Winning the War on Terror

For the last few months the NYC police have been conducting random searches of people’s bags as they enter the subway system. The stated purpose of these searches is to stop suicide bombers before they get into the subway. I’m opposed to these searches on a number of levels, they violate our civil rights, they cause delays, and I don’t for a moment think they’ll be effective at preventing a suicide bombing. I’m taking up this subject from a different angle though, I’m also opposed to them because I don’t believe they’re an effective part of winning the War on Terror.

Over the past couple of decades we’ve been repeatedly attacked by Islamic terrorists. The first World Trade Center bombing, the USS Cole, 9/11 and other attacks were attacks against American interests. I don’t believe that these attacks were in response to anything America has done, they’re attacks against who we ARE. The terrorist leaders don’t just want us to stop supporting Israel or apologize for the Crusades (where, you may note, Americans were incredibly under-represented!). They want us either dead or subject to them. Let me repeat that, they want us either DEAD or SUBJECT to THEM.

There may be people who will say that if those are our options we should just give in to them, it’s better to be alive in bondage than dead in freedom. Even ignoring the fact that that would require a conversion to Islam (since I’m a Christian such a conversion is absolutely out of the question for me), let me say right now that if you believe that I have nothing more to say to you so get off my property, now.

There is a third choice though, other than death or subjection. That choice is Victory. It’s the only choice really, the other two options above are simply unthinkable. Since we’re at war, how do we fight and how do we win?

Fortunately for us (especially for me since I’m writing this entry) history provides us with a picture of a very similar enemy, an enemy that wanted to conquer the world. An enemy that raised up a generation of people who wanted only to be a part of that conquest even if they had to die to do it. An enemy who believed that they were being led into a war by their god and that death in such an endeavor was truly glorious. An enemy who raised up people who were willing to fly planes full of explosives into American ships and other targets. That enemy was Japan during World War II. The comparison between the Japanese Kamikaze pilot and the Moslem suicide bomber is truly chilling.

When I mention the Kamikaze pilots and suicide bombers I need to make it clear that these are only the very last parts of a long string, they’re the point of the spear. American gunners on American ships found that knocking out a Kamikaze was extremely difficult, they actually had to disable the plane enough that it could no longer fly. The pilot wasn’t going to break off his attack so he could bail out if his plane was damaged. He wasn’t going to break off if the antiaircraft fire was too heavy for him to get thru without being injured or his plane damaged too badly to return to base. He wasn’t supposed to return to base, to do so would have been failure. We’ll have similar problems with suicide bombers in the subway. If there’s a checkpoint they’ll simply leave and get into the subway some other way. If they can’t they’ll just push the button while surrounded by the police and the other passengers who are waiting to get thru the turnstiles.

We didn’t stop the Kamikaze pilots by shooting down their airplanes after they were loaded, fueled and airborne. We stopped them by destroying the support system that provided them with a plane, fuel and explosives. We’re not going to stop suicide bombers from killing people once they have their supply of explosives and their orders. We’re going to stop them by destroying their chain of command, by wiping out the high-level terrorists who are making the plans and giving the orders. We’re going to stop them by finding their sources of funding and eliminating them. The police who are looking thru passenger’s bags in the subway could be making raids on terror cells. The money spent on those police could be spent on intelligence to identify those cells.

Finally, we’re going to beat the terrorists the same way we beat Japan. We’re going to prove to them, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this is a war they can not and will not win. We probably won’t do it by dropping atomic bombs on cities because terrorism isn’t geographic. We will do it by systematically destroying the high level commanders of the terrorists AND by showing the very people the suicide bombers are recruited from that the ideology offered by their leaders is deeply flawed and that there IS another way to live. Our job is not just one of destruction, it’s one of rebuilding. We helped make Japan into a nation that values hard work, a nation that is arguably the most Capitalist nation in the world right now. Japan learned that they don’t need to conquer the world, if they make enough money they can buy whatever they want FROM the rest of the world. We can do the same thing in the Middle East. We’re doing it right now, in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

Just like in Japan, it won’t happen overnight. World War II ended almost twenty years before I was born and Japan became a true economic and industrial power within my memory. When I was a kid I had a choice between two radios, a quality American made one or Japanese made junk at half the price. If I bought the Japanese one it would probably break within a month. Compare that to today’s situation.

Imagine in 25 years an Al Qaida representative going to a young man in Mosul and saying “I want you to put on this backpack, go into that building, and blow yourself up.” The young Iraqi will reply “Sorry, I’m on my way to pick up my new Mercedes!”. To the promise “But you’ll get 72 virgins!” he replies “Have you SEEN what a Mercedes will attract?”

If we give the people of the Middle East real hope they won't fall for the lies of their leaders. We know that even the leaders know their promises are lies because if they actually believed them they'd be out there blowing themselves up instead of sending the poor, downtrodden and utterly hopeless to do their dirty work. The young person who now has to choose between a dismal and miserable life here and a promised life of luxury is likely to fall for the lie. The same person, offered luxury HERE won't be so quick to give it up for a lie. On that day Al Qaida will be out of business.