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By
Bradley Blakeman
FOXNews.com
The world has a choice to make -- will non-Islamic nations surrender to radical
extremists or will we fight back and destroy them?
Radical Islam’s mission is clear: destroy America.
It doesn't matter to the terrorists if they succeed in 2010 or 2110, as long as
they ultimately triumph.
Northwest flight 253’s Christmas day terrorist attack is the latest wake-up call
in an all-out war on America by radical Islam.
We are living at a time when we witnessed the birth of radical Islam with the
attacks on America on September 11. Although radical Islamists acted out against
American assets prior to 9/11 with the bombing of the USS Cole, the Nigeria
embassy and others, the attack on our homeland -- in New York City, Washington,
D.C. and Pennsylvania, was the defining moment in a war that we may be fighting
for generations to come.
Whether the enemy attacks through a “lone wolf” operative, “sleeper cells” in
the United States, organized foreign operatives, or even via an Islamic nation
state -- there is no doubt we will be attacked again. We must accept this fact.
The only unanswered question, now, is how severe the attacks will be and how
much will they change us as a nation and a people.
I believe America has to operate on the principle that “if you hit us with a
rock, we will shoot you with a gun.” -- That is to say that we will fight back
with overwhelming force in response to any attack. We will not retaliate with
“like force.” We also must reserve the right to attack our enemies before they
have the ability to attack us.
We must use every lawful tool available to us to prevent further attacks on our
homeland and our foreign assets. We should hone our own security procedures and
laws everyday to keep up with the latest and most effective methods of
deterrence and prevention. We must also work closer than ever with our allies to
share and gather intelligence and to provide resources as needed.
The world has a choice to make: will non-Islamic nations surrender to radical
extremists or will we fight back and destroy them?
It seems that the free world had the same choice to make regarding the rise of
Nazi Germany during the last century. Sadly, the world chose to ignore the
gathering threat of Nazism until it was too late to stop it. As a result, 60
million were killed, millions more were injured, and entire economies were
destroyed in World War II.
It has been said before and I firmly believe it today that unless we learn from
history, we will be condemned to repeat it.
What is clear is that radical Islam is an ongoing movement that has yet to run
its historical course, unlike the Nazis who have been swept into the dustbin of
history.
With the menacing rise of radical Islam -- and an Iran that seeks the
destruction of the State of Israel and the United States and is building the
instrumentalities, i.e. nuclear weapons to make good on their threats -- I
believe it is necessary to revisit the rise of Nazism. We must understand how it
was possible for the Nazis to come to power and the methods they used to achieve
many of their goals.
To better understand our current enemy I suggest Americans read two important
books that will put into perspective the threat we now are facing through the
rise of a threat we eventually defeated, albeit much too late, in World War II:
1. “The Coming of the Third Reich” by Richard J. Evans. Mr. Evans is recognized
around the world as a first rate historian. He takes the reader through a
thorough and complete historic and factual understanding of the rise of Nazi
Germany. He sets forth in great detail the methods behind the madness that led
to the Nazis’ rise to power and that came to have such a profound impact on
world history then, now and forever;
2. “While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within” by
Bruce Bawer. Mr. Bawer believes, as I do, that unless we learn from history,
history will be repeated. Europe in the 1930s ignored the gathering threat of
Nazi Germany. Europe chose appeasement and negotiation instead of relying on
principle and strength. Europe could have stopped Hitler. They let Germany amass
weapons and build an army, navy and air force. Germany became so powerful that
collectively Europe could not prevent an inevitable war. Bawer sounds the alarm
about an equally gathering and dangerous threat to the world with the rise of
radical Islam. Mr. Bawer’s book chronicles first hand accounts, insightful
analysis and powerful and thoughtful arguments with regard to the rise of
radical Islam.
I believe that as insidious as the threat of Nazi Germany was to the world the
threat from radical Islam is infinitely greater by comparison.
Radical Islam is based on a religious dogma that respects no law except the
terrorists’ perverse belief in what is “God’s will” that they carry out their
destructive attacks. Many who fight in the name of Islam do not fight in
uniforms or for any one nation state. Those who do fight as nation states do so
as third parties, arming and financing others for the time being to do their
dirty work. There will come a time when that will change. The time will come
when they believe they have the instrumentalities to act in their own behalf and
in concert with others.
What choices will we ultimately make with regard to the gathering threat of
radical Islam? Will we learn from history or repeat it?
Bradley A. Blakeman served as deputy assistant to President George W. Bush from
2001 -04. He is currently a professor of Politics and Public Policy at
Georgetown University. He is a frequent contributor to the Fox Forum.