Phase Three? The enemy is growing desperate

NRO ^ | 8/21/2003 | Victor Davis Hanson

[txrangerette]

A tremendous read - thanks, UT!

[ReleaseTheHounds]

Excellent and cogent post, Utah Girl. VDH boils most of the critical issues down to their roots and provides a vision of what needs to happen.

Yes, there are huge complicating factors that he doesn't address (European and UN weasels and the politics of fear being promoted by the Bush-haters here at home) but all of these will respond (and fall into line) with forceful and consistent leadership in the next phase in the war on terror by President Bush if prosecuted with strength and consistency.

Maybe this is too optimistic, and I know it falls short of the "full-out war on Mohammadism" (sp?) advanced by some fellow Freepers, but I think it is the right strategy. It's time to put others in charge of the "nation building" within Iraq and Afghanistan and return our soldiers to the task of the war on terrorism -- they do that so well. And time to take the fight to Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia as too much recent evidence shows them to be aiding and abetting these latest terrorist attacks.

Just my 2 cents!

[Let's Roll]

"The ease of postbellum occupation is in proportion to the level of punishment inflicted on the enemy."

I knew our dedication to sparing the civilian population would result in a mind set of, "big deal the Americans aren't so tough," especially in a people who had been brutalized for decades.

[B-bone]

That's what I love about Free Republic.

I contentedly look forward to a periodic dose of VDH. I diligently work between his offerings, trying to keep ahead of my kids tuition payments. Now someone points me to another great mind -- Ralph Peters.

Another great read.

How do you expect me to get any work done??

[dts32041]

Now all you have to do is start reading their books, and you will really be hooked.

For VDH I would recommend Carnage and Cultrual and An Autumn of War.

For Ralph Peters Red Army and War in 2020, for fiction, his works under the Pen Name Owen Parry and Beyond Terror, non fiction.

You are welcome

[B-bone]

Thanks for the recommendations. I've read most of VDH's books. I've been looking for a new series of both nonfiction and fiction.

It looks like I'll have to go stimulate the economy this evening after work.

[My2Cents]

Hear hear! The Democrat Party is a collection of seditious girly-men who would jeopardize the security of this country and our allies, and would further destablize the Middle East, to win an election. I think most Americans know this (but perhaps wouldn't phrase it so strongly).

There are three entities that strongly oppose our policy in Iraq -- the French government, al Qaeda, and the Democrat Party (and its media enablers). Howard Dean is basing his campaign on promises to undo Pres. Bush's two tax cuts, and his foreign policy might as well be "Bring back Saddam, and tell him we're sorry." And he's the leading Democrat.

[My2Cents]

Correct. Thank you for pointing that out. I'm reading Michael Ledeen's book, THE WAR AGAINST THE TERROR MASTERS, and he spells it out clearly there: the road to peace in Israel isn't to settle with the "Palestinians," but is through changing the nature of the region, and undercutting support for the Palestinian terror groups that they're getting from neighoring Arab states.

[My2Cents]

I hope you're right about the rules changing in our approach to the PA. I've seen a lot of grief that FReepers have heaped on Powell for his "outreach" to Arafat yesterday. My sense of that is that the Bush Administration has done a good job of isolating Arafat, of marginalizing him. By asking Arafat to turn over more of the PA security apparatus to Abbas, this will further marginalize Arafat, and enhance Abbas' standing. We've been playing Abbas against Arafat, and so far it's made progress. Since Arafat will not give up his security authority to Abbas, Powell's appeal was less to Arafat and more toward international opinion. Frankly, I think Powell was brilliant to make the statement he did. He was so brilliant, a lot of conservative supporters of Israel didn't get it.

It's impossible to see all of what the Administration is doing in the Middle East, because it's like defusing a very complex timebomb. But I trust that they know what they're doing, and that they have Israel's interests at the forefront.

[wtc911]

There are over twenty bloody conflicts in today's world that have one thing in common....islam. The field ranges from Africa to Asia to SE Asia to the Indian sub-continent to bombings in EU and the attacks on 911.

There is a concerted push to create a global caliphate. Leaders as diverse as Putin and the PM of Singapore have displayed proof of this. The last caliphate was turkey's ottoman empire. These peaceful people gave Armenians a choice...convert to islam or die. To their credit hundreds of thousands rejected islam's choice.

turkey is still a muslim country. They betrayed us this spring to curry favor with the EU, looking for acceptance into that club. If the EU lats them in it will spell the beginning of the end for them as a culture.

Cheney himself told reporters over a year ago that the war against islamist terror will not be over in his lifetime or the lifetime of anyone else in the room.

Welcome to the new, blood soaked reality...brought to you courtesy of islam.

[Centurion2000]

Either the Middle East will be a breeding ground for terrorists and rogue regimes that threaten sober nations and peoples the world over, from Manhattan to Jerusalem, or it will desist and join the rest of the world.

