It is quite evident that there are many who do not
understand the nature of our enemy. They seem to have the belief that defeating
the Taliban and Al-Qaida will make terrorism go away. It certainly would be
helpful but pure logic tells us it falls far short of that goal. Common
sense dictates that one must understand what motivates these terrorists in order
to implement the actions that will lead to elimination of their acts against us.
From what we observe, there should be no doubt that their motivation is derived
from the tenets of the Koran (Quran) which are followed by devout Muslims
throughout the world. To illustrate this I provide the following excerpts
from the Koran (Quran):
8.12 through 8.17 in "The
Accessions" especially 8.17 "So you did not slay them, but it was Allah Who slew
them, and you did not smite when you smote (the enemy), but it was Allah Who
smote, and that He might confer upon the believers a good gift from Himself;
surely Allah is Hearing, Knowing."
9. "The Immunity" virtually the
complete Chapter, especially 9.5 "So when the sacred months have passed away,
then slay the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them captives and
besiege them and lie in wait for them in every ambush, then if they repent and
keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate, leave their way free to them; surely Allah
is Forgiving, Merciful"
If one acknowledges what is evident it
should be obvious that our enemy is an ideology and understanding that fact is
necessary to do combat with them. It is an ideology that goes back to the
7th century and is what was behind the Crusades. Although reformation has
taken place in other religions it is still to take place, as it must, with the
Islamic religion. It is much more difficult because the tenets of the
religion lie in a book that in itself conveys the need for religious conversion
through force. It must also be understood that totalitarian governments in
the mid-east use the Islamic ideology to not only further their own ambitions
for power, but to hold on to the power they now possess
The very fact that Hezbollah and Hamas are
terrorist groups that have the same ideology should bring realization of the
fact that there is more than one single terrorist group involved. In fact, there
have been eleven terrorist attacks on Americans between 1983 and 9/11/2001
conducted by several terrorist groups. Thus, it should be obvious that it is
altering the ideology that must be addressed. However, altering an ideology
requires changing that which is aiding and abetting it. We know that in those
countries where democracy exists people thrive in the opportunities that this
form of government provides. It seems that it would be sensible to use the
approach of spreading democracy throughout the world as a means of changing the
conditions that breed an evolving number of Islamic Ideologists
(fundamentalists). With time it would be essential to encourage mid-east
schools (Madrassas) to eliminate the teaching of Islamic
Fundamentalism.
It appears to me that anyone reading the foregoing
and acknowledging its factual truth should see that Iraq is a country that lent
itself to a potential change to a democratic form of government over time.
Certainly mistakes may have been made in the conduct of this war as happens in
all wars. However, the reason for the war for that reason alone is a solid
and rational one that by all rights should be supported by every American.
It may take a generation to change the mindset of people living in the mid-east
presently brain-washed with the Islamic fundamentalist ideology. However,
with the knowledge that close to 25% of the world’s population is Muslim,
doesn’t it make sense to start the process to democratize the mid-east
now?