America may need to rethink its foreign policy reflex to aid whoever is the enemy of America's Enemy of the Day. Because fanatical Islamic fundamentalists were the enemies of the Soviets invading Afghanistan, America helped them with aid, arms and training. America's own CIA trained bin Laden. America continued to supply the Taliban aid long after the Soviets pulled out and America lost interest in the Afghan civil war. But that was about an oil pipeline, among other things. The current Bush sent $40+ million to the Taliban because they promised to 'fight drugs.'

It's more than the mere fact American administrations change every 4-8 years.

America needs to evolve a larger sense of the world and its role in the world. So long as it is simply 'defeat the current enemy,' America will lose on the foreign policy front. No matter which party or President is in charge.

I have left a post to this effect on Raoul's 'A war without end' thread above.

The Bush II administration had designated 'rogue states' as the Enemy of the Day. That has shifted a bit. Now 'terrorism' is the Enemy of the Day.

For that war to properly begin, America must end its own support of terrorists. Further, America must end its support of bad foreign policy which provides something for terrorists to oppose. America needs to take another look at Israel, for example. America should also take a look at its relationship with oil-producing nations in the Middle East; oil looms large in American foreign policy in that region, perhaps blinding America to other concerns essential to a world desirous of peace and justice.

A war on 'terrorism' will actually take America one or more steps backward in the realm of foreign policy. Once again, the Enemy of the Day will come to define foreign policy and shape all foreign policy decisions. America's new obsession will keep many other considerations from getting more than a glance and lip-service.

I can only agree that America needs to pay attention to Islamic elements and cultures which are not supportive of terrorism. America should nurture them, and nurture her ties to them. Every Islamic friend must be cultivated if America intends to target Islamic extremists who conduct and sponsor terrorism.

The war's first battle really needs to be fought in Congress and the White House. A foreign policy which instructs America to champion peace and justice first, which puts destroying enemies and serving corporate interests second, would be a helluva way to start. America would win newfound respect everywhere. Haters of America would doubtless remain, for they will always be there. But it would still be a great way to begin a new millennium of human history.

I would say, however, that there is absolutely no chance of that happening. And I hope I'm wrong, because so long as America remains its own worst enemy, any war on terrorism must be unwinnable.