Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

We are engaged in a global war
Toronto Sun ^ | August 21, 2003 | Salim Mansur

Posted on 08/22/2003 2:44:25 PM PDT by Clive

LONDON, Ont. -- The terrorist bombings during the past two weeks in Jakarta, Baghdad and Jerusalem, and the increasingly visible activity of al-Qaida and Taliban fanatics in Afghanistan, are indicators of one undeniable fact: we are being engaged in a global war of an entirely new type for which the past offers little guidance.

We might say that five summers ago this month, when terrorists engaged in bombing American embassies in east Africa, we should have awakened to this fact. Or, we might say, the first bombing of the World Trade Center in New York five years earlier, in 1993, should have been our wake-up call.

We can go back further, for this war has been long in incubation and has crept upon us even as our politicians, their advisers and others were unaware and unprepared to comprehend the mutation of religious fundamentalism in the Arab-Muslim world into a variant of fascism with global ambitions.

All previous wars, conventional or unconventional, were fought between or among states. The enemy was geographically located within clearly demarcated boundaries, and even when conflicts spilled over international frontiers to involve several states, as in the war in Vietnam, belligerents negotiated and wars eventually were terminated by states involved.

Today's war against international terrorism has none of the features of the inter-state wars of the past.

The enemy may have a face - Osama bin Laden's face on posters serves the minimal purpose of identifying the enemy - but it is hydra-headed and not located in any one state. It does not possess authority in any state. It recognizes no diplomatic niceties and conventions. It is not bound by any rules of engagement. It is contemptuous of international law and the values of our open society.

Moreover, this enemy exploits our political sensibilities and mocks our democratic virtues that recognize limits of what is permissible and appropriate even when we are engaged in defending fundamental rights enshrined in institutions - such as the United Nations - of our making.

In the bombing of the UN offices in Baghdad on Tuesday, the terrorists sent us an unmistakable message of their ambition. They want to drive us out of lands they claim for themselves, and purge them of our civilization's values.

Let us be clear about who "we" are. "We" are a people who share together, irrespective of our faiths and ethnicities, the values at the core of our modern civilization, global in appeal, that make for a society based on the rule of law, a government based on consent of the governed and the protection of individual rights and freedoms.

There are some lessons to be learned from the years 1919-45.

The German Nazis and Italian fascists appealed to a mythologized past, manipulated the real misery and fears of common people, sowed widely their racist doctrine of anti-Semitism, railed against injustices of democracy and built totalitarian dictatorships before launching wars against the values of the modern world.

When all of this was happening in full glare of public knowledge, governments in Britain and France during the interwar years led by parties of the liberal-left, and intellectuals of the same persuasion, engaged in a policy of conciliating the enemies of democracy. This policy, known as appeasement, continued right to the moment when Adolf Hitler was no longer an imminent threat, in our contemporary parlance, but ready to devour all of Europe.

Liberal democracies are always slow in waking up to perils such as those we are now facing.

The members of the lib-left political class, certain of their own virtues and ideological convictions - built on the notion of an inexorable progress of humankind while remaining contemptuous of the idea of evil as real - are generally preoccupied in faulting the vices of their own societies as impediments in the grand march of human history.

Hence, they fail to see the wolves when they emerge from the dark ready to pounce upon them and the rest of us.

We are unmistakably in a global war, and the sooner we realize this, the more effective we can be in defeating an enemy more insidious than any in the past.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: clashofcivilizations; globalwar; wot
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-27 next last

1 posted on 08/22/2003 2:44:25 PM PDT by Clive
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: RansomOttawa; Great Dane; headsonpikes; Brian Allen; Canadian Outrage; Former Proud Canadian; ...
-
2 posted on 08/22/2003 2:44:52 PM PDT by Clive
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Clive
bump...
3 posted on 08/22/2003 2:45:59 PM PDT by danneskjold
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Clive
We are unmistakably in a global war, and the sooner we realize this, the more effective we can be in defeating an enemy more insidious than any in the past.

Nice article. Coming from a man with an Arab-sounding name, I take some solace it it. However, there is one more rung up the ladder of truth. Fail to grasp that last rung, and you'll stay stuck, with the problem-objective in defillade. So I'll rephrase: "We are unmistakably in a global war; the enemy is Islam, and the sooner we realize this, the more effective we can be in defeating an enemy more insidious than any in the past."

