STATUS REPORT: THE WAR ON TERRORISM

Are you feeling safe? How real is the terror threat? I must say that the picture is pretty bleak after reading the below mentioned excerpts from the CIA director George Tenet's appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

"The steady growth of [al-Qaeda leader] Osama Bin Laden's anti-US sentiment through the wider Sunni [Islamic] extremist movement, and the broad dissemination of al-Qaeda's destructive expertise, ensure that a serious threat will remain for the foreseeable future - with or without al-Qaeda in the picture." (Al-Qaeda 'still a potent threat', BBC News.)

"America's assault on al-Qa'eda has scattered its terrorist expertise across the globe, meaning that the United States will be menaced by Islamic extremism "for the foreseeable future."" (CIA chief predicts war with no end, The Telegraph.)

"The director of the Central Intelligence Agency is warning that the al-Qaida terrorist network remains capable of striking the United States on a scale similar to that of September 11, 2001, despite U.S. efforts aimed at dismantling the organization." (CIA: al-Qaida 9/11 Style Attacks Against US Still Possible, Voice of America News.)

Go to the War on Terrorism category for a list of good resources.

UPDATE 03/01/04:

I am all for awarding brave men and women in uniform with "war on terrorism" medals. I hope Bush is sticking to his guns and that he is keeping a firm stand against the Axis of Evil, because here is evidence that "Kerry Will Abandon War on Terrorism":

"The Democratic Party's presidential front-runner, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), has pledged that if elected he will abandon the president's war on terror, begin a dialogue with terrorist regimes and apologize for three-and-one-half years of mistakes by the Bush administration." (Kenneth R. Timmerman, Insight on the News magazine.)

I have illustrated this post with Cox & Forkum's cartoon, Hydra. Read what John Cox and Allen Forkum have to say about the "war on terrorism" and their cartoon:

Forkum:
"The first attempts to undermine America's resolve to wage war came from the (supposed) pacifists, who demanded that the attacks be treated as crime and not acts of war. This would have meant bringing justice merely to those directly involved, most of whom conveniently committed suicide in the attacks. This approach, like chopping off only one head of the mythical Hydra (facing page), would have left intact the source of the danger: terrorist-sponsoring states." (Black & White World, page 8.)

Cox:
"In "Hydra," I wanted to show a strong Uncle Sam. Contemporary cartoons often show him as an ineffectual old man beaten down by conflicting feelings of guilt and power. But why not show Uncle Sam as a well-built, vibrant symbol of patriotic resolve and steadfast ideals? Why not show him as he ought to be? This Uncle Sam could easily defeat the Hydra - if only he chooses to." (Black & White World, page 8.)

Hydra (09/30/01, Black & White World, page 9.)
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For more cartoons like this, check out John Cox & Allen Forkum's book, Black & White World.