Review & Analysis

During the 1920's and early 1930's Germany under Hitler's emerging regime built its military base by developing weaponry and training soldiers on offensive uses.  In the mid-1930's Hitler installed the German military machine into the Spanish Civil War as a means of testing tactics and civilization's willingness to protect itself.  On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia in what is now known to have been the start of World War II.  On December 7, 1941, Japan, one of the Axis nations, attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor and finalized the start of World War II.

During the 1970's and early 1980's rogue nations under several dictatorial leaders developed relatively simple but deadly weaponry and trained terrorist extremists on offensive uses.  In the mid-1980's rogue leaders used terrorist extremists to thrust themselves onto the global stage by hijacking airplanes and serving as a means of testing tactics and measuring civilization's willingness to protect itself.  During the 1990's dictatorial leaders used terrorist extremists to further measure civilization's resolve by ordering suicide bombings of embassies, civilian buildings and military ships to signal escalation of their causes to a new plateau.  On September 11, 2001, the dictatorial leaders used terrorist extremists to destroy symbols of freedom, democracy and capitalism on America's homeland.  That act announced escalation to a new plateau of their fight.  They claimed civilians were not innocent victims because these terrorists consider all participants in freedom, democracy and capitalism to be enemies.

History may record September 11, 2001 as the start of World War III.

In mid-2002 extremist Palestinian terrorists activated a cadre of young men and women to commit suicide bombings resulting in the killing of hundreds of Israeli civilians.  The intensity of this suicide bombing rampage caused Israel to launch a violent self-defense reaction.  The War Against Terrorism focused on the bloody streets of Israel.

World War III's battlefront appears to be Western Civilization's civilian streets.

Israel is on the leading edge of the global War Against Terrorism.  Israel's failure to stop suicide bombers may demonstrate that suicide bombings can accomplish terrorist objectives; terrorists may then export this battle tactic to additional Western nations.  World War III's cause may be the conflict between Western Civilization's attempt to remain civilized versus the terrorist forces' desire to reject modernity.

In his book, Carnage and Culture: Landmark Battles in the Rise of Western Power, Victor Davis Hanson presents a summary of the possible reasons for western battlefield superiority.

His thesis is that there are nine characteristics of Western culture that usually were not found together in other cultures, and certainly not as consistently as in the West: freedom, civic militarism, decisive battle (as opposed to ritualistic battle), technology, capitalism, discipline, civil control over military operations, free speech and dissent, and constitutional government.

The war in Afghanistan, a small segment of the War Against Terrorism, is actually similar to the war in Viet Nam from 1947 to 1975.

We can drop as much ordnance as we want to for as long as we care to as many times as we think might make a difference.  The enemy scatters, some die, and more enter the big picture.  The instant we stop shooting and bombing, the hoards return to kill us and willingly die themselves.

It cannot end.  Every day there is an unending supply of enemies born, taught to hate, to kill and die for a cause they are told is good.  We cannot kill them fast enough because we are civilized and we will not use mass killing weaponry such as nuclear devices.

They are not civilized and therefore feel free to use weaponry of any type they can acquire to kill as many of us indiscriminately wherever and whenever they can.

Can it ever end?  In the 20th century alone more than 125 million people died in wars.  Perhaps the 20th Century should be referred to as the Hundred Years War II instead of the time of the Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, Korean conflict, Viet Nam, Gulf War, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

This evil enemy exhibits characteristics of the schoolyard bully who never out-grew his need to control and cannot gain a following using legitimate positive issues and objectives.  Instead, for purely self-serving goals this enemy hides behind religious tenets he perverts and misrepresents as he romances an uneducated and desperately needy populace that has not yet identified any productive pathway to progress.

