“I bet they’re asleep in New York, I bet they are asleep all over America…”

Listening to lines from a wartime classic from the 1940″s Casablanca, Boogie says the line I use as my blog title- ironic its about 11pm in New York as I write this. Twelve hours ahead in time on my side of the globe - People are wide awake;

But here the ‘War on Terror’ is part of life. A day to day thing with battles won and lost - mostly victories so far - but still the fight goes on most of it beyond the scope of much of the world to understand- that in this global counterinsurgency versus Al Qeada and it’s allies and its minions that war rages on.

Philippine troops to launch major assault on Abu Sayyaf rebels in … People’s Daily Online
Philippines to dispatch more troops to hunt down Islamic militants Raw Story
US Troops Hunting Down JI Bombers In Southern Philippines All Headline News

In the movie Casablanca, it was meant to awaken a sleepy isolationist centered America to the evil that was NAZI Germany - written prior to pearl harbor attack - the movie spoke in language all its own. Boogie goes on to say , “I bet they are asleep all over America” ,

In the pre-9-11 world five years ago at this time America was at sleep - isolated from the Jihad that much of the rest of the world esp. the middle east faced.

It was awakened by the WTC bomb attacks then slumbered - until the rude awakening of 9-11, Now five years afterwards, after the victories in Afghanistan, and Over the fast ‘blitzkrieg’ victory over Saddam’s government and his army that disappeared - it, America - went back to sleep on Iraq.

It is true to a large extent that the USA see’s itself as back in slumber mode in general- there was a mission accomplished- the formal fight versus the middle east’s largest Army and its worst dictator did happen.

But people feel asleep after that and did not notice the growing insurgency and Act 2 of the War - awakened to the sounds of IED and the insurgency.

It is in mid-sleep - somewhat awake in a nightmare of a Long and complicated war now that troubles many people. It has links and ties to many parts of the World beyond Iraq Afghanistan and elsewhere.

It rages on in small pockets here in Asia from Southern Thailand to small pockets of Indonesia to the campaign in Mindanao to arrests in Australia to rumors of small camps in West Papua or Irian Jaya - all the way back to the fight in the middle east the loast net and web of a underground fight that continues to rumble on…

Many in the West cannot really but fall asleep - thinking when they awake the new day will bring new peace and the sad shapes and images that show the battles of the conflict can be channel surfed away on morning TV.

“I bet they are asleep all over America…”, Boogie said it then so long ago- still today this statement is true.