R. C. V.

I wonder if the common working American ever gives thought to how they can help win the war with the jihadists. I think about it all the time in a strategic sense. I think about it as “How do we collectively win this thing”. But what about on a personal level? Do I convert to Islam and worship at a mosque so that I can infiltrate a sleeper cell and pull a James Bond break-up of plot and stop the bomb clock .18 seconds before NYC is vaporized? How do I personally help fight the war on terror? I can tell you this much, leave infiltrating the sleeper cells to the professionals. We have our best people on that right now and it works far more often than it doesn’t. For the rest of us though, there are three things everyone can do and they make a big difference. Three simple things. Resolve, Courage and Vigilance.

Resolve. We must resolve that we will win. We must decide that we will kill whoever we have to kill to win and that we will help those that help us in our fight. The more divided we are as a people, the harder it will be to win. A house divided against itself cannot stand, The appeasers are the biggest danger. The appeasers either think that fighting is evil or they think fighting is worse than losing. Maybe they don’t think we can win and don’t want to try. Appeasers have resolved “not to win”. Don’t be an appeaser. Resolve that we can and will win.

Courage. We must have the courage to live our lives as if there was no threat. There are no non-combatants in this war. Non-combatant status is defined by the Geneva Conventions, but the enemy does not recognize the Geneva Conventions. Your lifestyle is a threat to radical Islam and that makes you a combatant and a legitimate target in their minds. To work, produce goods and export capitalism and democracy is the West’s best hope and Radical Islam’s worst fear. Live with a constant threat and sail bravely into danger each day. Over time, the stress from such fear takes a toll. Be strong. Love your children and watch over them. Teach them to be strong and that freedom is worth fighting for. The stronger we are, the shorter the war will be. Resolve and courage together are a formidable combination.

Vigilance. The key to stopping attacks is to interrupt the enemy when he masses his force for the attack. On Sept 11th, it probably only would have taken a small number of breaks to stop the attacks, but some of the obvious clues could not be used because of anti-discrimination laws. If we are to protect ourselves, we need to use every tool. If we put a blindfold on, we give the enemy an advantage. Pay attention no matter where you are. When you are in the airport, subway, grocery store, shopping mall or school parking lot you are in the places that are or may become battlegrounds. But in order to attack, they must come out among us. And if we are watchful, we can interrupt the operation and deny them the casualties they want to create. Any attack, whether successful or not leaves clues that we can use to track and kill the monster.

These are dark days, but the best steel is forged in heat and pressure. The “Greatest Generation” earned it’s place in history and so shall we. Resolve, Courage and Vigilence