4 posted on 08/22/2003 2:56:51 PM PDT by Migraine (my grain is pretty straight today)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Clive; Eaker; habs4ever; Ditter; shaggy eel; dorben; Son of Rooster; Tennessee_Bob; Cyrano; ...
we are being engaged in a global war of an entirely new type for which the past offers little guidance.

Revelation 6:3-4 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, "Come!" Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other. To him was given a large sword.

5 posted on 08/22/2003 3:01:31 PM PDT by Terriergal ("multipass!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Migraine
Oooh. Well I wouldn't say it's *only* Islam. Christianity (true Christianity) is the only thing which grants true human freedom. There are *many* ideologies that set themselves against this goal. Islam just happens to be the most vociferous right now.
6 posted on 08/22/2003 3:03:37 PM PDT by Terriergal ("multipass!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Migraine; Clive
"the enemy is Islam"

I think you have to say the enemy is Islamic Facism. Don't forget in a lot of countries the people who are being terrorized are Muslims themselves. Especially in Africa these lunatics are terrorising Christians and Muslims, like all those poor women they want to execute for having children out of wedlock. I would agree that the religion itself has some very questionable features and is notably oppressive to women, but the Facists who want to impose Sharia law, and loonies like the Taliban literal iconoclasts are at a whole 'nother level from just Islam.

BTW, great post Clive, this man is speaking the truth, this should be forced reading for every single registered Democrat in the US.
7 posted on 08/22/2003 3:06:27 PM PDT by jocon307
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Terriergal
I am no military expert and do not claim to be one, but I want to propose a new approach to fighting the Terrorists in Iraq, There are many bad areas in Baghdad, Tikrit and elsewhere. When our intelligence locates dangerous areas that house these bad guys and their weapons I suggest we attempt to cordon off the area with troops and announce that we plan to level this area. Stop people as they leave and check them out. Then demolish all the homes and buildings. It would be nice if some weapons caches are blown up.

After we destroy some of these bad areas and upset the lives of those that aren't arrested, then maybe if we have selected the right neighborhoods we will have made a point. We might encourage more support from Iraqis that want to protect their assets.

We need some new approaches to fight these animals and perhaps others can refine and develop this idea.

8 posted on 08/22/2003 3:08:42 PM PDT by I'mAllRightJack
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Terriergal
There is an Arabic saying that can be taken either as a curse or a blessing:
"May you live in interesting times...."
I do truly belive they have arrived.
I'm spending a bit more time at the range these days, and seeing to needful things.My "OH S#*T !" kit is updated and stocked.
I made my peace with God long ago, but I find myself praying with a more open heart.

I will not go quietly into the dark....
9 posted on 08/22/2003 3:09:12 PM PDT by cavtrooper21 (The only thing criminals will get from me is a .45 bullet or cold steel... Their choice.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Clive
Very insightful article.
10 posted on 08/22/2003 3:12:02 PM PDT by colorado tanker (Iron Horse)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Terriergal
Christianity (true Christianity) is the only thing which grants true human freedom.

Well, a lot of Christians (self-professed), for example European "Christian social democrat" types and American protestant religious leader types, made de facto common cause with Saddam Hussein - and thus against freedom - by arguing that no finger should be lifted to oust he and his lineage from absolute power for all time over Iraq.

A lot of people who said this seemed to think that they were operating from Christian principles - of pacifism, of setting a good example, turning the other cheek, "Just War", etc.

Now, you can say, I suppose, that those people aren't representative of "true Christianity", and that's the explanation. Fair enough. But then the fact remains that there are a sizable number of (non-"true") Christians who also stand against freedom. If freedom is to be defended, it is important to recognize all its enemies.

11 posted on 08/22/2003 3:17:37 PM PDT by Dr. Frank fan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Clive
This article explains clearly what we're up against and how the left typically reacts to national security threats.
12 posted on 08/22/2003 3:17:44 PM PDT by Peach (The Clintons have pardoned more terrorists than they ever captured or killed.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Migraine
the enemy is Islam

Assuming for charity that you mean Islamofascism, recognition of this would indeed be a start. But it's also important to keep in mind that the enemy counts among its allies various other utopians, for example communist/socialist types. Such people have made common cause with the enemies of the U.S./West due to their mutual need to see its power kept in check and its spread halted (so that utopia may arise). They are part of the problem too, and if we do not recognize that we will fail to find a solution.

