Imagining a War’s End

On May 23, 2013, American president, Barack Obama, delivered a signal speech on the American “War on Terror.”  Recognizing the ambiguity that this war has always possessed, Obama admitted early on in his speech: “America is at a crossroads. We must define the nature and scope of this struggle, or else it will define us. We have to be mindful of James Madison’s warning that no nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare. Neither I nor any president can promise the total defeat of terror.”  With that said, the president spent the next several minutes detailing threats posed to the nation and its people for over three decades in the context of the decline of the Cold war, the rise of new technology, and the general animosity particular groups/movements have toward the United States.

Much of the action the U.S. has taken during the period since 9/11 has fallen under an act passed by Congress on September 14, 2001 called the Authorization to Use Military Force.  While not a formal declaration of war, the act clearly produced a culture of war, as Obama acknowledged: “I look forward to engaging Congress and the American people in efforts to refine and ultimately repeal the AUMF’s mandate,” he said. “And I will not sign laws designed to expand this mandate further. Our systematic effort to dismantle terrorist organizations must continue. But this war, like all wars, must end. That’s what history advises. It’s what our democracy demands.” (more…)