"When Devils Walk the Earth"-(A MUST READ article on how to deal with Terrorism)

Note: Received this from an Army friend.... Pay particular attention to item 13!

HELLO TO ALL:
This essay is extracted from Ralph Peters' new book, "When Devils Walk the Earth." It is a must-read. The man is prescient. If you focus on nothing else, peruse the last point; Number 25. I added the "bold" and red color to points I thought ought to receive major emphasis.......Ed
(Ed is Major General, USA, Ret, Ed Browne)

2. Identify the type of terrorists you face, and know your enemy as well as you possibly can. Although tactics may be similar, strategies for dealing with practical vs. apocalyptic terrorists can differ widely. Practical terrorists may have legitimate grievances that deserve consideration, although their methods cannot be tolerated. Apocalyptic terrorists, no matter their rhetoric, seek your destruction and must be killed to the last man. The apt metaphor is cancer: you cannot hope for success if you only cut out part of the tumor. For the apocalyptic terrorist, evading your efforts can easily be turned into a public triumph. Our bloodiest successes will create far fewer terrorists and sympathizers than our failures.

3. Do not be afraid to be powerful. Cold War-era gambits of proportionate response and dialog may have some utility in dealing with practical terrorists, but they are counter-productive in dealing with apocalyptic terrorists. Our great strengths are wealth and raw power. When we fail to bring those strengths to bear, we contribute to our own defeat. For a superpower to think small, which has been our habit across the last decade, at least, is self-defeating folly. Our responses to terrorist acts should make the world gasp!

4. Speak bluntly. Euphemisms are interpreted as weakness by our enemies and mislead the American people. Speak of killing terrorists and destroying their organizations. Timid speech leads to timid actions. Explain when necessary, but do not apologize. Expressions of regret are never seen as a mark of decency by terrorists or their supporters, but only as a sign that our will is faltering. Blame the terrorists as the root cause whenever operations have unintended negative consequences. Never go on the rhetorical defensive.

5. Concentrate on winning the propaganda war where it is winnable. Focus on keeping or enhancing the support from allies and well-disposed clients, but do not waste an inordinate amount of effort trying to win unwinnable hearts and minds. Convince hostile populations through victory.

6. Do not be drawn into a public dialog with terrorists, especially not with apocalyptic terrorists. You cannot win. You legitimize the terrorists by addressing them even through a third medium, and their extravagant claims will resound more successfully on their own home ground than anything you can say. Ignore absurd accusations, and never let the enemy's claims slow or sidetrack you. The terrorist wants you to react, and your best means of unbalancing him and his plan is to ignore his accusations.

7. Avoid planning creep. Within our vast bureaucratic system, too many voices compete for attention and innumerable agendas, often selfish and personal - intrude on any attempt to act decisively. Focus on the basic mission: the destruction of the terrorists with all the moral, intellectual and practical rigor you can bring to bear. All other issues, from future nation building, to alliance consensus, to humanitarian concerns are secondary.

8. Maintain resolve. Especially in the Middle East and Central Asia, experts and diplomats will always present you with a multitude of good reasons for doing nothing, or for doing too little (or for doing exactly the wrong thing). Fight as hard as you can within the system to prevent diplomats from gaining influence over the strategic campaign. Although their intentions are often good, our diplomats and their obsolete strategic views are the terrorist's unwitting allies and diplomats are extremely jealous of military success and military authority in their region (where their expertise is never as deep or subtle as they believe it to be). Beyond the problem with our diplomats, the broader forces of bureaucratic entropy are an internal threat. The counter-terrorist campaign must be not only resolute, but constantly self-rejuvenating in ideas, techniques, military and inter-agency combinations, and sheer energy. Old hands must be stimulated constantly by new ideas.

9. When in doubt, hit harder than you think necessary. Success will be forgiven. Even the best-intentioned failure will not. When military force is used against terrorist networks, it should be used with such power that it stuns even our allies. We must get over our cowardice in means. While small-scale raids and other knifepoint operations are useful against individual targets, broader operations should be overwhelming. Of course, targeting limitations may inhibit some efforts but whenever possible, maximum force should be used in simultaneous operations at the very beginning of a campaign. Do not hesitate to supplement initial target lists with extensive bombing attacks on nothing if they can increase the initial psychological impact. Demonstrate power whenever you can. Show; don't tell!