This evil enemy embodies all that is stubborn and evil.  It emasculates all energies from those followers who innately desire progress and might have been able to lead their countrymen out of their uncivilized age using positive means.  This evil enemy redirects those followers' potential energies to serve its bullying, pseudo-leadership's narrow goal of controlling Afghan and Muslim people while destroying the civilized world because civilization is guilty of being successful.  This evil enemy cannot identify how to succeed for itself and that is why it must bully the weakened masses using perverted religious tenets, fear and force.

Civilization must handle this evil enemy as any other characterless, narrowly-focused schoolyard bully.  This enemy is composed of unguided, weak charactered individuals who, by default, join their local bully brigade.  This enemy's followers will not persevere long after it is threatened with force because they are not bound by high-minded principles and positive long-term enriching goals.  They will melt into the sands once they experience the violent treatment that they have inflicted with impunity upon others.  They have little strength of purpose.

Remember, this bully is just like others:  It is a coward and will back down when confronted directly.  It uses women and children as shields and seduces men to serve selflessly to sacrifice for its cause.  Civilization's challenge is to remove the bully's weaponry, cause defection of his troops, gain control of his territory and capture him.  Then the bully must be put on trial so the world hears the evidence against him and his explanation for having committed atrocities in the name of any God.  Only then might every civilized person forever understand why this bully cannot be forgiven or allowed to exist.

What endows a people with the rights and powers of national sovereignty?  Does a group of primitive tribes occupying a segment of land sandwiched between other nations automatically earn national sovereignty?  Do primitive tribes earn by default the benefits and respect afforded other established nations when they have lived throughout history as wild ruffians unable to coexist peacefully and productively with their neighbors, unable to farm and unable to build a societal structure resembling the many models set forth by Western Civilization and neighboring Asian cultures?

The civilized world was required to retaliate after September 11, 2001, against the terrorists who for decades had been pushing limits and building toward those attacks.  If the civilized world had continued to treat terrorists as spoiled, misbehaving children and only shouted back at them as it had since the end of the Gulf War, not retaliating with nearly full force, terrorist efforts would obviously have continued until they destroyed all civilized people.  After months of retaliation the civilized world has impressed upon Taliban, al Qaeda and other terrorist groups that their terrorist acts will not be accepted passively as they were in the 1990's.  These groups may now perceive that there is no gain.  They will only bring heavy force upon themselves if ever they attack civilized nations again.  However, being fanatics and therefore unable to learn from experience and logically apply lessons to adust their behavior, they are likely to continue doing the only work they know:  Terrorism.

Today the War Against Terrorism has taught lessons directly to terrorist groups in Afghanistan and indirectly to terrorist groups across the world.  The death and pain inflicted upon terrorist groups in Afghanistan is actually only learned by those individuals who die.  The remaining fanatics are regrouping, training and planning more global attacks and the retaking of Afghanistan's territory.   The roaming tribes of primitives who are not religious fanatics are already poking around looking for weak points in the interim Afghanistan government.  These Afghani tribes are resuming what they know to do:  Waging tribal wars.  These tribal wars will continue as they have for thousands of years and should not be confused with civil wars that civilized people of many nations have and will fight over principles.

The civilized world has made as much of an impression upon the terrorists of Afghanistan as can be made.  To continue bombing, cave fighting, building and teaching will be a repetitive, unending, fruitless project.  If the Afghani people are worthy of national sovereignty and capable of being civilized and building an economy and societal structure they can start today.  They have the same tools as every nation has ever had:  Their own initiative and abilities.  If they demonstrate progress they will have more tools and assistance than many nations have had:  Financial, educational and technological aid from the civilized world.

Terrorists who are native Afghanis as well as other terrorist groups continue to migrate to several terrorist enclaves including Afghanistan.

It is time for the civilized world to accept its gains, initiate redirection of the War Against Terrorism toward the next terrorist enclave, suppress terrorism there, and then continue the cycle.  Uncivilizable terrorist elements around the world must be taught by rote that they cannot make gains by attacking civilization.  If they do not join the civilized world and live civilized lives they must stay home and bully each other.

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