Obama vows to continue the war on terror

Posted By Blake Hounshell Tuesday, January 20, 2009 - 9:46 PM Share

Did you catch this moment from Obama's inaugural speech?

Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred."

I'll bet FP contributors David Edelstein and Ronald Krebs caught it. They argue in "Think Again: Obama's War on Terror":

As president, Obama will be hard-pressed to jettison the war on terror. His administration's foreign policy will look different from that of its predecessor in many respects, but not this one. With Obama in the Oval Office, the United States seems likely to remain in the war on terror's thrall -- to the detriment of the country's priorities, its foreign policy, the tenor of its discourse, and perhaps its people's liberties.

Check it out.

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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MBLEMIEUX

2:07 AM ET

January 21, 2009

Is this not simply an

Is this not simply an acknowledgement that there are people still out there who want to do the U.S. harm, and he does not intend to wait for them do so? While I think the use of the term "war" was an unfortunate choice (by both Bush and now Obama), I do think Obama's rhetoric and actions will be different. Only time will tell, but surely should Obama take a more holistic approach to the Middle East he cannot be accused of simply advancing the policies that were already in place.

STANLEYAM

3:13 PM ET

January 21, 2009

I agree with mblmieux

And to a certain extent, Obama cannot simply and promptly end our three wars: Afghanistan, Iraq and the GWOT - to do so would be irresponsible. Like Obama's proposals for Iraq, the U.S. needs to responsibly de-escalate troop levels in these conflicts when the time is appropriate. Nevertheless, I believe that Obama and his team understand that the use of brute military force cannot alone defeat an ideology or change the hearts and minds of ordinary people. I think they will engage strongly in diplomacy, only turning to military action as an option of last resorts. On that note, they have a chance to use the recent war in Gaza as a catalyst to began a new (and desperately needed) peace process. With a cease fire having been coordinated with Obama's Inauguration, Obama now has the opportunity to initiate some quick and serious diplomatic negotiations between Israel and Gaza. For more on the topic, check out this video.

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