War on Terror

Terrorists, insurgents, mercenaries, gangsters, thugs, hoodlums and regular every day criminals were the enemy in Iraq. I was trained to fight and kill whomever was labeled as such. It didn't matter where they were from or what religion they were. If I was shot at I could shoot back. While in Iraq we detained Syrians, Jordanians, Egyptians and even dealt with the mercenaries from the French Foreign Legion. Over there it was okay to protect myself against gun runners, bomb makers, suicide attackers and the like, but back home that's a no no. As I am no longer employed in the security services I have given up my right to protect myself against gangsters in my own city. There are drive bys, murders, robberies, gang brawls, and other such activities going on where I live but I am no longer involved in trying to stop these type of things from taking place. It is difficult at times because I feel hypersensitive to my surroundings and when danger is lurking I have a desire to seek it. Instead I must go indoors or relocate but the anxiety of knowing something bad is taking place doesn't stop. I am paranoid at times thinking I am a possible target for these hoodlums. I have come to believe that we live in a society where it truly is us against them, but I am neither us nor them anymore. Terrorism is not just something that comes from the Middle East. It is all around me. I see it in government, in the military, in corporations, and in the streets. The United States has lost face in this war and has cracked down on whoever it decides is the terrorist for the day, losing potential allies along the way. This week Suni's, next week Shiites. Perhaps will get the ex Marine tomorrow. I'm trully frightened of this war where anyone can get locked up, shot, or tasered for just about anything if labeled as "them". America has plopped her troops in one region to fight this war when it is a worldwide phenomenon. Terrorists hide in every crook and cranny on this planet, yet they walk free while the United States creates more angry mobs in Afghanistan and Iraq. This war has made me feel less safe than before. Both presidential nominees have it wrong. We don't need to stay in Iraq or Afghanistan, we need to refocus military operations in different parts of the world, putting in emphasis on prevention and rehabilitation. Now that the U.S. has committed itself to being the worlds police it should reexamine what needs to be done and who should be considered an ally and who should be considered a foe. The war on terror is not a war on Arabs or Muslims, it is a war on international criminal networks seeking to cause pain, misery and mayhem to anyone and everyone and should be fought as such.