Posted by
Rubberduck Crusader on Saturday, February 03, 2007 8:02:12 PM
As a clergyman, and especially as a Franciscan, this is an especially difficult post for me to write; but I’m also a realist. I hate war. I detest war. The pain and suffering caused by war, the loss of life, the loss of loved ones, of futures, of hopes and dreams cannot be calculated on any measurable scale. War is not merely an absence of peace; War is the culmination of all that is evil in the world.
Having said this, it also pains me to say that upon occasion, when events in the world are such that it becomes obvious that there is but one solution for survival of either a nation, or a culture or a civilization, war, as an extreme last resort, is sometimes necessary. It is never a desirable option.
On September 11, 2001, such an event happened, which left the United States, along with the rest of Western Civilization, in a position where but that one solution remained. If we, or any of the other nations which comprise the Western world, hope to survive in the midst of a world where people wish to destroy us simply because we don’t (or won’t) subscribe to their religion, or their form of social conduct, we have only one option. We must defend ourselves. War has become necessary.
And now that this loathsome conclusion has been reached, it begs more questions:
· Who are we fighting?
· What is the “best” way to proceed?
· How do we fight this war?
· What are our ultimate goals?
· How do we know when we have achieved victory?
Since the end of the Second World War, the United States and its allies seem to have forgotten the lessons learned from that great conflict, and why that particular war ended so successfully, while all other since then have received “mixed reviews”. I believe the greatest differences in the way we waged war then, as opposed to now, are:
· We knew who our enemies were, and fought them ruthlessly with the concept of Total War.
· Treason and Sedition were not tolerated, and those guilty were charged and tried.
· Certain civil liberties were curtailed, unfortunately but necessarily, for the duration of the conflict.
· The only goal was Unconditional Surrender of our enemies.
· We knew we had achieved complete victory when we had totally disabled the enemies’ ability to fight, when we controlled all their lands, assets, peoples, communications, and had utterly destroyed their will to proceed.
We have an enemy in this current war, which is somewhat difficult to identify, but not at all difficult to define (and I’m going to make some folks angry here): Islam.
Yes, Islam. Not terrorism, nor Islamo-fascism, nor Islamic extremism, nor any of the other euphemisms one wishes to employ. We are, and have been (since the Middle Ages), and will be, locked in this titanic struggle between Islam and Western Civilization until one, or the other, are destroyed. The two are incompatible; always have been, always will be. To those who don’t believe this, or have never studied the Quran or Hadith or Sunnah, take the time to read Religion of Peace: Islam’s War Against the World by Gregory M. Davis, or view Islam; What the World Needs to Know (DVD). Or take the time, and do a little research and investigation of your own.
We are locked in a religious war, a war not of our making, and not of our choosing. OBL declared war on us in 1998, claiming a religious “jihad”. In 1979, the Ayatollah Khomeini declared “jihad” on the “Great Satan” (US). Thus, we have had war declared on us by both Shia (Iran) and Sunni (Al-Qaeda) entities. It is also great foolishness, by the way, to conclude that only “fanatics” or “extremists” have chosen this path. They, including religious leaders, and even some internationally recognized governments, have declared religious war on us, and we cannot arrogantly choose to ignore that, except at our own peril.
If we are to meet this threat (and we must, if we are to survive as a nation and a civilization), we must fight this war, not as we fought in Vietnam, nor as we are now fighting in Iraq; we must be prepared to fight on the basis of total war, with all that entails. Am I suggesting that we immediately drop nuclear weapons on Mecca and Medina? Heavens, no! But we must take all necessary steps to fight this war to its only acceptable end; total victory.
To that end, we must:
· Allow our military forces to fight, without tying their hands behind their backs.
· Advise our allies (or what’s left of them) exactly what our intentions are, and attempt to secure their support.
· Prosecute and jail, if necessary, any person or entity (read Los Angeles and New York Times) that seeks to divulge, by any means, sensitive national security information.
· Prosecute and jail, if necessary, any person or entity that calls for or works toward the downfall or destruction of the United States or it's government.
· Prepare the American people for the necessary sacrifices which will be required.
· Place the United States on a “war footing”. (see Frank Gaffney’s book by the same name)
As I began this post, I mentioned how detestable I find war, and how ugly and painful I find war as a solution to human conflict. However, just the thought that the United States could be defeated, our freedoms lost, and further destruction (a la 9/11) to our home is more than I can bear. With faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and trust in the American people’s wisdom to do what needs to be done in times of great national stress, I believe we can, and will, eventually achieve total victory in this miserable war which has been declared against us.