The Discerning Texan
All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.
-- Edmund Burke
-- Edmund Burke
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Valiant Islamists in Action--and other Ruminations UPDATED--slightly
This is what we are up against. Any questions?
Here is the deal, though: Until we go straight for the heart of the root cause of our problems--that would be Iran, Syria, Palestine, and any other states which fund terror directly--we will never solve the problem. You don't solve the problem by fighting proxy wars--ask the Russians or South Vietnamese; proxy wars are no-win situations. You don't fight the proxies, you go for the source: and when you finally get to the point where that fact dawns on you, you don't do that half-assed--you go for the jugular. The Cold War did not end in places like Panama and Grenada; the Cold War ended when Ronald Reagan confronted the Sovs directly--and they backed down.
I voted for President Bush, but I am sorely disappointed with the White House's efforts in communicating the consequences should we fail in this War--and why winning is so important to each American.
We are fighting Al-Qaeda over there--the very people who flew those jets into our buildings! The people who blew up our embassies and the Cole! We are fighting Iran--the same country that took our embassy hostage while Jimmy Carter wrung his pathetic hands, and the same country that killed over 400 Marines in Lebanon. And now they are about to go nuclear. There is no "grey area" here: we know Al Qaeda is making Iraq its "line in the sand." We know Iran will use those nukes before it gives up its terror sponsorship. They...don't...care.
Yet you hardly ever even hear the President mention the fact that we are at War with the people who have attacked us repeatedly. And his Administration's salesmanship of the consequences of deserting the Iraqis to Al Qaeda and Iran has been ineffective at best. Instead it has all been about the virtues of Democracy, blah blah blah. Yeah I read Sharansky, and it was an excellent and moving book--but most Americans don't care what form of Government Iraq has: they just want to "win, baby." And we are fighting the people who knocked those buildings down and who have been responsible for the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of our troops. How about keeping that fact front and center in American consciousness. Do we really think if we just leave that AQ is just going to go home?? Is running away going to make Iran take us seriously about their nukes??? Bush has failed at making most Americans understand this is about kill them before they kill us. Why does he not call this what it is?
I know why we are fighting, but the average joe on the street requires a lot of hand-holding, and he gets distracted about absurdities like the minimum wage and health care--when we are fighting people so they won't murder thousands, if not millions of us. So, yeah, I am for the Surge, but part of being successful is to make the American people understand what is at stake; and it pains me to say it but President Bush has failed miserably in this respect. Maybe we do need a "communicator" like Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich. Regardless, the Surge can only be successful if the President sells it well, and if he keeps his word about the following:
Here is the deal, though: Until we go straight for the heart of the root cause of our problems--that would be Iran, Syria, Palestine, and any other states which fund terror directly--we will never solve the problem. You don't solve the problem by fighting proxy wars--ask the Russians or South Vietnamese; proxy wars are no-win situations. You don't fight the proxies, you go for the source: and when you finally get to the point where that fact dawns on you, you don't do that half-assed--you go for the jugular. The Cold War did not end in places like Panama and Grenada; the Cold War ended when Ronald Reagan confronted the Sovs directly--and they backed down.
I voted for President Bush, but I am sorely disappointed with the White House's efforts in communicating the consequences should we fail in this War--and why winning is so important to each American.
We are fighting Al-Qaeda over there--the very people who flew those jets into our buildings! The people who blew up our embassies and the Cole! We are fighting Iran--the same country that took our embassy hostage while Jimmy Carter wrung his pathetic hands, and the same country that killed over 400 Marines in Lebanon. And now they are about to go nuclear. There is no "grey area" here: we know Al Qaeda is making Iraq its "line in the sand." We know Iran will use those nukes before it gives up its terror sponsorship. They...don't...care.
Yet you hardly ever even hear the President mention the fact that we are at War with the people who have attacked us repeatedly. And his Administration's salesmanship of the consequences of deserting the Iraqis to Al Qaeda and Iran has been ineffective at best. Instead it has all been about the virtues of Democracy, blah blah blah. Yeah I read Sharansky, and it was an excellent and moving book--but most Americans don't care what form of Government Iraq has: they just want to "win, baby." And we are fighting the people who knocked those buildings down and who have been responsible for the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of our troops. How about keeping that fact front and center in American consciousness. Do we really think if we just leave that AQ is just going to go home?? Is running away going to make Iran take us seriously about their nukes??? Bush has failed at making most Americans understand this is about kill them before they kill us. Why does he not call this what it is?
I know why we are fighting, but the average joe on the street requires a lot of hand-holding, and he gets distracted about absurdities like the minimum wage and health care--when we are fighting people so they won't murder thousands, if not millions of us. So, yeah, I am for the Surge, but part of being successful is to make the American people understand what is at stake; and it pains me to say it but President Bush has failed miserably in this respect. Maybe we do need a "communicator" like Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich. Regardless, the Surge can only be successful if the President sells it well, and if he keeps his word about the following:
- Meaning it about striking at the heart of the Iranian and Syrian sponsors of the Iraqi insurgency. (And even giving the Saudi sponsors of the madrassas and ultimatum like the one we gave Pakistan back in 2001.)
- Taking the gloves off against the insurgencies--on BOTH sides--whether Maliki likes it or not. That is going to mean ugliness on the evening news, staged massacres, etc. And this means;
- Effectively fighting an effective information war at the same time. The Islamists, with the help of the Dinosaur Elite Media, have owned the information war. Agressive action must be taken to change that, including vetting of publications for enemy propaganda or prosecutions for the leaking of our own State secrets--to include reporters.
- Do Whatever It Takes to WIN. The American people do not mind seeing success, even if it costs lives--this was proven when we toppled Saddam in record time and Bush's approval ratings were through the roof; what the American people will not sit still for is stagnation while Americans get picked off one by one.
- To reiterate a previous point: al-Sadr's militia must be disarmed at all costs. This is not just about Sunnis, although we need to win the hearts and minds of the majority Shiias by stopping the Sunni insurgency firmly first. But then, once we have gained that trust, it is al-Sadr's turn. It has to be, or we might as well pull out now (or just move them into Iran where they can really do some good--OK I didn't really say that......did I?)
- Take immediate steps to get off of our dependence on Islamic oil. We are paying these guys to fund their nukes and to fund their murder of Americans and Europeans! Why? We have plenty of oil and gas in the Gulf and in Alaska for our own neeeds. Hell if Castro and Hugo Chavez and China can drill off of Florida, why can't we?? Is stopping the feeding of our own enemies not more important than some Caribou's "pristine" wasteland? Katrina wiped out 1/3 of our oil production. One-third! Yet we keep playing this stupid game with our own natural resources. It is time to shut down the environmentalists and do what must be done to stop giving our enemies millions. This is a National Security Issue. Yet the Administration has allowed the do-nothing Democrats to frame this as an issue about an icy wasteland, for God's sake. This is madness.
OK, Next item? (Whew, glad I got that off my chest...I am angry about these things--this is slipping away from us and it is going to cost us dearly unless some people in high positions wake up fast.) Here is to that day.
Labels: Iran, Islamic Fascism, Middle East, Palestine, Syria, War strategy
