The U.S. government has created a new and extensive plan to combat global terrorism.
The plan, which has been approved by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, but has not officially been released, would essentially make it easier for the United States to act aggressively against terrorist threats in countries outside of Afghanistan and Iraq.
One provision would allow the government to engage in military action in countries without getting consent from the U.S. ambassador of that country.
Other parts of the plans cover topics such as intelligence gathering and details on how the military can track terrorist movements in different countries all over the world.
It's slightly worrisome that the man who approved this new plan was Rumsfeld, someone who's been routinely criticized for the way he has handled the war in Iraq. There also have been calls for his resignation by several retired military generals in the past few weeks.
For many people, having Rumsfeld's stamp on any new plan to fight terrorism will make it less credible.
That's not to say there shouldn't be new strategies and ways of thinking about how to prevent another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. But a plan that makes it easier to do whatever we want in any country we think is a terrorist threat should be scrutinized.
The government has spent billions of dollars in military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and now wants to expand those operations to other countries.
Will we be given substantial proof that a certain country is involved with terrorism before we bomb or invade it?
Any plan developed to fight terrorism needs to have some focus on where we are going.
Are we targeting certain groups like al-Qaida?
Or just going anywhere we feel threatened by, say, Iran?
No one wants a repeat of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, but continually using it as an excuse to give the government more power in conducting more military operations in more countries isn't going to make us safer.
We aren't much better off because of the war in Iraq and more global conflict isn't going to protect Americans.
We aren't making any headway against terrorism or making this a safer country.
Any new plan needs to have more focus and develop where we are going and who we are going after more concretely.
It's impossible to go after every possible terrorist threat everywhere.
What we need is a clear strategy and not more military expansion all over the world.
