We Are At War
Today we mark the Day Which Shall Live in Infamy, the day upon which, threescore and four years ago, the Imperial Japanese sent a sizable chunk of our navy to the bottom of the Pacific in a vicious sneak attack. Within a few hours, every American knew we were at war.
On this somber day, it's appropriate to note that America is at war again due to a vicious sneak attack on our soil.
On December 7th, 1944, America was well on its way to prevailing in the greatest conflict the world had ever known. Italy had been conquered, and France liberated. Allied troops had rolled to the Siegfried Line. Athens had been liberated. French troops were parked on the Rhine. Yet the war wasn't over in Europe---the Battle of the Bulge loomed, and hard fighting through Germany remained for the next six months, until V-E Day in May, 1945. The Japanese wouldn't surrender until August.
On December 7th, 2005, Afghanistan and Iraq have been conquered and democracy established in each. Al Qaeda has been smashed globally, and is unable to mount anything except isolated acts of violence. Yet hard fighting remains, in Lebanon, in Syria, in Iran, in Indonesia, and in the Philippines. As with WWII, we do not fight alone.
Unlike WWII, we have a Democrat Party which seeks the unconditional surrender of the United States. Make no mistake about it---this isn't the lunatic fringe of the Left, but their party chairman, their House and Senate leadership, their presidential candidates. They represent a Fifth Column within our nation's political institutions, and work actively to undermine the war effort.
To triumph in this conflict, we now must not only defeat the terrorists who target us, but also the useful idiots and fellow travelers who strive to see us vanquished.
Military strategy will suffice abroad. At home, a different approach will be required.
Those who oppose American victory in the War on Terror must be defeated.
Destroyed on the battlefield. Vanquished at the polls.
We are at war. Nothing less than victory will do.
On this somber day, it's appropriate to note that America is at war again due to a vicious sneak attack on our soil.
On December 7th, 1944, America was well on its way to prevailing in the greatest conflict the world had ever known. Italy had been conquered, and France liberated. Allied troops had rolled to the Siegfried Line. Athens had been liberated. French troops were parked on the Rhine. Yet the war wasn't over in Europe---the Battle of the Bulge loomed, and hard fighting through Germany remained for the next six months, until V-E Day in May, 1945. The Japanese wouldn't surrender until August.
On December 7th, 2005, Afghanistan and Iraq have been conquered and democracy established in each. Al Qaeda has been smashed globally, and is unable to mount anything except isolated acts of violence. Yet hard fighting remains, in Lebanon, in Syria, in Iran, in Indonesia, and in the Philippines. As with WWII, we do not fight alone.
Unlike WWII, we have a Democrat Party which seeks the unconditional surrender of the United States. Make no mistake about it---this isn't the lunatic fringe of the Left, but their party chairman, their House and Senate leadership, their presidential candidates. They represent a Fifth Column within our nation's political institutions, and work actively to undermine the war effort.
To triumph in this conflict, we now must not only defeat the terrorists who target us, but also the useful idiots and fellow travelers who strive to see us vanquished.
Military strategy will suffice abroad. At home, a different approach will be required.
Those who oppose American victory in the War on Terror must be defeated.
Destroyed on the battlefield. Vanquished at the polls.
We are at war. Nothing less than victory will do.
posted by Teflon at 8:36 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Reflections on Pearl Harbor in a Post 911/Iraq world
Today, the United States remembers the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by the Japanese Navy in 1941.
Growing up, the story was as familiar as the other stories of United States history: The Alamo, The Civil War, George Washington crossing the Potomac. Actually, it was more familiar, probably because it was so recent, so dramatic, and was the beginning of a series of events that affected millions and caused one of the most brutal wars in all history.
But was it the cause or the beginning?
We in the United States mark the beginning of WWII with Dec 7, 1941, but the war had already begun in Europe 2 1/2 years earlier. The Japanese invaded China much earlier than that with deadly effect. By late 1941 many millions had already died, the Holocaust had already taken a large portion of its victims.
I am sure that we in the US are no different than others in the world in that we only concern ourselves with what is directly affecting us, reference great events in terms of our involvement, and tend to generally think of ourselves as being on the right side, Gott mit uns. But being the only superpower, we have a duty to understand the events, and realize our responsibility to the world, not react irresponsibly to simple explanations.
Pearl Harbor was just the last climatic event in a series of tit-for-tat one-upmanship that inevitably would bring the 2 nations to war. Contrary to popular myth, it did not start with a dastardly sneak attack against us. We would do well to read the first part of the book, not just look at the pictures.
Interestingly, the latest movie to dramatize the event (you know, that piece of trash with Ben Affleck) starts with Pearl Harbor but ends the movie with Doolittles raid on Tokyo, just to make sure we get in the last word.
Similarly, 911 did not start in NY. This was the latest event in a series of moves by many, not the least of which was the United States decision to train the toughest, most hard-line and brutal Islamic warriors in the region to fight against our then enemy, the Soviet Union. It did not happen in a vacuum. Anyone paying attention would know that these guys would turn on their benefactors, as they did with Anwar Sadat in the early 80's. The popular myth is that they attacked us because "they" dont like our freedoms, our cultures, our values. This kind of child-like explanation is the same that gave us the "sneak attack" in Pearl Harbor, the heroic defense of the Alamo by local freedom lovers, and the slave-freeing Civil War.
This explanation allows the government to easily manipulate the masses and gear up for war.
Like the movie "Pearl Harbor", which unfortunately will be the main reference for many young people, our attack on Iraq is our way of getting in the last word, ending with a victory. We got clobbered in 911 but we will get them "terrorists" in Iraq. If you rely on the simple explanation, then this war makes sense. If one looks into the issues that led up to 911 and the war in Iraq, you find that the simple explanation doesnt make sense.
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