Warning - this contains graphic images. Nevertheless, we need to be reminded of what we are up against.
Having the YouTube technology does make one a little lazy...but videos like this are shocking and to the point. I have been reading Victor Davis Hanson's "Autumn of War," a collection of essays written in the aftermath of 9/11 and it is astounding how much we have already forgotten. The daily drone from our TV's and radios about "failure in Iraq" have made us overlook the fact that Iraq is but a battle in a global war. This is a war that will continue to be fed by fanatical fascist Islamists recruiting new crazies from the ranks of the unemployed in the grossly unproductive Third World. Walking away from the fight will not make it end.The recruiting will go on until they either a) achieve their objective of world domination under a new caliphate or b) they are defeated. As this video makes plain, talking to them and trying to reason with them is a non-starter. So, how do you defeat this madness? And, what role does American military power have in that defeat?
You defeat the madness when the pain becomes unbearable for the enemy or when they have something else to do. When Sherman marched to the sea leaving a 60 mile wide swath of destruction from Atlanta to Savannah, he only lost around 500 men. Meanwhile, at the Battle of Cold Harbor, Grant lost almost 13,000 men in 12 days. But in the minds of the "enemy," of which I guess I would have been one, who is remembered for savagery? Sherman! Why, because he ruthlessly pursued a strategy of eliminating the capacity for the enemy to wage war. The capacity for our current enemy to wage war is in the madrassas that are funded by Saudi oil money and in the pitiful economies of the Middle East and beyond. The bombers of 9/11 were not poor, downtrodden waifs...they were middle class Saudis (mostly) who had gotten their heads twisted by the bloodthirsty rantings of fascist Islam. However, the thugs that are out planting the IED's and/or blowing themselves up in markets in Iraq are not middle class high-school graduates. These are the downtrodden ones. So the Sherman strategy is two-fold. First, demand that the madrassas be shut down and close them forcibly if necessary. "Savage!" you cry, "how culturally insensitive can you be!!" Well, Sherman was pretty insensitive too. It's time for a (pardon the phrase!) "come to Jesus" with our Saudi "friends." They need to stop exporting the madness and liberalize at home.
The other angle on shutting off the font of hatred is to demand that so-called "moderate Muslims" stand up and condemn their co-religionists. No more "religion of peace" language out of our leadership. You want your religion to get respect, start earning it. Let's see a high ranking Muslim cleric do what Pope John Paul II did and place a prayer for forgiveness in the Wailing Wall. Failure to condemn is the equivalent of complicity.
Now, the other issue is the economic one. If we can get these nut-job bombers to start thinking about the next soccer game or getting their kid through high school, it will dramatically cut down on the TNT. Economic reform and liberalization will be a diplomatic and economic initiative but one that will be well worth it in the long run. Here again, we have to be more discerning in the dispensing of our foreign aid. How about we have some simple tests like "does this country preach hatred of the US?" If the answer is "yes," no aid. Fact of the matter is that some of the worst basket case governments are being propped up by our foreign aid dollars. They take the money with one hand and then slap us around in front of their people with the other.
OK, what about the military? Where is the Sherman strategy there? In the immediate conflict of Iraq, the answer is probably a swath of destruction through the Shiite militias. Al Sadr and his thugs have to go. The example set by bringing that gangsta to justice will, I predict, cut down significantly on the violence. We must also change the rules of engagement. First, let our military do what it is damned good at doing: killing people and breaking things. If a sniper is hiding in the minaret of a mosque, take the mosque out. We had no problem bombing the Germans at Monte Cassino in WWII. If a building is housing combatants, it is a target. If guerrillas are hiding among civilians, waste the village. It will only take one or two before the word gets out that the Americans mean business. "Ruthless, heartless, insensitive," I hear you cry. My thinking on this is simple: wars are won by convincing your enemy that you can be more savage than they. The Japanese capitulated after the second atomic bomb was dropped. If we want to end this thing, we have to make it very unpleasant for the foe. Do this and more people will cooperate in routing out the evildoers...they don't want their villages razed.
Couple this ruthlessness with the carrot of a Marshall Plan type of reconstruction. Remind our enemies of the old Marine Corps maxim: no worse enemy in battle, no greater friend in peace. Japan and Germany are unprecedented examples of post-war generosity. Never, in the history of civilization has a conquerer done so much to help the conquered and it is symptomatic of the American spirit. Let the world know that we really just want to be left alone to watch the NFL playoffs and build businesses. But if you mess with us, the hell you will experience will make Dante's Inferno look like Paradisio. AND, if you've learned your lesson about messing with us and are ready to play nice again, we'll help you rebuild so you can get back to watching Britney Spears on YouTube and building businesses!
President Bush, your new strategy is ready sir!