I linked below to Ivo Daalder’s post about the Bush administration’s transition from GWOT (Global War on Terror) to GSAVE (Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism. Ivo thinks this is both a very big change and a very good change.
I’m inclined to agree. But first a few thoughts.
First of all, let’s hope that the administration is as proficient in combating terrorism as it is in coming up with new buzzwords and acronyms.
Secondly, on the political front, isn’t it necessary for the president to — how else to put it? — ‘fess up? This is a complete repudiation of roughly four years of counter-terrorism policy out of the White House.
The core of the Bush Doctrine was that the threat of terrorism is still one tied to states rather than non-state-actors. As Doug Feith said some three years ago, the reliance of terrorists on state sponsors has been the “principal strategic thought underlying our strategy in the war on terrorism.”
If we take their words at face value, they’ve now abandoned that cornerstone of their strategy. Shouldn’t that prompt some questions?
