Few have given as much thought as Barack Obama to the pitfalls of waging open-ended war on an abstract noun. On top of its impracticalities – how can you ever declare victory? – fighting a nebulous enemy exacts an insidious toll. Mr Obama built much of his presidential appeal on such a critique – the global war on terror was eroding America’s legal rights at home and its moral capital abroad. The term “GWOT” was purged the moment he took over from George W Bush. In his pledge last week to “degrade and ultimately destroy” the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, known as Isis, he has travelled almost full circle. It is precisely because Mr Obama is a reluctant warrior that his legacy will be enduring.
对基于一个抽象名词发动的无限制战争会遇到的困难，没有几个人考虑得像巴拉克•奥巴马(Barack Obama)那样多。除了实际操作上的问题（怎样才算打赢了战争），与不明确的敌人作战还会带来潜在的负面影响。奥巴马作为总统的吸引力在很大程度上建立在这样一种评论上：manbetx app苹果 反恐战争正在侵蚀美国国内的合法权利及其在国外的道德资本。从小布什(George W Bush)手中接过总统大权后，奥巴马立刻抛弃了“manbetx app苹果 反恐战争”一词。但不久前，他发誓要“削弱并最终摧毁”伊拉克和黎凡特伊斯兰国(ISIS)。就这样，在兜了一大圈后，他几乎又回到了原点。之所以这么说，完全是因为奥巴马是一位不情愿的斗士，而他留下的东西将是持久的。