NOW THAT THE WAR HAS BEGUN, we can only hope that it will end quickly with as little blood shed as possible. But I'm not talking about the invasion of Iraq. I'm talking about the war Bush declared many months ago: "The War on Terrorism." The nations and organizations targeted include every corner of the globe. 3 countries on the "Axis of Evil." 7 countries labeled by the State Department as "state sponsors of international terrorism." And finally, there are a variety of nebulous global organizations, religious uprisings and Marxist revolutions that the US government has decided to corner, from proxy wars in the Philippines, Israel and Columbia to the rounding up of thousands of foreigners and dissidents in the US for questioning and indefinite detention.

It is not possible to declare war on a tactic or a type of weapon if you expect the war to ever end. There will always be someone willing to break America's decrees, and by telling 10 countries "you're next" they now have nothing to loose. Some of these countries, like Sudan, desperately seek diplomacy with the US, but that is not what Bush and his handlers are really interested in, even if it will address his stated concerns. He is using this as a strategy to legalize the crushing of every independent country, popular revolution and Islamic movement he wants.

It used to be said that "we have nothing to fear but fear itself." Now, fear is a crop Bush cultivates well to silence outcry over his disastrous economic policies and close ties to corporate scandals. War is terror, especially when declared as a pre-emptive doctrine targeting an unidentifiable enemy in large cities. The message to the Iraqis is, "don't resist, we promise to liberate you even if we have to kill you all one by one to do it." It's like burning a village to save it.

While it is not surprising that the majority of New Yorkers didn't become Muslim extremists in response to 9-11, we should also not be deluded into thinking that dropping thousands of bombs on people will persuade them that occupation by the US is preferable to their current government. Both regimes will gladly exterminate you if you don't do as you're told or are in the way.

Genuine questioning is not allowed. With fear on his side, Bush doesn't need evidence or imminent threats to find justification. If chemical weapons still exist in Iraq, there is no reason why they wouldn't be used in the next few days as US soldiers mass outside Baghdad. And without a gas attack, Bush has no excuse to conquer Iraq in the first place, since Hussein was telling the truth to the UN. Iraq is one of many very repressive regimes around the world that has been armed by the US, and many of them are still US allies against "terrorism." If this war is a personal vendetta against Hussein for allegedly plotting the assassination of Bush Senior, all this killing is over the stupidest of egos.

No American wants to believe that their own government is pathologically corrupt, but there are only two explanations left for the war on Iraq. The less disturbing one is that America is addicted to oil and intends to seize Iraq's vast wealth of this strategic resource no matter what the cost. The only other explanation is that Bush, a fundamentalist born-again Christian, sees this as a crusade to bring about the End Times as prophesized in the Book of Revelations. Holy war needs no reason.

Military empires from the Romans to the Russians are rarely defeated on the battlefield: they are toppled by their own excess, paranoia, and nepotism. America will cease to exist unless the principles of democracy, civil rights, and international law are somehow brought to the White House.