10. Whenever legal conditions permit, kill terrorists on the spot (do not give them a chance to surrender, if you can help it). Contrary to academic wisdom, the surest way to make a martyr of a terrorist is to capture, convict and imprison him, leading to endless efforts by sympathizers to stage kidnappings, hijacking and other events intended to liberate the imprisoned terrorist(s). This is war, not law enforcement.

11. Never listen to those who warn that ferocity on our part reduces us to the level of the terrorists. That is the argument of the campus, not of the battlefield, and it insults America's service members and the American people. Historically, we have proven, time after time, that we can do a tough, dirty job for our country without any damage to our nation's moral fabric (Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not interfere with American democracy, values or behavior).

12. Spare and protect innocent civilians whenever possible, but: do not let the prospect of civilian casualties interfere with ultimate mission accomplishment. This is a fight to protect the American people, and we must do so whatever the cost, or the price in American lives may be devastating. In a choice between them, and us the choice is always us.

13. Do not allow the terrorists to hide behind religion. Apocalyptic terrorists cite religion as a justification for attacking us; in turn, we cannot let them hide behind religious holidays, taboos, strictures or even sacred terrain. We must establish a consistent reputation for relentless pursuit and destruction of those who kill our citizens. Until we do this, our hesitation will continue to strengthen our enemy's ranks and his resolve.

14. Do not allow third parties to broker a peace, a truce, or any pause in operations. One of the most difficult challenges in fighting terrorism on a global scale is the drag produced by nervous allies. We must be single-minded. The best thing we can do for our allies in the long-term is to be so resolute and so strong that they value their alliance with us all the more. We must recognize the innate strength of our position and stop allowing regional leaders with counterproductive local agendas to subdue or dilute our efforts.

15. Don't flinch. If an operation goes awry and friendly casualties are unexpectedly high, immediately bolster morale and the military's image by striking back swiftly in a manner that inflicts the maximum possible number of casualties on the enemy and his supporters. Hit back as graphically as possible, to impress upon the local and regional players that you weren't badly hurt or deterred in the least.

16. Do not worry about alienating already-hostile populations. --(ED ADDED, "OR ANTI-WAR SENATORS ASPIRING TO BECOME PRESIDENT OF OUR GREAT NATION.")

17. Whenever possible, humiliate your enemy in the eyes of his own people. Do not try to use reasonable arguments against him. Shame him publicly, in any way you can. Create doubt where you cannot excite support. Most apocalyptic terrorists, especially, come from cultures of male vanity. Disgrace them at every opportunity. Done successfully, this both degrades them in the eyes of their followers and supporters, and provokes the terrorist to respond, increasing his vulnerability.

18. If the terrorists hide, strike what they hold dear, using clandestine means and, whenever possible, foreign agents to provoke them to break cover and react. Do not be squeamish. Your enemy is not. Subtlety is not superpower strength but the raw power to do that, which is necessary, is our great advantage. We forget that, while the world may happily chide or accuse us-or complain of our inhumanity-no one can stop us if we maintain our strength of will. Much of the world will complain no matter what we do. Hatred of America is the default position of failed individuals and failing states around the world, in every civilization, and there is nothing we can do to change their minds. We refuse to understand how much of humanity will find excuses for evil, so long as the evil strikes those who are more successful than the apologists themselves. This is as true of American academics, whose eagerness to declare our military efforts a failure is unflagging, or European clerics, who still cannot forgive America's magnanimity at the end of World War II, as it is of unemployed Egyptians or Pakistanis. The psychologically marginalized are at least as dangerous as the physically deprived.

19. Do not allow the terrorists sanctuary in any country, at any time, under any circumstances. Counter-terrorist operations must, above all, be relentless. This does not necessarily mean that military operations will be constantly underway sometimes it will be surveillance efforts, or deception plans, or operations by other agencies. But the overall effort must never pause for breath. We must be faster, more resolute, more resourceful and, ultimately, even more uncompromising than our enemies.

