Posted on 09/13/2006 8:28:25 AM PDT by oxcart
The victor of the war on terror is far from clear, the historian Bernard Lewis told a Hudson Institute conference.
The British-born professor of Near Eastern studies at Princeton said Monday that he was "more optimistic about the future of our struggle" in the early 1940s — when the French had capitulated to the Germans, when Stalin was Hitler's ally, and when America was still neutral — than he is today.
"Hitler would have won under these conditions," Mr. Lewis said, citing America's inability to clearly define the war on terror and exactly who its enemy is. The professor, whose vision of the future of the Middle East and knowledge of Islam has guided President Bush's foreign policy, also cited as challenges the multilateralism that hamstrings America's ability to fight the war and the strong political opposition to policies designed to defeat the enemy, such as detaining terrorists without trial.
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
Sorry, I admit I didn't read the article before my first post. I saw the same rhetoric that the lefts spews and jumped to the conclusion he was on their side.
I do agree with him about the war on terror and how the left has made this battle even worse and harder than it otherwise would be. And I fully agree with him about the UN.
To rephrase my originally post - "sit down and shut up, lefties, we're trying to win a war for OUR country"
You really need to catch up: Lewis has highlighted the roots of Islamic Fascism and nihilism. He is as others have indicated a guiding mind on trying to reform Middle East before we are overrun with suicidal maniacs.
If it gets Bush/GOP out of power, many prefer that option.
Depends on who wins the Novemeber Elections.
"This is the problem, if UN was deprived of the money for the refugee camps, the parties involved had to find a sustainable solution."
Correct.
At its root, the Mideast conflict is a UN failure.
We sure could use leaders like the Roman emperors Leo III, Constantine V, and Leo IV, who ruled in the eighth century AD. They knew who the enemy was, did what it took to defeat him, and held the Muslims at bay for nearly a century.
If they do us further major damage, THEN you will see our fury unleashed, Just ask the Japanese and the Germans.
Er ... you dont know your betters.
"The question is when they will give up."
The "afterlife" component of Islam gives it a far longer shelf life that either Communism or Nazism.
Question is, can the secular West wait them out and still be able to be characterized as a "free" society?
"The real problem is that we wouldn't win WWII today. Imagine having 400,000 casualties. We lost 2,000 troops in a training exercise for D-Day!"
If Hitler was a left-winger ... likely true.
The 5th column on the left would undermine any effort to fight it. For more on how this was done in the Cold War, see "Treason" by Ann Coulter.
Winning includes the destruction of the pacifist blue zone losers. A little D&D in America may be necessary to develop the attitude necessary for beating the fanatics.
This is spoken as a student of history, not a right wing nut.
See Post #21 - I posted without reading first, my bad
Dr. Lewis is one of the good guys. I share his pessimism. I don't think the west has the will to do what needs to be done.
Also depends on who wins in 08 and beyond.
If we elect democrats, we won't lose, we'll have surrendered.
I am GLAD he said this. His point is that we can't just sit back like the libs and their "Terrorism is just a crime problem" laziness.
He's saying this is a war, and the American people don't seem to believe that. And for me, Bush can't be given all or even most of the blame. He has been out there constantly, and the MSM has been disputing his efforts round the clock.
The West has been around a lot longer than these moslem newbies.
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