FAO CORRUPTERBUSTER
Seems to me, that you are basing your opinion of what war actually is on the Hollywood version of events. Contrary to popular belief, Private Ryan did not exist. The Americans were not the only nationality who died on the beaches of Normandy, and they did not win the war single-handed, as Mr Speilberg would have you believe.
At Omaha beach, the Americans were unfortunate to meet the battle-hardened crack 352nd division of the German Army. It was the toughest assignment, and the US Army was on the brink of being pushed back into the water at one point, with the generals ready to pull out. Indeed, had Rommell been in Normandy at the time, and if the Germans had counter-attacked with the armour that they had available, instead of delaying because of their inefficient chain of command, then the whole Overlord operation could have failed.
Fortunately for the free world, this was a "proper" war, where the combatants wore uniforms and could be identified, and you knew who your enemy was. Korea, Vietnam, the Falklands, The Gulf parts 1 & 2, all could be said to be "proper" wars, between identified armies, with soldiers in uniform fighting battles against an enemy they could readily identify.
The "war" on terrorism, however, is a very different thing. Terrorists do not wear uniforms. They live and travel with you, buy you drinks, chat to you on the airplane, discuss the weather with you.
Then they pull a cord underneath their coat whilst yelling something about "Allah" (a God they would force you to worship, should they win their self-declared "war") and they murder you, your wife, and any other passing child in cold blood. They have no qualms about leaving a car bomb in a shopping mall and walking away. Terrorists cannot be defeated. For every one that dies in a suicide mission, four more are in the queue to become martyrs.
Alright, it could be argued that both the Allies and the Axis forces during WW2 bombed civilian populations (innocents?) but this was, after all, a declared war and you knew that the enemy was coming for you and generally the country gave you a gun and the means to shoot back. With terrorists, you don't even know who they are, let alone where they are going to strike, and how. It is the most cowardly form of warfare; but probaby the most effective.
Whether Bush and Blair were "right" the attack Iraq is the subject of great debate in the UK especially, indeed the Government has lost the confidence of the people over the issue of WMD.
The next move in the "war" on terror? Who knows?
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