U.S. Not Winning Its War Against ‘Over-Hyped’ Terrorism, Says UA Political Scientist

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – As the nation approaches the one-year mark in its on-going war against terrorism, a University of Alabama military and international relations expert says it’s a fight that “we’re certainly not winning.

“I think we will look back on Afghanistan and say our actions were in three stages,” said Dr. Donald Snow, a UA professor of political science. “One — overthrow the Taliban. That was successful. Two — eliminate the Al-Qaeda leadership. And anybody who thinks we’re winning that aspect has something funny in their ice tea. And three — state building in Afghanistan. Certainly, that has not happened yet, as Afghanistan is actually reverting to its old ways.”

Any thoughts of ridding the world of terrorists is misguided, Snow said. “There were terrorists before 9-11, there are terrorists after 9-11, and there will be terrorists forever.”

The Sept. 11 attacks were less significant, in terms of the extent of human impact, than a less hyped event, said Snow, author of the forthcoming book, “Globalization and Geopolitics: Thinking About National Security.”

“In the last 15 years, we have experienced two fault lines — the end of the Cold War and 9-11 — that have changed things in ways we are still adjusting to. Of the two, the end of the Cold War was more important, in terms of human consequences.”

In a worst-case terrorism scenario, a nuclear weapon in the hands of a terrorist could threaten an entire city. But during the Cold War, there was no question whether or not the life-extinguishing weaponry was in the hands of those with the capabilities of using it, Snow said. “During the Cold War, our survival was in question,” he said.

“I think we have over-hyped the terrorist problem,” Snow said. “This is a law enforcement problem.”

Snow said he suspects Sept. 11, 2002 is less likely than most days to result in a terrorist attack against the United States. Heightened awareness and increased security accompanying that day make it an unwise choice for terrorists, he said.

One of only a few civilians who has served as a visiting professor of political science at the Naval War College, the Army War College, the Air War College and the U.S. Air Command and Staff College, Snow said he believes Osama Bin Laden is likely alive. It is somewhat surprising, he said, that the reward money has not motivated someone to reveal his whereabouts.

“He has an even deeper support in that part of the world than we realized. However, Bin Laden, in a sense, is not the problem. The problem is the mindset he typifies.”

Forcing Bin Laden into hiding has accomplished one thing.

“He no longer has the platform for coordinating activities,” Snow said. “He doesn’t have a safe place, and he’s not going to find one. There aren’t any other Afghanistans.”