Can you go back?

I think it's a shallow reading of the current approach to the war on terror that doesn't see many of the exact "soft-power" activities already taking place. Michael writes:

I simply can't envision that after some number of years of overthrowing some governments and bullying others, bombing wherever we see fit without international support, and attempting to install democratic governments where they have never existed, somehow we will reach a promised land of peace and security.

This summary is a caricature of my arguments about strategic doctrine, as well as a caricature of how the war on terror is being conducted today. No one is arguing that hard-power alone will work. Much more is happening on the soft-power front than you are acknowledging. What about:

• Elections in Afghanistan?
• The possibility of educational and governmental opportunities for women in Afghanistan and Iraq?
• An interim constitution in Iraq?

Furthermore it's a canard to call these activities unilateral. Beyond the countries participating in liberating Iraq, the War on Terror has involved Saudia Arabia, Pakistan, France, Germany, Israel, Russia, India, China, in specific cooperation, with impressive success at times. It's also a serious form of denial to not see the corruption that limits the effectiveness of institutions like the UN and complain that we bomb wherever we see fit without international support.

Most of all, though, the whole point of this blog is to determine if you really believe we are in a war on terror. If you don't think you are in a war, but rather a police action similar to countering drug-traffickers or prostitution, you won't accept any war behaviour. I'd contend that denying the need for a strategic hard-power aspect to a war on terror is a wishful hope that ignores a lot of evidence. I do know that we can't go back to the point where soft-power alone will stop or even slow Islamic terrorism. Check out Memri, read the Duelfer report and the 9/11 commission report. Read the writings and biographies of the Al-Qaeda leadership Zarqawi, Al-Zawahri, Bin Laden and the exhortations carried by the 9/11 hijackers.

After digesting that evidence, tell me more about how speeches to the UN, summits with France and Germany, negotiation with and continued support of Arab strongmen like Mubarak and Abdullah are going to prevent terror in the years ahead.