How We Can Win the Terrorist War

Summary

Our country’s struggle with the War on Terrorism not in a faraway land, but here at home. The contentious battle for political domination between two sectarian rivals, Democrats and Republicans, keeps us mired in this critical—and expensive—war.

There is a tried and true way, however, that we can become a country united in this valiant fight for freedom and democracy. As in WWII, a fuel-rationing program will turn our citizens from spectators to participants, and cripple our terrorist opponents. Fuel rationing will:

• Impair the finances of the enemy and their supporters
• Decrease the price of gasoline
• Silence the naysayers that weaken our unity
• Demonstrate that we are a nation united in our cause

 

Article

“United we stand, divided we fall.”

This timeless proverb is indisputable and has been central to every military victory in American history, including World Wars I and II.

The main reason this country is struggling in the current War on Terrorism is that our nation is not united. Instead we are divided by the contentious battle for political domination between two sectarian rivals: Democrats and Republicans. We have fractious leadership and, therefore, a public too distracted by petty politics to be fully engaged in our critical war

Right or wrong, this war threatens our civilization. Imagine what will happen if we lose this war. Millions of Americans will be tortured, slaughtered, or incarcerated. Our women will be forced to become burka-wearing, second-class citizens. Our government will become an oppressive theocracy, Muslim or else.
Despite the philosophical and political differences between these two rivals, members of both parties must remember that we are all Americans. If we stand divided before the enemy, we open ourselves to their horrible oppression.

However, we can become united in this valiant fight as we have been joined in past conflicts--by each American taking an active role; converting ourselves from spectators to participants. Direct involvement will restore our appreciation of the importance of winning this conflict, and cause the anti-war, vote-sensitive Congressional legislators, who originally voted for the war, to change sides once again. Once thus united, we stand to overcome our vicious antagonists.

We can engage every American in this battle for survival in a very simple way--by establishing a fuel-rationing program. Rationing will give each American the great satisfaction of contributing to the victory in Iraq and the return of our victorious troops.

On May 15, 1942, during World War II, the Office of Public Administration established a rationing system for the use of fossil fuel. There are numerous benefits to adopting an updated version of this rationing program today:

• Impair the finances of both the enemy and their supporters;
  
  
• Decrease the price of gasoline;
  
  
• Reduce dramatically the carbon emissions in this country;
  
  
• Silence the naysayers;
  
  
• Reduce our dependency on foreign oil;
  
  
• “Incentivise” car manufacturers to produce fuel-efficient vehicles;
  
  
• Driving less because of rationing will reduce our highway carnage as effectively as the “surge” cut the casualties in Iraq.

Naturally, there will be some negative side effects. For example, gas station operators and businesses located in remote areas will suffer some loss of revenue. Fortunately, the advantages will overwhelmingly outweigh the disadvantages.

Soldiers win wars. Politicians lose wars. In the Korean War and Vietnam War, as the uninvolved public lost patience, the minority political party seized the opportunity to undermine support for the war and therefore impaired the opposing party’s administration. The Republicans brought an end to the Korean War, and the Democrats effectively terminated the Vietnamese War.

Today, in a case of “déjà vu all over again,” the Democrats are undermining this War on Terror. The critical difference this time is that withdrawing from Iraq will not end the war as it did in Korea and Vietnam. Withdrawing from Iraq will validate Osama bin Laden’s prophecy that Americans are soft with neither the will nor the determination to triumph over his jihad. That is why we can’t allow members of Congress to abandon Iraq for their own selfish political purposes; the consequences are far too great.

After years of turning the other cheek in the true Judeo-Christian tradition, the 9/11 attacks finally established that there is a Muslim jihad against America. This struggle is a serious threat to our country, even to our civilization. Our enemy this time is not a country but a loosely organized band of terrorists led by Osama bin Laden, an egocentric determined to control the world. He preaches the bellicose Madrina version of the Koran, which advocates using any means to convert the world to the Muslim religion. His intent is to replace the modern, successful Western civilization with the failed, ancient Islamic culture. Bin Laden is hiding in caves to preserve his life, while persuading his deluded followers to sacrifice their lives for his aspiration to control the world. He is a wannabe dictator of the Saddam Hussein matrix, and these terrorists are like a cancer invading a human body, striking in multiple areas until their metastasis exterminates the individual.

The silent majority of moderate Muslims worldwide have not renounced these terrorists, either out of fear or because they are concerned about dishonoring their religion. This same deafening silence occurred in Japan, Italy, Germany, and Russia during their repressive regimes.

This war is almost a rerun of the Vietnamese fiasco. Both conflicts started with Congressional approval, but approval based on false information. Just as today, American civilians were not directly involved in the struggle in Vietnam. Mismanagement was a major problem in the Vietnamese war and is a key obstacle in the occupational phase of the Iraq war. As each conflict continued, opportunistic members of Congress withdrew their support as the public’s patience waned. If United States withdraws from Iraq, the same carnage of innocent civilians that befell the Vietnamese will surely occur.

There is one critical difference between these conflicts. The Vietnam War was against a nation, not a religious belief. Consequently, when the U.S. withdrew from Vietnam, the conflict ended. However, leaving Iraq will not stop the Muslim jihad. In fact, it will give them renewed confidence and they will redouble their efforts. Members of Congress are acting predictably, just as in the Vietnam struggle, calling for our immediate and complete withdrawal. Our enemies are encouraged, and why shouldn’t they be? The rhetoric in Congress and the anti-war voices in the United States closely follow the Vietnam script.
There are three essential reasons for the lack of support for this war:

1. the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq;

2. the polarization of our nation; and

3. the lack of direct involvement of the public.

If given the opportunity, I am betting that Americans will gladly make some sacrifices to preserve our way of life. The morale of our armed forces will increase. The public’s commitment will discourage the enemy while empowering Iraqis’ democracy. Once united, we will overcome our vicious antagonists.

Prevailing in this conflict will trigger a favorable domino effect. Having a democratic nation in the Middle East will influence other countries in the area to follow suit. Another lagniappe will be that our success in Iraq will make the leaders of North Korea, Syria, and Iran fearful of a possible invasion. This apprehension will dramatically change their foreign policies to a more cooperative mode.

Let’s ration gasoline so that we can prevail in Iraq; future generations of Americans are dependent upon it. Join the fight by calling your senators and representatives; voice your willingness to make this sacrifice so that together we can defeat this ominous threat to our civilization.

LET'S REUNITE OUR POLARIZED NATION