President George W. Bush made a tactical error in declaring a “global war on terrorism.” He would have done better to frame the response as a reply to Al Qaeda, which had declared war on the US. The global war on terror was misinterpreted to justify a wide variety of actions, including the misguided and expensive Iraq War, which damaged America’s image.
小布什总统宣布的“全球反恐战争”其实是个战术错误。他本可以将其限定为“向对美国宣战的基地组织复仇”并取得更加良好的效果。结果全球反恐战争被错误解读来为一系列行为开脱——包括导向错误，耗费昂贵而且最终毁了美国形象的伊拉克战争。此外许多穆斯林又把这个词汇误读为向伊斯兰教宣战，这并非美国的本意，但却正中本·拉登下怀，使其得以在各大穆斯林国家抹黑美国。