Are we at war?

My current patriotic loyalties lie between two countries: my homeland and my residence. My homeland is the USA, where I was born and where I will retire some day. My residence is currently in Pakistan, where I teach and have spent the last 2.5 years.

Both of these countries seem to be in a state of turmoil.

The USA is 'besieged' by terrorism. The (so-called) War on Terrorism began officially on September 18, 2001 and it seems as if the country has been at war ever since then. This war is unusual in my mind because it is a war against a type of warfare rather than a specific country or an ideology that can be associated with specific countries (ex. communism). Will there be an end to the use of terrorism, guerrilla warfare, or MAD doctrine? No. So, the war will continue ad infinitum. It's sad but I see the USA at war for many more years to come - simply because there is no way to defeat a 'type of warfare.'

Pakistan has seen many more acts of terrorism than the USA. It has had a unfortunate geographic position next to Afghanistan's mountain network and a political position in between the USA and Afghanistan. The terrorist violence in Pakistan is dangerous not due to its abundance but due to its unpredictability - leading Newsweek to name a recent article Pakistan: The Most Dangerous for the latter reason. The unpredictability of rival ethnic groups native to Pakistan along with external groups harbored by the code of honor of hospitality towards guests is dangerous. Pakistan is a melting pot of ideologies and ethnicities except the components are heating up rather than melting together. The most recent development of this lack of stability is the government's declaration of a state of emergency.

President Musharraf declared a "state of emergency" that allows government actions in violation of the constitution (see BBC's Timeline: Emergency Rule). The leader is taking his country into a precarious area of martial law because says, "inaction at this moment is suicide for Pakistan." He thinks the country will unravel without the guiding hands of the police and military. This is not exactly a display of confidence in democracy, but this 'democratic' leader came to power by military coup and has been elected twice to office (but always in the role of Chief of Army Staff). Will this state of emergency help bring unity to Pakistan or break it into shards of groups fighting for geopolitical pieces?

Are we at war?

Yes, it's not a traditional war with clear lines between enemy and ally, or between combatants and non-combatants in both of these countries. Everyone in this war is wearing civilian clothes and carrying around mistrust and prejudices as tightly as soldiers would hold their rifles.

Fear is the only true enemy, born of ignorance and the parent of anger and hate.

-Edward Albert