There’s a good editorial in today’s Journal by Thomas Bray that expresses some concerns that I’ve had since the undeclared “war” on terrorism began. I’m not as concerned, however, with his main point. He was disconcerted when the President said in the SOTU that “time is not on our side,” and believes that it contradicts his September 20th speech, in which he stated that the terrorists’ ideologies will be consigned to the unmarked grave of history.

I don’t see the contradiction. It’s possible to believe in ultimate inevitable victory, while still being concerned about near-term tactical attacks. The president wasn’t saying that we may lose the war if we are not expeditious–he was simply saying that, in doing so, we may suffer greater casualties than need be, and greater casualties than September 11, if we don’t continue to put pressure on all sources of terrorism.

However, I, like Mr. Bray, have been, and continue to be, disquieted by the seeming lack of any criteria by which we will know that the war is over, and by our continuing refusal to formally declare it. This is particularly troubling in the face of the continued erosion of our civil liberties that is being justified in its name.