20. Never declare victory. Announce successes and milestones. But never give the terrorists a chance to embarrass you after a public pronouncement that the war is over.

21. Impress upon the minds of terrorists and potential terrorists everywhere, and upon the populations and governments inclined to support them, that American retaliation will be powerful and uncompromising. You will never deter fanatics, but you can frighten those who might support, harbor or attempt to use terrorists for their own ends. Our basic task in the world today is to restore a sense of American power, capabilities and resolve. We must be hard, or we will be struck wherever we are soft. It is folly for charity to precede victory. First win, then unclench your fist.

22. Do everything possible to make terrorists and their active supporters live in terror themselves. Turn the tide psychologically and practically. While this will not deter hard-core apocalyptic terrorists, it will dissipate their energies as they try to defend themselves and fear will deter many less-committed supporters of terror. Do not be distracted by the baggage of the term assassination. This is a war. The enemy, whether a hijacker or a financier, violates the laws of war by his refusal to wear a uniform and by purposely targeting civilians. He is by definition a war criminal. On our soil, he is either a spy or a saboteur, and not entitled to the protections of the U.S. Constitution. Those who abet terrorists must grow afraid to turn out the lights to go to sleep.

23. Never accept the consensus of the Washington intelligentsia, which looks backward to past failures, not forward to future successes.

24. In dealing with Islamic apocalyptic terrorists, remember that their most cherished symbols are fewer and far more vulnerable than are the West's. Ultimately, no potential target can be regarded as off-limits when the United States is threatened with mass casualties. Worry less about offending foreign sensibilities and more about protecting Americans.

25. Do not look for answers in recent history, which is still unclear and subject to personal emotion. Begin with the study of the classical world, specifically Rome, which is the nearest model to the present-day United States. Mild with subject peoples, to whom they brought the rule of ethical law, the Romans in their rise and at their apogee were implacable with their enemies. The utter destruction of Carthage brought centuries of local peace, while the later empire's attempts to appease barbarians consistently failed!

Redrock,

This is extraordinary! Thanks to the General. I've looked at the usual internet bookstores, but cannot find the book entitled "When Devils Walk the Earth". Any ideas on where this can be found?

This should be read first thing every morning and last thing every night. Then go ahead and read (if you really must) the media's account of things.

This is almost apocolyptic in it's direction.

I sure hope President Bush has received a copy - perhaps the retired General wouldn't mind taking a crack at Sec. of State?

All excellent points.

I know some people think such tactics foolhardy or barbaric, but history does show otherwise.

I'm a bit of an idealist in that I'd really like to believe there are people of Islamic faiths that are good people. I'm also a realist. Too many people try to temper my feelings of outrage toward terrorists, and the religion that brought them forth. They tell me of the good works our soldiers are doing for the people of Iraq, and how welcomed it is. That's all well and good. I'd expect nothing less from our great nation. What I need to hear, and see, is what good the Iraqis are doing for our troops.

With the recent deaths of our soldiers, civilian kidnappings, the barbaric and savage beheading of Nick Berg, and the lack of Iraqi support for our efforts that I so much have to see, I believe it is time to employ new tactics.

Re-deploy all coalition troops to the Iraqi parameter borders. Prior to re-deployment, warn all civilian contractors to leave the cities. With airdropped pamphlets and a 24-hour relentless barrage of radio and television transmissions, demand the Iraqi people surrender all insurgents, terrorists, and enemies of our efforts within 7 days, or face our wrath. Tell them that for every civilian contractor of coalition soldier killed during the seven-day moratorium, a city or town will be completely and utterly destroyed. And do it swiftly, and without further notice if killings occur.

Warn Iraq’s neighbors not to see our troops bordering their countries as easy targets. Warn those nations that any causality suffered at the hands of anyone within their borders will bring the complete annihilation of their military. Make those countries want to place their armies behind our soldiers as protection to our troops, and their own survival.

Make the Iraqi people do what they should be doing already. Accept no compromise on the demands. If they so value death that they will protect criminals, give them their desire.

