Perhaps our pre-9/11 vocabulary is insufficient
Although I'd tend to side with Tom's interpretation of the struggle we're involved with, Mary Anne makes some good points (what else is new?)
Personally, I think crime is too small a word to describe what's already taken place, and vastly too small to describe what could be waiting in the wings.
Many people seem to think war isn't the right word, either. And after all, everyone agrees this is a conflict unlike any other. Maybe we need a way to describe a concept that's bigger than crime but distinct from what history offers us as war. I won't presume to offer any suggestions.