Victor Davis Hanson: Critical Mass, We are reaching a showdown in this global war.

NRO ^ | December 12, 2003 | Victor Davis Hanson

[Tolik]

Victor Davis Hanson moral clarity huge BUMP  [please freepmail me if you want or don't want to be pinged to Victor Davis Hanson articles]

If you want to bookmark his articles discussed at FR: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/k-victordavishanson/browse

His NRO archive: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson-archive.asp

[Peach]

A most excellent article.

[Enterprise]

"The reason that states are not rushing to install imams as rulers or open their borders to al Qaeda training camps is not that they like democracy, but rather that they are just now beginning to fear the dire consequences of such action."

Not quite ready to meet their 72 virgins I guess.

[RAY]

The war on terror is a war of wills, and Victor Davis Hanson makes great points.

However, we must stay the course and be very through in cleaning up every remnant of these terrorist cells and their feeder systems. It appears that it will be a never ending task.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

[Reo]

Excellent article, but Al Gore = George McClellan? Al Gore & Howard Dean = George McGovern. Wesley Clark = George McClellan. When Clark had the momentary lead, I was looking forward to a replay of the 1864 campaign.

[MattinNJ]

Brilliant.

[Valin]

Victor nails it again.
But before we start planning victory parades let's remember this war is going to be going on for a long while(decades?)
This is why the upcoming election ids so important. President Bush for all his faults, missteps MUST(imo) be reelected! The thought of Howrd the duck Dean(or any of the other moral midgets) moving into 1600 Pennsylvania ave. is enought to send me screaming into the night

[ladtx]

This is why the upcoming election ids so important.

This coming election is probably the most important election in the last 100 years. If one of the current crop of Democrats is elected we will begin to see the decline of the United States as a respected world power and possibly a decline into the mediocrity of Europe. It is imperative the George Bush be re-elected, there is no alternative.

[carton253]

In the last two years our enemies have lacked not the will but the power to defeat us; we in contrast had more than enough power but not enough will.

Benjamin Netanyahu was asked to speak to a Congressional committee right after 9/11. He ended his speech by saying, The terrorists do not lack the will to destroy us. They lack the means. We have the means to destroy them, but we lack the will. Then Bibi went on to say that this war came down to a race to see if the terrorists got the means before we got the will.

[arfan]

One of the best articles I've read in a very long time concerning our current historical context...

Thank you, Tolik, for posting this....

[larryjohnson]

First time read of Hanson and he lost me on his specialty, Greek military history; but that was then and this is now and his conclusions are encouraging.

[Gargantua]

Oderint dum metuant.

[Tolik]

That is one of the difficulties that face us: our society has no patience, we want all and now. Americans are willing to work hard, but want to see the rewards instantly. Islamists (and other potential enemies, Chinese) are willing to wait, bleed slowly, but wait for the right time to strike. As I like to quote somebody smart (I wish I remember who he was): it will take long time and lots of effort for us to win in the war on terror, but we can loose this war really-really fast.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

Brilliant.

[taxcontrol]

Likewise, a struggle now exists for the heart and minds of Americans, to be liberal or conservative.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

Excellent article.

[Ancesthntr]

VDH once again hits the nail on the head: the chief factor that will determine the outcome of this war is the will of the US to fight, sometimes not by the Marquis de Queensbury rules, until our enemies are defeated. It is plain that Bush will continue to do so, but he can only do so if he is reelected. Despite all of the mistakes that he's made in other areas (Medicare expansion, signing the hideous CFR bill into law, his stance on the AWB, the assault on our civil rights under the Patriot Act), this area is the most critical. Unless we win this war, all the rest doesn't matter - because someday we'll wake up to one or more atomized US cities. If/when we win, all of the other mistakes can be fixed (and, if we are fortunate, they can be fixed while we are winning.

I point of curiosity: why is VDH writing columns and not advising the President on a daily basis?

[boris]

This is utter nonsense. We are engaged in the beginning of a multiple-decade war against an unconventional opponent using asymmetrical means.

Indeed, the case can be made that we have already lost--I have made it repeatedly here. We invaded the wrong country, insisting on "nation building", while our covert enemies obtain aid and comfort in Syria, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, etc. We have failed to secure our borders, take out the terrorist leaders and their supporters, or even make serious attempts to eliminate sleeper cells and moles on our territory.

Our chief of "Homeland (In)security" advocates amnesty for illegal aliens. We continue to issue visas to citizens of known terrorist nations; continue to educate them in our colleges and universities.

We are in deep denial. Eventually the reality will confront us again--when the Sears Tower comes down, or the Golden Gate bridge is demolished.

--Boris