--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This too is a jihad. Yet we Americans…" description: "\"This too is a jihad. Yet we Americans find ourselves in the dangerous position of going to war not against a state but against a phantom. The jihad we ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/chris-hedges-2131_battle_this-too-is-a-jihad-yet-we-americans-fin_99945.png" --- # This too is a jihad. Yet we Americans find ourselves in… ![“This too is a jihad. Yet we Americans find ourselves in the dangerous position of going to war not against a state but against a phantom. The jihad we have embarked upon is targeting an elusive and protean enemy. The battle we have begun is never-ending. But it may be too late to wind back the…” quote by Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/chris-hedges-2131_battle_this-too-is-a-jihad-yet-we-americans-fin_99945.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/chris-hedges-2131_battle_this-too-is-a-jihad-yet-we-americans-fin_99945.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bdb/chris-hedges-2131_battle_this-too-is-a-jihad-yet-we-americans-fin_99945.png) > “This too is a jihad. Yet we Americans find ourselves in the dangerous position of going to war not against a state but against a phantom. The jihad we have embarked upon is targeting an elusive and protean enemy. The battle we have begun is never-ending. But it may be too late to wind back the heady rhetoric. We have embarked on a campaign as quixotic as the one mounted to destroy us.” [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author likens America’s war on terrorism to an endless, ill‑defined jihad against an invisible enemy, warning that rhetoric may already be too entrenched to reverse. **In simple terms:** War against a vague, ever‑changing foe is futile and self‑perpetuating. Key Takeaway Endless conflict fuels vague enemies. Themes war terrorism political rhetoric enemy perception Mood cautionary critical Type political commentary prophetic warning When to use this quote - policy debates on counter‑terrorism - media framing of threats - military interventions Key Concepts enemy construction myth of the phantom foe Practical Applications - re‑evaluate threat definitions - focus on diplomatic solutions Questions to Reflect On - What criteria should define a legitimate enemy? - How can societies avoid perpetual war narratives? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify complex geopolitical realities and ignore legitimate security concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battle/) [Campaigns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/campaigns/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Going to war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-to-war/) [Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/israel/) [Jihad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jihad/) [Never ending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never-ending/) [Phantoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phantoms/) [Quixotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quixotic/) [Rhetoric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rhetoric/) [Too late](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-late/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) ## Related quotes > [Going to war against Iran - whether one calls such a move 'surgical' or 'total' - would be an extremely serious undertaking; with worldwide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-barr/going-to-war-against-iran-whether-one-calls-such-a-move-surgical-or/) [Bob Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-barr/) > [Right now my field must tackle describing a world where falling in love, going to war and filling out tax forms looks the same;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quinn-norton/right-now-my-field-must-tackle-describing-a-world-where-falling-in/) Quinn Norton > [Every country should be tired of going to war. 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That never did appeal to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/there-s-no-doubt-that-usually-a-president-s-public-image-is-enhanced/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [There is one hell of a difference between fighting in the ring and going to war in Vietnam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-is-one-hell-of-a-difference-between-fighting-in-the-ring-and/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [Going to war accelerated the move from indirect to direct rule. Almost any state that makes war finds that it cannot pay for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-tilly/going-to-war-accelerated-the-move-from-indirect-to-direct-rule-almost/) [Charles Tilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-tilly/) > [President Bush said this Iraq situation looks like 'the rerun of a bad movie.' 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