Person Of The Year

It is that time of year again, when Time magazine comes out with their "Person Of The Year" issue.

The potential choices are many, but few are truly strong picks, in my opinion.

Were the choice mine, I'd have to put a terrorist on the cover, representing the ongoing and ever present struggle against terrorism in the world.

This is not to glorify terrorism. It is simply in realization of the fact that terrorism played such a central role in 2004.

• The presidential elections were significantly affected by the fear of terrorism, and the "war on terror".
  


• The Madrid train bombing played a major role in Spain's pull out from the Coalition of the Willing.
  


• The ongoing struggles in Iraq against insurgents has been complicated by the role of external terrorist forces, and the photos and videos of hostages being beheaded is probably the iconic image of the year.
  


• The Palestinian and Israeli confrontation veered off the road, victim of a roadmap to peace that led nowhere, giving rise to further terrorist aggressions from both sides.
  


• Osama bin Laden continues to elude capture, and to lead al-Qaida, as the terrorist organization shows its ability to evolve, fragment and multiply even while nations around the world try, unsuccessfully, to hunt them down.
  


• The 9/11 commission released their report after extraordinary public and private hearings, leading to their recommendations, and today's signing of a historic intelligence overhaul bill.
  


• While 2001 was the year American's were brutally made aware of the nature of terrorism, and 2002 was the year the U.S. attacked the terrorist strongholds in Afghanistan, and 2003 was the year of the Iraqi invasion and overthrow of Saddam Hussein, 2004 has been the year the terrorists have fought back and become an ongoing issue. They continue to kill an average of 2 to 3 American soldiers a day in Iraq. They are the backdrop that affects policy making at home and abroad. We worry that they may get hold of nuclear weapons or biological agents capable of making September 11, 2001 a minor event when compared to the hundreds of thousands who could die if such weapons are used in an attack in the future.

In short, the impact of terrorists on our world in 2004 has been more significant than any other potential candidate, or candidates, for the title of "Person Of The Year".

So that's my pick. It will be interesting to see how the Time magazine editorial board decide. The issue comes out Sunday.