They called it The Great War a century ago. Some even called it The War to End All Wars, as if any war could provide such a miracle. We were reminded of that much-abused nickname back in the 1990s, when some in the commentariat were describing The End of History after the fall of the Soviet Union. Mankind, you are educated but unlearned.
Then came the Second World War, and by then people had decided The War to End All Wars was as foolish a moniker as it turned out to be. They decided, during WWII, to call the last war World War One. A man named Churchill was even talking about World War III before World War II was complete.
Since then, we've had the Cold War, which turned hot on several occasions. Including a couple times in Asia. But don't forget the proxy wars all over the globe for years before the USSR finally wilted to its deserved demise.
Then, one sunny September morn 15 years ago, The Long War began.
Imagine that. It's been 15 years. There are kids in high school who weren't born by Sept. 11, 2001. Even seniors in high school were just toddlers. The big wheel spins, people forget.
Fifteen years. Hitler was only in power in Germany for 12, and only at war with the rest of the world for about five and a half. If you clock America's involvement in Vietnam from Kennedy's escalation to the fall of Saigon, that war lasted about a dozen years (for us). Technically, the Korean War is still going, but the armies (mostly) quit firing on one another in 1953.
So this war has been going on a long time. America's longest war, by most measures.
The first counterattack by Americans happened on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The country watched what it thought was an accident at the World Trade Center in New York, then understood exactly what was happening as they watched the morning news shows--and another plane plowed into the twin towers. Then somebody said there was an explosion at the Pentagon. And some aboard a flight over Shanksville, Pa., decided their hijackers should be taken out, no matter what the cost to the passengers. ("Let's roll.")
It's hard to fight a unilateral war. That is, when only one side is fighting it. As it was doing on Sept. 10, 2001. The United States had decided that other attacks on its mainland were just police matters, and the perps could be rounded up, read their rights, and given proper lawyers. But there was no ignoring that the nation was at war as the twin towers smoked, then fell.
This wasn't the first time Americans had been surprised to find themselves in a war long after we were in it. Remember that Second World War? It had been under way in Europe and the Pacific for years before Dec. 7, 1941, and the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Indeed, for the better part of a year before Pearl Harbor made our involvement official, this country had been waging an undeclared naval war with Nazi Germany in the North Atlantic to protect our convoys to Britain during her finest hour.
Even before that, even before this country was one, Americans were learning a conflict can begin long before its purpose and significance emerge. The American Revolution began at Lexington and Concord more than a year before the Continental Congress recognized and endorsed its cause: American independence.
To see a war in perspective, much like viewing a great mountain, a certain distance is required. And with great struggles, that distance may be measured in years, even decades.
But parallels with the Second World War can be overdone. American isolationism may have ended Dec. 7, 1941, as the country united--but only for a time.
The isolationist impulse, and folly, is alive and frighteningly well once again as this Long War continues into its second decade. For there are still those who see no need to bring this war to the enemy; they would retreat to some safe, mythical Fortress America. And their numbers grow whenever the news from far-away dispatches grows grim. And the country divides.
Yet for a war as long and twisting and full of contention as this one, it is remarkable how clearly its course was charted within days of the attacks that finally awakened America to the peril she faced:
"Americans are asking: How will we fight and win this war? We will direct every resource at our command--every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war--to the disruption and to the defeat of the global terror network . . . . Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign unlike any other we have ever seen. . . .
"Our nation has been put on notice: We're not immune from attack. We will take defensive measures against terrorism to protect Americans . . . . These measures are essential. The only way to defeat terrorism as a threat to our way of life is to stop it, eliminate it, and destroy it where it grows . . . . We will come together to improve air safety, to dramatically expand the number of air marshals on domestic flights, and take new measures to prevent hijacking . . . . We will come together to give law enforcement the additional tools it needs to track down terror here at home. We will come together to strengthen our intelligence capabilities to know the plans of terrorists before they act and to find them before they strike . . . . Great harm has been done to us. We have suffered great loss. And in our grief and anger we have found our mission and our moment . . . . We will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail."
That was George W. Bush addressing a joint session of Congress and the nation on Sept. 20, 2001, even as he was being bitterly criticized by his more reflexive critics. For all his faults, he was proven right that this war won't be short. Or easy.
Who could have foretold that George W. Bush, scarcely one of our more articulate presidents, would prove such a prophet? Since he spoke those words 15 years ago, many a raucous debate has obscured how Americans have come together and all that has been achieved in this Long War, even if the enemy has broken through on sad occasion--from Boston to Benghazi.
Now the nation is in the process of picking the next president, and the river of politics has overflowed its banks again and won't recede until after the election, as always. And foreign policy is once again front and center as the two major candidates insult each other.
If anything good has happened in the last week on the subject, it's that one of the candidates has decided that he'll dispatch ISIS all right. But he isn't saying how. Which is a change. A welcome change.
The current occupant of the White House and commander-in-chief of its armed forces has this irritating habit of announcing his intentions to the world--and to America's enemies. Even going as far as giving deadlines for victory. And announcing the number of troops, and what kinds of troops, and their mission. The Republican nominee--showing common sense at last--says quite correctly that that's foolish. Keep the enemy guessing. His Democratic opponent sounds too much like her former boss on the subject.
This war should be called The Long War, or at least America's Long War. But announcing where our troops are, what they're doing, and how they're doing it alerts our enemies. Loose lips sink ships--and get people killed. Too much chatter is the surest way to make this Long War even longer.
Editorial on 09/11/2016