Glenn Carle, part of the CIA's Clandestine Service for 23 years, writes in the WaPo that terrorists have been made into more than what they are:
We rightly honor as heroes those who serve our nation and offer their lives to protect ours. We all "support the troops." Yet the first step for any commander is to understand the enemy. The next commander in chief should base his counterterrorism policies on the following realities:
We do not face a global jihadist "movement" but a series of disparate ethnic and religious conflicts involving Muslim populations, each of which remains fundamentally regional in nature and almost all of which long predate the existence of al-Qaeda.
Osama bin Laden and his disciples are small men and secondary threats whose shadows are made large by our fears. Al-Qaeda is the only global jihadist organization and is the only Islamic terrorist organization that targets the U.S. homeland. Al-Qaeda remains capable of striking here and is plotting from its redoubt in Waziristan, Pakistan. The organization, however, has only a handful of individuals capable of planning, organizing and leading a terrorist operation. Al-Qaeda threatens to use chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons, but its capabilities are far inferior to its desires. Even the "loose nuke" threat, whose consequences would be horrific, has a very low probability. For the medium term, any attack is overwhelmingly likely to consist of creative uses of conventional explosives.
No other Islamic-based terrorist organization, from Mindanao to the Bekaa Valley to the Sahel, targets the U.S. homeland, is part of a "global jihadist movement" or has more than passing contact with al-Qaeda.
George Bush's administration has gone a long way in empowering these small people by pitting them as the evil of the world. Basic psychology would tell you that our "War on Terrorism" fueled the terrorists. Bush simply doesn't have the wisdom to battle terrorists. Neither does McCain. He has old fashioned thinking as well.
Battling terrorists requires an enlightened and wise leadership who can outthink terrorism not engage in military battles. It requires someone who understands the "enemy" and understands their version of Islam.
