Smart war

Kevin Drum weighs in on Kerry and Bush's different conceptual frames for combating terrorism, as exemplified by his "I don't think about Osama" remark. I think this goes hand in hand with my comments the other day about the how this is a choice between the sort of indulgent globe-bestriding approach to terrorism of the Bush administration and a quieter, more mature and realistic approach Kerry talked about in the NY Times piece.

The question left over, of course, is how much the rhetoric enabled by this misguided theory of terrorism informs the policy. The political payoff of getting to call the war against al-Qaeda World War III, the Cold War, and World War II all wrapped up in one is considerable, but it forces you to introduce all the necessary props, i.e., conventional wars.