Some Wars...

Some wars need to be fought.

Some wars are a moral imperative.

Some wars need to be fought, even if a quick, victorious conclusion isn't likely.

Some wars.

Some, but not all.

Here are a few examples of wars that should be fought:

The war on poverty: The war on poverty, also known as The Great Society, is largely deemed a failure in this country. I disagree. Lyndon Johnson's policies led to greater access to education and health care for poor people in this country, and while the eradication of poverty is something we have not yet accomplished in this, making the attempt to do so is not only noble, but appropriate for a country such as this to do.

Fighting to end poverty is a moral imperative. It must be done.

The War on Drugs: Many people, mostly old (and young) stoners say that the so-called War on Drugs is only about feeding the prison system and persecuting the poor, etc... I disagree. Drugs are a poison in our cities, and in our suburbs, and in the smallest of our towns (yes, there are drug problems in our small towns... even if you don't see them). Fighting the trafficking of drugs is important. If anything, I think that our national efforts to combat drug trafficking should be re-doubled.

Confession: I am biased. Losing a sister to an overdose will do that for you.

The War on Terror: This, too, is a fight that must be fought. This nation must do all that i can to combat terrorism. All terrorism... but we our fight against terrorism is something that should be conducted with good sense... and not in stupid, ineffectual spasms.

One of the first things that should be addressed is the fact that terrorism, like poverty, and drug trafficking/use/abuse, will always be with us.

I'll say it again for the idiots that think it will ever go away: Terrorism will always be with us.

It may not ALWAYS be Islamic terrorists, it may not always be Irish terrorists (forgot about them, did you?); it may not always be American terrorists, but there will always be terrorists.

Having acknowledged that there will always be terrorism, we need to take a good look at how to combat it. One thing that we should note right off the bat is that you CANNOT dismantle a group of organized terrorists with military power. Nope. Can't do it. This is no slap at our Special Forces, or our conventional armed forces, but it is true. Trying to destroy terrorism with an army is like trying to kill a housefly with a 30 pound sledge hammer.

Please don't misunderstand, here. When we identify a terrorist... anywhere in the world, we should be about the business of killing him/her and any of their associates. I said killing. Not Arresting.

Combating terrorism must be done with surgical tools... tools best wielded by Intelligence and law enforcement agencies.

Unfortunately, fighting terrorism has become a political bailiwick of gargantuan proportions, and as you know, politicians only care about the next election cycle. This means short-sighted goals that end up making for nice headlines and bumps in the polls when they go well, but they really don't mean much.

Fighting terrorism is important. It must be done. We must use our political tools as well as other assets to fight it. Here is a start: We need to quit with our knee-jerk support of countries or regimes that are oppressive. We need to get at terrorists, much like you need to get at a Dandelion problem in your yard... at it's roots. In order to truly fight terrorism, we have to go after the people that fund it's operations... and my friends, that means we have to quit humping the legs of the Saudis.

There. It's out.

If we really wanted to use military force for an anti-terrorist end, we should have jumped an airborne division into Riyadh. That's who is funding most Islamic terror, you know.

Fighting the wars that must be fought should be priorities for this nation. Sadly, they are not.

Fighting poverty is done with a shrug of the shoulders, some federal or state funding (usually to little, and not well-used), and a silent tsk-tsking about "those people". In modern America, people have the notion that most poor people are poor because they deserve to be poor and that they like it that way. For shame.

Fighting drug trafficking is rather half-assed... if we wanted to put the hurt on drugs, we should defoliate the Cocoa producing parts of Columbia and other countries that produce that shit.

Instead of doing these things... we get the war in Iraq, which has as much to do with terrorism as it has to do with ping-pong.

What a waste.