The United States won World War II hands down. Not to be too proud, but we kicked some Nazi ass. We did the same thing in the Revolutionary War, the first World War, even the Spanish-American War. In fact, when it comes to winning actual wars against actual armies, we run a pretty damn good show.

When it comes to wars on ideas, the picture isn’t as rosy.

Remember the War on Drugs? What’s been accomplished there? It’s created huge government bureaucracies and sent millions of poor people to prison. Thirty years and billions of dollars later, illegal drugs have not been close to eliminated.

Now we’ve got another idea we’re at war with: the War on Terror. The consequences here are not a few drunk freshmen, but the fate of civilization. But so far we’ve responded with the same Soviet-style mentality that’s lost the drug war.

Terror, specifically Islamic Terrorism, is an idea – and even the greatest army in the world cannot defeat an idea. America must confront it intelligently: eliminating not only the potential attacks, but the hate that fuels those attacks. Though Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with Sept. 11, Iraq is today inseparable from the War on Terror.

There’s no doubt that the removal of Saddam was a good thing. But there’s also no mistaking that it’s one step forward and two steps back. Yes, America is confronted with one less dictator, but instead we are confronted by a million more people who hate us, many of whom are ready to give their lives to destroy us.

More locally, Syracuse’s war on underage drinking got a small boost recently with an additional $4,000 in funds for Operation Prevent. Over $20,000 later, hundreds of students have been arrested, one area business has been shut down and alcohol consumption continues among those under 21. Operation Prevent has only moved it from area bars to area fraternities and off-campus houses. We on the ground here at Syracuse University can see every day that Operation Prevent’s goals of stopping underage drinking are far from accomplished.

These problems do have solutions, but they require looking beyond force and paying attention to the source. When you’re up against an intangible, chasing after phantom problems will get you nowhere.

Jared Novack is the online editor of The Daily Orange, where his columns appear regularly. You can e-mail him at Jaredmania@gmail.com

Published on August 31, 2004 at 12:00 pm