A letter to the herald I never sent

[Cause I asked my pinko Producer to read it and he raised some very interesting questions. Sigh. Ironic given that he used to work in TVCs and is now Produces VFX for big budget movies. Ah well, a job is a job, eh?]

I do not blame the Government for not taking stronger measures to combat terrorism (Terry Davis, 8 November); I already blame them for not taking the right measures.

Terrorism is not Dad's Army because it is not an army at all -- it is a strategy. A strategy deployed throughout history and the world: from Caligula to Joan of Arc, from the Bombing of Tokyo to the Londing Bombings. You can not defeat a strategy, but you can limit the conditions which make it viable.

In the modern context, terrorism has evolved into decentralised warfare. We no longer fight national armies, but loosely connected webs of non-state actors. The Coalition of the Willing by their inept handling of the Iraqi Occupation has inadvertently created the most advanced terrorist training ground of them all. The Iraq Insurgents spread their battle-evolved methods of unconventional, improvised warfare to other similarly-minded groups, like the London Bombers or the accused Australian terrorist cell. Yet, these terrorist groups do not seek to destroy us from without - rather they use terror to corrode the enemy states from within. Unfortunately, manipulating your enemy so suffer at their own hands is considered to be far more righteous.

This fourth generation of warfare is not won in the conventional military sphere. It is won in the political, social, and moral spheres. In the immediate term we do need to contain the physical threat of terrorism within our borders. But if we are serious about protecting ourselves, then in the long term we must errode the political, social and moral support for terrorism. This is done by proactively promoting ;justice' (for the lack of a better word). Without such a long strategy e there will be always be groups who will turn to terrorism as a effective weapon of war. I see no indication that our Government has any intention to do this. Instead, they use the threat of terrorism as a potent political tool to further their own agenda.

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As a complete aside, I'm really digging Soilwork at the moment. They're like in Flames meets, I dunno, Bon Jovi. They have like super catchy choruses that are SO rocky but so freaking heavy too. Awesome!