crusade

[Arne Herl�v Petersen]

This group should appreciate the power of words more than most.
President Bush chose today to talk about a "crusade against evil". The
word "crusade" is arguably the stupidest word anyone could use in this
context. "Crusade" does not have exactly the same connotations in the
Arab world as in Christian history.
So now we shall have a war of religion. The Northern Alliance in
Afghanistan is puzzled. We know the territory, they say. Why doesn't the
President go to us? We could get Bin Laden with some assistance. But the
US seems to prefer going in with ground forces in this war against one
man. Like using tanks to swat a fly. 
Why not talk to the Northern Alliance? Or let the Israeli SWAT forces,
which have a lot of experience with this kind of thing, do the job?