Clark: "We must defeat the ideology"

There is plenty to disagree with in this piece by Wesley Clark, but he does have a few points worth highlighting positively.

Let's start with the implications of London:

Relentless pressure by the CIA, Special Forces and many other national intelligence and police efforts has made the old, centralized structure of al-Qaeda unworkable.

And we need to keep up the pressure. But al-Qaeda's new threat is decentralized. Thursday's attacks in London have all the earmarks of such a "franchise" operation, locally planned and resourced with relatively modest means, emulating al-Qaeda without the vulnerabilities of centralized resourcing and direction.

Preventing attacks probably can't be accomplished by the administration's preference for taking out "state sponsors." And it's going to be very difficult to employ military means. National intelligence efforts, special police activities and local community policing efforts, which focus on identifying and targeting terrorist individuals and organizations, are required.

For the most part, Clark is right on the mark. He would discount the Bush approach of taking down "state sponsors" but the focus on those rogue nations is precisely why the more centralized version of al Qaeda is floundering. I think the bet approach is to attack the "franchises" and the state sponsors simultaneously.

Clark makes the following excellent point:

But fighting terrorism at home isn't just a matter of "killing terrorists." Terrorists aren't born that way. They are created by their interaction with their surroundings. To win this war, we must defeat the ideology of terrorism, depriving angry young people of their ability to justify their hateful actions in the name of Allah.

This will require not only strong Islamic condemnation of terrorists and their acts, but also a winning dialogue within Islam to defeat Koranic interpretations seeking to justify the use of force against innocent people. We need to encourage "moderates" in Islam to debate, to proselytize and to win over potential terrorists. They are the only ones who can do it.

In the meantime, attention and resources must protect not just the airlines but also U.S. mass transit, rail and other infrastructure. Yet almost four years after 9/11, plans are late and resources lacking.

Homeland Security has been pretty much a joke. That the Bush administration talks about amnesty for illegal aliens while we are at war and have totally open borders would be comical if the situation weren't so serious.

And here is an idea that I (and I think Mahatma as well) would certainly endorse:

And we are long overdue in forming a volunteer civil defense effort that would not only strengthen our security but also give Americans an opportunity to contribute. Volunteers would be recruited to serve part time on an unpaid basis. They would be trained in emergency response, security procedures and assist in a terrorist incident. By extending full-time emergency and response skills into every neighborhood, it would provide an "official" channel for education, warning and communications within each community.

When he isn't wasting time trying to score cheap political points, Wesley Clark can impress. He won't be getting my vote any time soon, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a few good ideas worth talking about.