'War on Terror' Approach a Big Mistake: UK Official

The notion of a "war on terror" is ill-conceived and may have done more harm than good in the fight against extremism, according to the British foreign secretary. There is no "unified transnational enemy," and the phrase coined by President Bush led officials to believe that the West could "kill its way out of its problems," writes David Miliband in an op-ed piece for the Guardian.

In his critique of the Bush approach, Miliband insists that terrorism is a tactic, not an ideology. "The foundation for solidarity between peoples and nations should be based not on who we are against, but on the idea of who we are and the values we share," he writes. A protégé of Tony Blair often cited as a possible future prime minister, Miliband will deliver a speech on terrorism in Mumbai today.
(More David Miliband stories.)