Barack Obama adviser rejects 'global war on terror'

Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | August 7, 2009 | Toby Harnden

[Schnucki]

President Barack Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser has rejected the notion of a "global war on terror" arguing that it led to an obsessive focus on a tactic and suggested America was at war with the world.

John Brennan, a former career CIA officer who worked closely with the Bush administration, lambasted the policies of President George W Bush and made the case for a broader approach to fighting Islamic extremism.

Mr Bush's policies, he said in a speech in Washington, had run counter to American values, undermined the security and resulted in a "global war" mindset that served to "validate al-Qaida's twisted world-view".

All this, he insisted, would change under Mr Obama. "Rather than looking at allies and other nations through the narrow prism of terrorism – whether they are with us or against us – the administration is now engaging other countries and peoples across a broader range of areas."

The term "global war on terror", which became so prevalent under Mr Bush that it earned its own acronym – GWOT – would be a thing of the past.

The notion of a "global" war "plays into the misleading and dangerous notion that the US is somehow in conflict with the rest of the world", he said, while terrorism was a tactic not end.

"And ultimately, confusing ends and means is self-defeating, because you can never fully defeat a tactic like terrorism any more than you can defeat the tactic of war itself."

He denounced "the inflammatory rhetoric, hyperbole and intellectual narrowness that has often characterised the debate over the president's national security policies." In part, the speech appeared to be a shot back at former Vice President Dick Cheney, who has been Mr Obama's most outspoken critic on anti-terrorism policy.

Mr Brennan, who was widely tipped to become

[RC2]

This shouldn’t surprise many. Most terrorist are muslims.

[Notary Sojac]

In a way -but not the way Zero obviously intended- this is of course true.

It's a war against Islamic theocracy, not against "terror".

GWB just never had the guts to say so.

[WayneS]

President Barack Obama's top counter-terrorism adviser has rejected the notion of a "global war on terror" arguing that it led to an obsessive focus on a tactic and suggested America was at war with the world..

The portion I put in bold says WAY more about the president and his minions than it does about those who use the term "war on terror".

[newheart]

"The most effective long-term strategy for safeguarding the American people is one that promotes a future where a young man or woman never even considers joining an extremist group in the first place, where they reject out of hand the idea of picking up that gun or strapping on that suicide vest."

Of course that will only occur when the United States declares Islam the official state religion.

Time to invest in white flag futures. And sadly, body bags.

[Izzy Dunne]

suggested America was at war with the world..

The portion I put in bold says WAY more about the president and his minions than it does about those who use the term "war on terror".

Indeed, that was my reaction.

To think that the war on terror is equal to a war on the world is preposterous.

[TommyDale]

My guess is that they are saddened by the loss of the Taliban leader.

[swarthyguy]

Essentially between that putz Milibrand of the UK, and this statement, the West has given the green light to any jihadis (oops) who wish to attack any nonAmericans anywhere.

if they aren’t AQ specifically, then we got no beef with other jihadi groups that may rampage anywhere in the world.

Watch Kashmir and a couple of other places flare up.

[swarthyguy]

Agreed, the formulation of a war on a tactic has caused confusion and wasn’t quite accurate since we were attacked by Sunni theocratic terrorists.

[all the best]

He’s going to all those “terrorists” who oppose Obamacare. Got his priorities straight. Hope you reported some family and friends to flag@whitehouse.gov

[Godwin1]

Brennan is a cheap careerist whore. When he was George Tenet's chief of staff, Bush's approach to fighting terror was apparently OK. Obama now wants to appease the jihadists by giving them money. For a guy like Brennan, whose only loyalty is to his personal career ambitions, that is OK also. This guy has zero credibility.

[Joe 6-pack]

The obama era will be known to history as “The War on Liberty”.

[TigersEye]

I reject communism and consider communists to be just as much a threat to America as terrorists.