Maybe this is some sort of weird Rovian jujitsu to instill fear in voters, but now we have a general heading out and saying publicly that our terrorism strategy is a failure, while the Reverend Moon's Washington Times covers the speech:

Terrorist growth overtakes U.S. efforts

Thirty new terrorist organizations have emerged since the September 11, 2001, attacks, outpacing U.S. efforts to crush the threat, said Brig. Gen. Robert L. Caslen, the Pentagon's deputy director for the war on terrorism.

"We are not killing them faster than they are being created," Gen. Caslen told a gathering at the Woodrow Wilson Center yesterday, warning that the war could take decades to resolve.

...Groups such as al Qaeda ... are constantly trying to increase their capabilities, and in some cases are outstripping the United States, Gen. Caslen said.

"We in the Pentagon are behind our adversaries in the use of communications -- either to recruit or train," he said. Compared with historical jihads, or enduring Muslim wars, this one "is accelerated because of its capability in communications." ...

What?! All those Karen Hughes photo ops in Muslim countries aren't working?

Oh, it gets worse. Apparently, four and a half years after 9/11, the different parts of our government are only about to adopt the same frigging approach to fighting terrorism, whatever the hell it's going to be:

...Gen. Caslen said that two years ago the Department of Defense had not settled on a clear definition of the nature of the war. Moreover, because each government department had its own perspective, "we all had different strategies," he said.

...Gen. Caslen said the government and military are working to integrate their strategies and plans, and that a national strategic presidential directive and homeland security presidential directive are being drafted to face the terrorist threat.

Leading the war on terrorism is Special Operations Command based in Tampa, Fla. The command is writing a military global campaign strategy with a specific plan to deal with each terrorist organization.

Gen. Caslen said a governmentwide plan to assign tasks and responsibilities to all U.S. government departments and the military also is being created.

Good Lord.

Ah, but there is good news:

The Defense Department now has defined the nature of the war, he said. The enemy, he said, is "a transnational movement of extremist organizations, networks and individuals that use violence and terrorism as a means to promote their end."

Brilliant. Slap a gold star on your foreheads, geniuses.