On Wednesday, France and Germany released a joint statement denouncing American plans for war with Iraq. In response, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld dismissed both countries as part of an "old Europe" that is quickly becoming irrelevant. Le Monde published an essay likening the Bush administration to a military junta, and The National Review described the French as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys."
Such name-calling has been the primary currency of American-European relations in recent weeks and the result is a transatlantic rift wider than any in recent memory. Faced with the complex threat of international terrorism, Europeans accuse the United States of war-mongering unilateralism. Americans, in turn, see Europe as lacking the resolve to act decisively when war is plainly necessary. Both complaints are valid, but Americans and Europeans alike should realize that the defeat of terrorism will require peaceful initiatives as well as military force. If the United States and Europe are to win the war on terror, they must cease their bickering and recognize that each plays an important role in the other's security.
Much as Europeans may resent it, American military power is critical to the defeat of terrorism. The destruction of terrorist infrastructure and the overthrow of sympathetic governments are the best ways to deny terrorists the safe haven they need, and both are readily accomplished by military force. Last year, the American military drove al Qaeda into hiding and toppled Afghanistan's Taliban government more quickly than anyone thought possible. The resulting disruption of terrorist activities represents a substantial victory that could not have been accomplished by peaceful means. As an isolated regime not amenable to political persuasion, the Taliban could only be reckoned with by force of arms, and only the United States possessed a military adequate to the task.
Despite America's impressive victories, the war on terror must become a more cooperative endeavor if progress is to continue in the future. After the initial disruption of terrorist operations in Afghanistan, Europe and America must continue to uncover domestic terror networks, arrest their members and cut off their funding. These efforts will be less dramatic than last year's military operations, but no less important. Furthermore, they will require the close cooperation of American and European law-enforcement agencies. In a world where people, money and information cross borders with relative ease, international terrorism can only be checked by the coordinated efforts of all nations.
But beyond all military and law-enforcement projects, a lasting victory in the war on terror will require some reconciliation between the United States, Europe and the Islamic world. Unless they are integrated into the modern world, Muslim countries will remain fertile breeding ground for extremist movements. Long-term progress in the war on terror will require the United States and Europe to engage the countries of the Islamic world and help them achieve the freedom and prosperity that make terrorism less appealing. Such a project will require the close and continuing cooperation of the United States and its European allies.
Given the complex nature of the war on terror, there is very little that the United States or Europe can accomplish independently. The American military is well suited to destroying terrorist camps and toppling hostile governments, but it is incapable of the subtler operations needed to disrupt domestic terror networks. European countries have been instrumental in capturing terrorists and gathering intelligence, but they lack the military strength to destroy terrorist infrastructure and depose terror-supporting governments. The concerted efforts of all Western nations will be required to effect a reconciliation with the Islamic world.
Whatever the claims of Rumsfeld or Le Monde, the comprehensive defeat of terrorism will require both peaceful and forceful initiatives -- any attempt to fight terror through power or politics alone will produce only illusory victories. Given the necessity of both cooperation and confrontation, it is unproductive to deny the legitimacy of either. Europeans cannot expect to defeat terror without occasional recourse to arms, nor can Americans dismiss peaceful anti-terror initiatives as products of European cowardice.
If the United States and Europe are to achieve a meaningful victory in the war on terror, they must cease their name calling and take a more realistic view of the challenge they face. The war on terror demands that a balance be struck between peaceful and forceful initiatives, but this cannot occur until Americans and Europeans recognize the importance of both.
(Alec Solotorovsky is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at asolotorovsky@cavalierdaily.com)
Read More
PATEL: Personal development courses support students beyond the gradebook
By Heer Patel | YesterdayThe University must rethink its approach to education beyond traditional major-specific requirements and mandate personal development courses.
EDITORIAL: Commercialization threatens U.Va.’s educational mission
By Editorial Board | 2 days agoAfter all, measuring the University’s worth in terms of accrued capital, operational efficiency and numerical rankings molds this space into just another cookie-cutter institution.
YOUNIS: Why every U.Va. student should say yes to English
By Ayat Younis | January 9, 2025Every student at the University, regardless of their primary field of study, can professionally and academically benefit from engaging with the English department.
