ReadyontheRight
Member
Pretty good Opinion letter in the Red Star today:
http://www.startribune.com/stories/562/4120848.html
Published September 27, 2003
By D. Ethan Karle
Along with President Bush's request for $87 billion to fight the war on terror come cries from the left that America is squandering money and walking into another Vietnam.
While the left would be happy to waste countless hours generating absurd comparisons to Southeast Asia, it would be well served to instead compare the war on terror to the United States' effectual $2.8 trillion-dollar war, World War II.
Like WWII, the war on terror is the result of abject, oppressive and dictatorial governments that have been disregarded overseas for far too long. Similarly, we have a weakened and desperate enemy who, because of its own desperation, seeks to blame its failures on someone else. The "Jewish problem" perceived by the Nazis is now the "Judeo-Christian problem" for the militant Muslims. Because of their fear of change they blame "the Great Satan" for their inability to morph into a thriving society that is based upon consensus, instead of one based on religious idolatry.
Like WWII, American politicians have ignored, and continue to ignore, atrocities across the oceans in order to protect short-term political interests. Saddam Hussein's mass graves, the Taliban's torture and murder, the ostracization and molestation of women in Eastern Africa and the Middle East are examples of brutality that is tacitly endorsed every day. If a white person commits a crime against a member of a minority in America, it is labeled a hate crime and Democratic politicians line up to express their disgust at those reprehensible acts. However, the systematic torture, rape and murder of civilians in Muslim nations are simply rationalized by the left as cultural complexities that are none of our business.
As in WWII, our enemy's goal is to eliminate individual freedom in order to advance a radical ideology. Militant Muslims aim to destroy any culture that does not fall within Islamic prescriptions. Hezbollah, Hamas, PFLP, Al-Qaida and countless other Muslim groups have echoed Ayatollah Khomeini's expectation that the Islamic religion is the aggregate determiner of culture and that all state policies must flow from that. This sort of fanatical governance is at the root of their human rights violations. Although members of the left seek to educate America on the peaceful teachings of Islam, they defiantly turn a blind eye to the reality of bellicose Islam.
As during WWII, there is trepidation and division among Americans regarding the correct course of action. Capitalizing on this are the antiwar demonstrators. They continually present themselves as pro-American, much as the misguided German-American Bund, commonly known as the German American Friendship Society, did in the 1930s. This group and other war opponents rallied against the "imperialist" war in Germany as being unjust and illegitimate. Sound familiar?
Just as it was in WWII, some of our allies are unfit to recognize the danger that is in front of them.
The French are best known for their listlessness in this arena. We saved them in World War II and bailed them out of Vietnam. However, both of those failures pale in comparison to their most recent defeat, in which they lost over 15,000 in a battle with a tropical jet stream.
We should not rely on the opinions of a country that, 101 years after the advent of air conditioning, is unable to conquer relative humidity.
So, the left can join its predecessors and proclaim that no threat exists, or maintain the equally oblivious belief that peace and understanding will defeat any potential threats. Either way these actions only serve to bolster militant Islam.
The better choice would be accept that we are in the beginning stages of the war on terror and, as during WWII, it will be long, costly and worthwhile. Regarding the criticism of Bush's request for $87 billion -- the left should realize that anything under $2.8 trillion is a steal.
D. Ethan Karle, White Bear Lake, is a veteran and freelance writer.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/562/4120848.html
Published September 27, 2003
By D. Ethan Karle
Along with President Bush's request for $87 billion to fight the war on terror come cries from the left that America is squandering money and walking into another Vietnam.
While the left would be happy to waste countless hours generating absurd comparisons to Southeast Asia, it would be well served to instead compare the war on terror to the United States' effectual $2.8 trillion-dollar war, World War II.
Like WWII, the war on terror is the result of abject, oppressive and dictatorial governments that have been disregarded overseas for far too long. Similarly, we have a weakened and desperate enemy who, because of its own desperation, seeks to blame its failures on someone else. The "Jewish problem" perceived by the Nazis is now the "Judeo-Christian problem" for the militant Muslims. Because of their fear of change they blame "the Great Satan" for their inability to morph into a thriving society that is based upon consensus, instead of one based on religious idolatry.
Like WWII, American politicians have ignored, and continue to ignore, atrocities across the oceans in order to protect short-term political interests. Saddam Hussein's mass graves, the Taliban's torture and murder, the ostracization and molestation of women in Eastern Africa and the Middle East are examples of brutality that is tacitly endorsed every day. If a white person commits a crime against a member of a minority in America, it is labeled a hate crime and Democratic politicians line up to express their disgust at those reprehensible acts. However, the systematic torture, rape and murder of civilians in Muslim nations are simply rationalized by the left as cultural complexities that are none of our business.
As in WWII, our enemy's goal is to eliminate individual freedom in order to advance a radical ideology. Militant Muslims aim to destroy any culture that does not fall within Islamic prescriptions. Hezbollah, Hamas, PFLP, Al-Qaida and countless other Muslim groups have echoed Ayatollah Khomeini's expectation that the Islamic religion is the aggregate determiner of culture and that all state policies must flow from that. This sort of fanatical governance is at the root of their human rights violations. Although members of the left seek to educate America on the peaceful teachings of Islam, they defiantly turn a blind eye to the reality of bellicose Islam.
As during WWII, there is trepidation and division among Americans regarding the correct course of action. Capitalizing on this are the antiwar demonstrators. They continually present themselves as pro-American, much as the misguided German-American Bund, commonly known as the German American Friendship Society, did in the 1930s. This group and other war opponents rallied against the "imperialist" war in Germany as being unjust and illegitimate. Sound familiar?
Just as it was in WWII, some of our allies are unfit to recognize the danger that is in front of them.
The French are best known for their listlessness in this arena. We saved them in World War II and bailed them out of Vietnam. However, both of those failures pale in comparison to their most recent defeat, in which they lost over 15,000 in a battle with a tropical jet stream.
We should not rely on the opinions of a country that, 101 years after the advent of air conditioning, is unable to conquer relative humidity.
So, the left can join its predecessors and proclaim that no threat exists, or maintain the equally oblivious belief that peace and understanding will defeat any potential threats. Either way these actions only serve to bolster militant Islam.
The better choice would be accept that we are in the beginning stages of the war on terror and, as during WWII, it will be long, costly and worthwhile. Regarding the criticism of Bush's request for $87 billion -- the left should realize that anything under $2.8 trillion is a steal.
D. Ethan Karle, White Bear Lake, is a veteran and freelance writer.