There will be a third option as well. If the islamics ever detonate a nuclear device on our soil there will be an immediate escalation into nuclear retaliation.

Mecca won't like it.

[RLK]

There are over twenty bloody conflicts in today's world that have one thing in common....islam. The field ranges from Africa to Asia to SE Asia to the Indian sub-continent to bombings in EU and the attacks on 911.

There is a concerted push to create a global caliphate. Leaders as diverse as Putin and the PM of Singapore have displayed proof of this. The last caliphate was turkey's ottoman empire. These peaceful people gave Armenians a choice...convert to islam or die. To their credit hundreds of thousands rejected islam's choice.

turkey is still a muslim country. They betrayed us this spring to curry favor with the EU, looking for acceptance into that club. If the EU lats them in it will spell the beginning of the end for them as a culture.

Cheney himself told reporters over a year ago that the war against islamist terror will not be over in his lifetime or the lifetime of anyone else in the room.

Welcome to the new, blood soaked reality...brought to you courtesy of islam.

-------------------------

Congratulations. Somebody else has finally got it.

We are in a world war that has nothing to do with Saddam Hussein. Our side is being led by another sequential member of a presidential dynasty whose last member to do anything of real substance was Prescott Bush back in the age of the big woods. At this point the family and leadership is characteristic of the later French kings who dabbled with life as protected eternal children or teenagers. In his silly proclamation of Mohammedism being a religion of peace, Bush has allowed the enemy to employ successful guerrila tactics that will destroy us.

The action against Saddam Hussein is nothing but a little kid president playing soldier while civilization is losing the overall real conflict.

[jocon307]

Thanks for posting this, I was going to do the same, but I searched and found your post, good job!

I thought the most important sentance in the piece was:

"In the euphoria of the three-week victory many of us rightly still worried that under the new restrictive protocols of postmodern warfare the age-old laws of conflict were for a time being forgotten: The ease of postbellum occupation is in proportion to the level of punishment inflicted on the enemy."

All our problems currently stem from the fact that we didn't kill enough of the b*st*rds in the intial attacks. He who turns and runs away will live to fight another day works for Muslim terrorists too.

[Mortimer Snavely]

As an experiment to test your theory, I highly recommend that you go to Turkey and loudly advocate the re-establishment of the Caliphate and the Sharia as the governing body and supreme law of the land and see what happens.

[cp124]

Maybe they should close the borders.....oh ya I forgot that they can't do that in this country.

[wtc911]

Sure , I'll use one of the Christian radio stations....oh, that's right, the turks don't allow Christian radio stations in their enlightened society.

[Mortimer Snavely]

The Supreme Radio and Television Board (RTUK), sanctions broadcast outlets and suspends television and radio stations for airing what they consider violent, sensational, or politically controversial programming.

Broadcast authorities interpreted John 3:18, which reads that "whoever does not believe stands condemned," as suggesting that Christians were above the law, and so, shut down Ankara's Radio Shema.

The decison is being appealed.

Publicly advocating religion is, to say the least, extremely déclassé in Turkey. The Turkish Army and Kemalist ideologues watch religious activity like hawks.

In February 1997, the military released a list of some hundred corporations with which it would have no dealings in the future and which were investigated as financial supporters of Islamic movements. These corporations, include the Ülker food processing giant, the IHLAS holding corporation, and the thirty-six-company Kombassan cooperative. The army listed 19 newspapers, 20 national television stations, 51 radio stations, 110 magazines, and 1,200 student fraternities as engaging in "subversive Islamic activities."

Evangelical Christian missionaries are allowed in Turkey, as long as ther behavior is kept private and so, outside the realm of the State.

Ataturk considered religion the main culprit in maintainingTurkey's backwardness. Kemalist ideology still reflects this. Religious censorship is not directed at Christians per se but is applied to all religious activity with a rather broad stroke. Given Islam's historical impact on Turkey and the rest of the world, I rather tend to agree with them.

Yes, BTW, I am irritated that Radio Shema was closed down, but to interpret this as the nefarious deed of an Islamic government against heathen elements is quite frankly stupid.

[Tolik]

for your ping list: excellent (as always) Victor Davis Hanson article

[PogySailor]

Bump for an excellent post.

[wtc911]

In your own words you agree with turkey's suppression of Christianity. You want us to believe that the turks take the same actions against islam (shutting media outlets, closing houses of worship) as it does against Christianity. That's more of your turk-apologist nonsense and you know it.

I will repeat my feelings to you for the last time. I do not trust turkey as an ally. The modern turkish history is replete with irrefutable examples of duplicity and last minute flip flops (turkey's dealings with Hitler are well documented as is its reversal in 1945 as a way of getting access to the nascient UN). If my government decides to up the ante and offer more to turkey than its other suitors (FR/DEU) then it only shows that turkey can be bought.

If the world where a global street turkey would be standing in a mini-skirt at the corner leaning against a lamp post.

Have a nice day.