Only allow American troops to resume their efforts to rebuild Iraq when, and if the Iraqi people have met our demands. If they do not perform as a civilized people, obliterate the country and cancel any plans of rebuilding it.

No one should confuse the "liberation" of Iraq with the liberation of European nations during WWII. Those nations were democratic in nature before German occupation. Those nations embraced their liberation as it restored what they had lost. Iraq has no such history.

Freedom, especially democracy must be desired before it can be had.

I'm going to go even further with my thoughts on this matter.

Unfortunate comparisons have been made between the liberation of European countries from WWII German occupation forces and the current "liberation" of Iraq. The liberation of European countries restored self-government to peoples that had it prior to German occupation. They knew, and loved what was being restored. Once liberated, these people joined in every aspect of our efforts to defeat the enemy. We no longer had to seek German collaborators. The people we liberated surrendered them to us.

The same cannot be said of Iraq. Efforts to defeat the enemy are absent the general population. Even the efforts of Iraqi police and defense forces might be absent if not for the financial gain offered by our government.

The Iraqis have never known democracy, never sought democracy, and may not be inclined toward democracy. The desire to self govern must come from within the leaders of a nation. In Islamic countries this will only be achieved by way of leading clerics giving their blessings to such a concept. The clerics are comparable in stature to the Emperor of Japan, the religious figurehead of the Japanese Empire. When Hirohito subjugated himself to our insistence for a democratic post war Japan, the Japanese population followed without resistance.

Without such backing from Islamic clerics, the religious figureheads of Iraq, our efforts to instill democratic values upon the Iraqi population are destined to fail.

If any comparision between WWII efforts and present efforts is to be made, here it is. We had defeated the Japanes military, but the subjugation could not take place until the religous leader of Japan surrendered. It was not the Japanese Prime Minister or military Chief of Staff that addressed the nation of Japan and informed them of the surrender. It was their god, Emperor Hirohito himself.

This means one more thing. We must set our sights squarely upon Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. He must surrender, or die.

You are so right about "chopping off the head of the snake". The problem is identifying the head. WWII Japan had such a head in their emperor, who was regarded a god. Islam presents a headless beast, if we look for a single flesh and blood figurehead, it is absent. The closest we can find are the clerics and Imams. The real head of Islam is the Koran (Qur’an). Pure and simple logistics tell me destroying every copy of this work is impossible.

I’ve tried racking my head for ways to counter the teachings of this work. I can find but one answer. Eradicate the religion. Every other solution comes up short as long as the Islamic clerics teach hatred.

Back to this post one more time. Something has been bothering me deeply regarding the "enemy combatants" held at Guantanamo Bay.

Read item 10 again:

10. Whenever legal conditions permit, kill terrorists on the spot (do not give them a chance to surrender, if you can help it). Contrary to academic wisdom, the surest way to make a martyr of a terrorist is to capture, convict and imprison him, leading to endless efforts by sympathizers to stage kidnappings, hijacking and other events intended to liberate the imprisoned terrorist(s). This is war, not law enforcement.

During the earliest days of WWII, Germany landed two teams of terrorists on our shores. Their mission was to destroy some factories and instill terror upon our population. All were apprehended before they could carry out any of their plans. Because they were not uniformed soldiers at the time of capture, FDR proclaimed them "enemy combatants" and instructed the military to carry out military tribunals immediately.

All were found guilty, and all but two were given death sentences. FDR ordered the sentences carried out immediately. The condemned were executed the day following sentencing. As this was military law, all efforts asking for Supreme Court intervention fell upon deaf ears.

When asked his reasons for such quick justice, and especially his insistence for the maximum allowable sentences, FDR said he wanted to deliver a strong message to other Germans that may harbor thoughts similar to these terrorists. Germany cancelled all similar efforts.

That was then. Guantanamo Bay is now. Some of these combatants have been held two and a half years. Where is the justice? I now near complaints of prisoner mistreatments are coming out of Guantanamo Bay. Well, that sure as hell wouldn't be the case had justice been done. It's Bush's call, and I hope he make the decision soon.

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