Cheney Implies Perpetual War
Dick Cheney’s statement that if Americans elected John Kerry they would suffer another terrorist attack like 9/11 has provoked outrage among Democrats.
But what is interesting to me is the policy implications. Cheney seems to be saying that the reason there won’t be another attack if he is reelected is because he will keep fighting “preemptive” wars.
So, he is promising us more wars, folks. And he almost certainly has Iran foremost on his mind.
It is not actually the case, of course, that fighting serial wars against states would necessarily stop international terrorism. Most terrorism is local and not under the auspices of the state.
In fact, the Bush/Cheney invasion of Iraq has certainly been good for al-Qaeda, and has expanded the recruiting pool by creating large numbers of angry young Muslim men.
When Cheney promises more “preemptive” wars, we should take him very seriously.