War on Terrorism

In the Seattle Times editorial of Oct 24th ("The case for Kerry") they write, "Terror is a tactic, not an opponent. Al-Qaida is an opponent; a war with al-Qaida makes sense, because al-Qaida attacked us. A "war on terror" is not clear, either as to its target or duration."

Bravo! Finally the term "war on terror" is being questioned. President Bush would want us to think it is just a matter of "speaking plain" when he and his administration coined the term. However, this is really a "battle against terrorism", and it is an important distinction for Americans being asked to fight it to understand. Unfortunately, terrorism and terrorist tactics have been a part of human history for thousands of years, and won't simply be defeated in a "war".

As for the so called "war on terror", I must ask, shouldn't that mean Halloween should be banned too?