The “War on Terror” has nothing to do with terrorism. It’s a tactic that helps facilitate a larger, more intrusive, more corrupt government. Like the wars on crime, drugs and poverty, by definition its a war that can never be won.
I like to ask neo-cons why they think we’re fighting in Iraq. Most will answer that we’re there to make the world a safer place, reduce the potential for terrorism in the US, bring democracy to the region, or some similar crap.
My response is something along the lines of:
Do you think that goal has been worth killing more than a million Iraqis? Doesn’t that make us more like Saddam than some kind of saviour?
OK, let’s say Iran does develop a nuclear weapon.
Why should we attack and kill the Iranian people for doing something that other countries have done (Israel, Pakistan, North Korea, South Africa, etc)? If they do develop a weapon, I’m sure a large part of their motivation is self-defense (from, say, other countries that threaten to bomb them).