Draining The Swamp

DRAINING THE SWAMP....Last week John Edwards proposed the creation of an international Counterterrorism and Intelligence Treaty Organization (CITO). Henry Farrell has some minor objections, but nonetheless likes the idea because:

it clearly puts the emphasis of combatting international terrorism where it should be — on policing and domestic intelligence. Metaphorically and intellectually muddled plans to drain the fever swamp of the Arab Street etc have not only proved wrong-headed, but catastrophic.

And we must not cede the wingnuts the monopoly of the "draining the swamp" idea. Tackling the root causes or predisposing factors of terrorism — political grievances, wacko readings of religious traditions, culture shock, unemployment and underdevelopment — is commonsense and essential. It should not be discarded just because the neocon idea of how to drain a swamp is to bomb it.