A War Unlike any Other

As we sit here on the anniversary of our invasion of Iraq it is time to reflect on the effects and causes that are being debated today.

Let me start by saying right off that the war in Iraq is completely right and we should do whatever it takes to insure a succesful outcome and bring a stable democratic government to Iraq.

Iraq is of course part of a larger global war on terrorism. Let's look at that for a moment. On 9/11 the US was attacked, not by a nation but by an ideology. We weren't attacked by random terrorists with a limited agenda. We were not attacked by a small isolated group who saw 9/11 as a culmination of events. We were attacked by a worldwide organization that has sworn to bring about a theocratic world government. The radical Islamists are not a small group and they are not swayed by concession or recognition. They are not attempting to have a world voice, or a recognized state. They are after nothing less than the total conversion of the world to their form of Islam. If they can not achieve conversion then it is totally acceptable to them to eliminate(KILL) those who would oppose them. They will never surrender and come to the peace table for talks. They do not accept any terms other than those they dictate.

Anyone who doesn't believe that is simply stupid. STUPID!!!!!!

How do you combat an enemy like that? With Germany in ww2 the solution was complete destruction of the German lands and the execution of all of the leaders of the Nazi party. With Japan we had to resort to nuclear weapons to finally break their back. None of these adversaries were as committed nor widespread as the enemy we face today.



The only way to defeat this enemy is to change the ideology. That is not an easy task. How do you do that?

If you wanted to change the ideology of a nation you would infiltrate and deliver propoganda to undermine the government. Much like part of the way we helped defeat communism during the cold war.

You could also embargo and isolate much like we have tried with Cuba. This track is much longer and not completely succesful if you have a dynamic leader who keeps his nation isolated himself.

You could also attack and defeat the nation and impose your own form of government and enforce it with arms. This worked in Japan and partly in Germany.This is the attempt in Iraq but we are not looking for the same results.

In Iraq we are looking for multiple outcomes.

1.To establish Iraq as a democracy. This is completely an internal objective which is an attempt to rid the world of the thorn that was Saddam.

2. To establish a succesful democracy in the Middle East. This is a much more important objective. This is the ideology changing strategy that makes Iraq so important to the greater war.

In order to establish a change in the Middle East, we must establish a presence.
The fact that people can get online and espouse whatever hate speech or dissension or support that they want to is a freedom that most Americans take for granted. The freedom to dissent is one that is defended with the "blood of patriots" and ensures the survival of our way of life.
This freedom is not granted by government but by God and it is the people's job to insure that these God-given freedoms are protected around the world.
If we want to change the ideology of the radical Islamist we have to eliminated their seed corn. We have to offer something different to those disaffected that flock to the radical movement.
Here is where Iraq becomes important.
The establishment of a thriving democracy that includes all people without regard to religion is something that will resonate throughout the world if we are succesful. Iraq can be that example of democracy that offers hope to the hopeless, freedom to the oppressed and opportunity to the disenfranchised. If we only have the resolve to see this mission through.
Germany took 20 years to completely lose all remnants of its Aryan ideology within its government. The mission in Iraq is more important.

Let us not forget that we are changing the world. It ain't easy.

More Later....