How to Win the War Against Radical Islam; Two Approaches

We are now in a long war, though many do not realize it, in which the stakes are higher than any military conflict in the history of the US. How shall we approach it?


Approach One; The progressives in our midst (in an oversimplification, often called doves) believe that problems in foreign policy, including our conflict with the Muslim world, can be solved with good will. (This approach is the one that has been adopted by our President until recently) All we need do is reach out, promote dialogue, and avoid confrontation at all costs. (According to our doves, confrontation is counterproductive, uncivilized, and just plain wrong)


Approach Two: The conservatives and especially the neo-conservatives in our midst (often called hawks, another oversimplification) see pivotal events like 9/11, attacks on American embassies, domestic terrorist attacks such as the Fort Hood massacre, and other worldwide attacks on society, as simply evil. For them, this needs to be recognized as such and dealt with aggressively, including with military force wherever necessary


The choice of approach depends on how one reads history, morality, and human behavior. The approach of President Obama until now has been the first one, in effect to appease those who have made war on the US. This approach has always appealed to the "good people" in our midst. Too many liberal intellectuals, well educated and intelligent, fail to appreciate both history and human behavior. They honestly think that the rest of the world solves problems the same way that they do. For them, in the final analysis, it is better to talk than to make war. The errors in this belief are counterintuitive. The downside of this approach will not be obvious until it is too late, just as in the 1930s. (In fairness, there have been liberals such as Harry Truman, John F Kennedy, Henry Jackson, and Joe Lieberman, who have not been deluded)


The Jews who were trapped in the Warsaw Ghetto argued until near the end about the best way to deal with the Germans. The Germans had no such discussions among themselves; they knew exactly what they were going to do. Similarly the other side in the war against radical Islam does not see two options. They are still fighting against the Crusaders. They are still in Andalusia. We value life; for them life is expendable


So has our President learned from events? It is odd that he did not mention this issue in the State of the Union address, making it unlikely that he has reverted to the second approach. Further, he has recently rewarded Syria for continued hostile behavior, including its support for Hezbollah in Lebanon. The approach of the "hawks" would be to handle Syria not with rewards, but with isolation.


We now have several rogue states like Iran and Syria, who support terrorist groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. Pakistan, a nuclear power, is badly split and unreliable. Al Qaeda, nourished by the Taliban and by segments within Pakistan, is now spreading its venom around the Middle East. Lebanon is sliding in the direction of becoming another terrorist outpost. Turkey has sided with its own terrorist group. The jury is out on Tunisia, which may yet go the way of Iran Should the opposition in Egypt depose Mubarak, the replacement will likely be the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic fundamentalist anti-American group. Will the dominoes extend to Saudi Arabia or Jordan? Will Israel, surrounded by unrelenting enemies in Gaza, Lebanon, and possibly Egypt, be the last outpost of sanity in the Middle East? Will Iran, absent a credible military threat, soon possess nuclear warheads?


The approach of the doves has been disastrous. The US has lost its role as a deterrent power. We are now living with the unintentional consequences of the policies of a deluded administration. Peace and coexistence with the Muslim world is further away than ever. Does our President understand that? This will be our main challenge over the next two years. And it may be this issue, not the economy, that will be at the core of the 2012 election.