Bill Quick does a good job of explaining why Americans are growing weary of the war on terror, and I think we can learn a lot by flipping the question around.
The problem is three years of what appears to be bumbling, fumbling, softness, lack of clarity, lack of purpose, and lack of will. The public will grow tired of any enterprise when it appears that those who purport to represent it have utterly lost their way. This is the "leadership problem" in a nutshell. As I have repeatedly stated, leaders find a way to lead. Losers find excuses. Eventually the public tires of excuses. ...If you want Americans to sacrifice "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" to destroy a "civilizational enemy," then you have to name that enemy, describe its places of power, and be honest about how far you will go - and may have to go - to achieve victory. The pabulum about diplomacy and democracy may seem politically expedient in the short run, but in the long run it has sapped the will of Americans to fight the necessary - and very real - battles that must be waged in order to win the war at all.
To look at it from the other side, why aren't the Islamists growing weary of the war? They're taking far more casualties than we are. They're living in caves, running and hiding, blowing themselves up, and living in the shadows just to be a thorn in our side. Their side of the war is far harder on them individually than our side is on most of us, and yet they're more keen to fight than ever. Why? Perhaps because they, unlike us in the West, know what they're fighting for and are determined to win. Their leaders have articulated why they're fighting and how they're going to win, and ours are too consumed with multiculturalism and UN nonsense to even publically define our enemy.
Many people are also weary of the "war" because the notion that Iraq is a main front in it is panning out to be complete nonsense.
When the "flypaper" doesn't reduce the number of flies, it's time to try something else.
Mark, the flypaper strategery is not so much about reducing the number of flies (who reproduce like, well, flies), but rather attracting them to another place so that we can enjoy our, say, "picnic" in peace. And to a large extent, it has worked... we haven't had a fly attack on our picnic for almost 5 years.
Also, if you are using the flypaper strategery, and then decide to "try something else" and remove the flypaper, all the flies that were attracted to the flypaper will now come rushing back to the picnic. That's unacceptable. But that's what "trying something else" would inevitably lead to. What we need to do is continue the flypaper strategery while simultaneously developing a way to reduce fly reproduction (in a philosophical sense).
I think that the other side is getting tired. In fact, I recall an interecepted letter or two confirming that. In real war, both sides are almost always exhausted and near the point of collapse. Our problem is that our media is constantly announcing how tired and near collapse we are, which only encourages our enemies to try harder to kill us.
JS: Actually, I think the flypaper strategy is only drawing more flies to the general area; more than can get caught on the flypaper. So what do those flies do? Start bothering other "picnics" in the vicinity. They're bothering Israel's picnic, eating away significantly at Iraq's picnic, and sustaining Iran's picnic. That's what isn't working about the flypaper strategy. It's a nice concept, but it isn't working out so well.. and is incompatible with our other interests. The flies we attract are spoiling other activities in the area.. and there isn't nearly enough flypaper.
I'm not talking about removing the flypaper when I say "try something else". We need to do exactly what you mentioned; reduce fly reproduction. Maybe you should mention that to the Bush administration.
Ben writes:
“In real war, both sides are almost always exhausted and near the point of collapse.”
You must have read the exchange between Passini and the Tenente in “A Farewell To Arms” written in 1929, which ends with “I think you do not know anything about being conquered and you think it is not so bad.” Page 51 in my paperback. It sounds just like the DNC talking points of today.