in Afghanistan by thet US Military.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/09/02/1093939076300.html
