The U.S. Congress on Monday called on President George W. Bush to present a clear and comprehensive definition of terrorism as soon as possible.

Most members of Congress, especially Democrats, asked Bush to give a clear definition of the U.S. military operations in the campaign against terrorism and to set a date for its end.

Large-scale protests are currently taking place inside the U.S. against the spread of militarism in the so-called campaign against terrorism.

Bush and his advisors hope to spread the war to other parts of the world after the end of military operations in Afghanistan. U.S. forces have been deployed in the Philippines, Georgia and Yemen under the pretext of fighting against Al-Qaeda. Pentagon commanders have also formulated plans to attack Iraq and Somalia.

These facts indicate that Bush does not intend to end the war against other countries in the near future. He is also calling on the American people to prepare for decades of war.

Thus, all political and economic activities in the United States would be overshadowed by the war against terrorism and as a result the U.S. military budget would be dramatically increased.

Democrats are concerned that the warmongering policies of Bush will not only create hurdles in the way of U.S. economic recovery but will also further damage the national interests of their own country.

Undoubtedly, if the U.S. continues its war around the world, animosity towards the U.S. will increase, thus encouraging revenge attacks against its citizens.

At the same time, critics of Bush's expansionist foreign policy maintain that before announcing any victory, the goals and reasons for the action should be defined in order to evaluate the military achievements.

Meanwhile, Senate majority leader Tom Daschle, a Democrat and a serious critic of the expansion of the so-called campaign against terrorism, holds the view that before the U.S. enters a war in countries like Yemen and the Philippines, "We should know about our goals, the number of troops needed, how long the war would last, and with what criteria our victory would be determined."

Therefore, on the threshold of the Congressional by-elections slated for November 2002, the Democrats are trying to define the limits of the war against terrorism, especially in the view of the fact that ever since the overthrow of the Taleban three months ago, U.S. troops have not been able to capture Osama bin Laden.

This shows that the U.S. army has been incapable of achieving the main objective of its war in Afghanistan, the arrest of the Al-Qaeda leader.