13 posted on 08/22/2003 3:21:10 PM PDT by Dr. Frank fan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Migraine; Clive; TurkishOpinion
There is ample evidence from places as far flung as Singapore and Chechnya that there is a pan-islamic drive to create a global caliphate. Just take a look at the number of countries where there is moslem initiated terror or violence...Thailand, India, China, Russia, numerous African countries, the ME and our own.

islam calls for the creation of an islamic state wherever they find themselves through war or treaty. The people already there will be given the choice of convert or die...the same choice turkey gave Armenians when the last caliphate held power.

There are posters on this forum from those muslim parts of the world who swear that they are our loyal allies.

14 posted on 08/22/2003 3:24:03 PM PDT by wtc911
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Dr. Frank
Where in the world is islam allied with communism? Chechnya? China? islam is at war with the world.
15 posted on 08/22/2003 3:25:49 PM PDT by wtc911
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: jocon307
I think you have to say the enemy is Islamic Facism.

No, the enemy is islam. Just read the koran and see what it tells its followers to do. Look at the societies and values it creates. No, the enemy is islam.

16 posted on 08/22/2003 3:26:00 PM PDT by Lady Heron
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: Clive
The enemy...is hydra-headed and not located in any one state. It does not possess authority in any state.

Yes, actually, it does. But it does so covertly, and it's two states short of where it was on the 10th of September, 2001. That is, missed by a lot of people who have lost sight of it amidst all the anti-Bush foaming, the point of the whole affair.

17 posted on 08/22/2003 3:33:09 PM PDT by Billthedrill
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wtc911
Where in the world is islam allied with communism?

Well, I could just point out that many "Islamic" terror groups are infused with all sorts of Marxist and "liberationist" drivel, and call it a day.

But what I am mostly trying to say is closer to the reverse of your question: it's not that "islam is allied with communism" as much as that communists/socialists ally themselves with (radical) Islam, by acting as its apologists and urging us not to go on the offense against it. Surely you are not unaware of this. The alliance is not overt or anything, but certainly on the face of it Islamic radicals have few better friends in the West than the likes of Noam Chomsky....

The alliance is completely rational and totally unsurprising given that both groups of people have utopian, near-apocalyptic visions of what they want the future to be like, both of which require that the U.S. culture not succeed or flourish. Of course the two groups' respective visions are completely different, which would cause problems if they actually succeeded in bringing down the U.S. culture, but this is a marriage of convenience.

What I am trying to say is that it would be a somewhat hollow victory if we defeated this enemy of our civilization (radical Islam) without recognizing and confronting the people within our civilization who instinctively sided with that enemy. There are many such people.

18 posted on 08/22/2003 3:45:21 PM PDT by Dr. Frank fan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Clive
While everything is more complicated now, the international terrorist problem has an analogy in history. The Pirates.

300 years ago Piracy on the seas was just this kind of international problem. When Pirates were attacked in one location they would (roach-like) scuttle off in another direction.

In the end the problem was solved by killing them off. This took the cooperation of all sea-faring nations as there were no superpowers back then.

Terrorists must be hunted from country to country. They must be killed without mercy, and not allowed to surrender.

Any country that harbors them must be crushed.

It took about 100 years to get rid of the Pirates.

19 posted on 08/22/2003 3:52:14 PM PDT by LibKill (Obligatory Tagline)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wtc911
P.S. Chechnya and China aren't quite the good counterexamples as, I now realize, you probably meant them to be. Neither Russia nor China can properly be described as "communist" anymore. And at the same time, it's fairly safe to say that the most die-hard/idealistic of the utopian communists who do remain in, say, Russia (at least the few of them who are under 60), are as we speak leading the movement to urge the Russian administration to stop fighting against the brave, unstoppable, pious Chechnyan rebels.

Utopians seem to instinctively side with other utopians against common threats. A liberal democracy flourishing in the here and now, in some state or another, is a threat to utopians. (For one thing because it renders them unnecessary and proves their visions childish and spurious.)

20 posted on 08/22/2003 3:52:30 PM PDT by Dr. Frank fan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-27 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson