When Worlds Collide
By Horace Cooper
July 1, 2004
"The killing is a lesson to Americans and their allies," says the statement of Al Qaida after dumping the beheaded body of Paul Johnson. Along with the killing of Kim Sun-il and Nick Berg, the sheer savagery of these beheadings say more than any Al Qaida statement about the challenge we as a nation face. Al Qaida kidnapped Nick Berg, Paul Johnson and Kim Sun-il as part of some depraved scheme to impose their will on the rest of the world.
But Americans should not be confused. The irrationality and brutality of these murders give a window into our challenge. As Secretary of State Colin Powell noted this is "barbarism" and that's exactly what we are facing in the War on Terror.
While we should not lower ourselves to their level, we must not treat them as moral equivalents with whom we simply disagree. Those who cut heads off and stab eyes out with knives are not our moral equivalents - they are from another world.
The U.S. and European Community disagree about the propriety of the Kyoto Protocol. Russia and the U.S. disagree about the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. Regardless of which side one takes on these matters, gentlemen can agree to disagree. Disagreements are one thing but with Al Qaida America should be clear - the gap between the civilized and these reprobates is worlds apart.
We as a country have flirted too long with the idea that we simply have disagreements with our terrorist enemies. But moral clarity is what we need and what the brutal murder of Paul Johnson, Nick Berg, and Kim Sum-il demands. Just as with the Cold War we Americans and the West must be resolute. The challenge really is them or us. Those who behead, maim and kill the innocent in a reign of terror cannot be accommodated. They cannot be reasoned with - they must be stopped in their tracks. As Vice President Cheney said "America will hunt down these killers and find them one by one and destroy them." This is the resolve we need in our leaders.
Unfortunately there are some for whom such clarity is itself confusing. Hailing from the east coast media and the cabals of academia, they seemingly legitimize these extremists. Sadly these grievance mongers imply that repression and injustice in the Middle East are root causes of the conflict. They also suggest that America's economic and international relationships are a form of 21st century neo-imperialism.
Such sentiments rob us of the ability to act, but act we must. Civilization itself is threatened by these extremists. The rights of women, minorities, and freedom of thought stand in direct opposition to these aliens from another world.
The abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison pale in comparison to the atrocities regularly engaged in by these fanatics. America rightly responded with inquiry and condemnation to the mistreatment of Iraqi detainees. Unfortunately, grievance mongers (like Al Gore with his claim that we run an "American Gulag") create confusion where clarity is desperately needed. The Taliban and Al Qaida represent the most direct and clear rejection of the values of the West and these aliens from the Dark Ages cannot co-exist with the 21st century world.
They will not allow détente, strategic engagement, or even a cold war. Daily they signal that it is they or we. That's what the beheadings signify; that's the lesson of 9-11.
Rather than create an environment where the world's revulsion for the atrocities can allow it to speak with one voice, the "blame George Bush first" crowd sows dissent and foments cognitive dissonance.
For beheading, maiming and stoning to be universally condemned and recognized as a relic of ancient tribalism's past we must stay unified in our understanding of the threat. Tragically, in the space of 3 short years the unity and resolve that once existed in America has deteriorated. That resolve must return.
Democracy and the rule of law can't flourish in an environment where hooded thugs freely operate. Freedom and individual rights can't co-exist with tyranny and brutality. The terrorists must be rooted out and repelled to the Dark Ages from whence they hail. Retreat just isn't an option. These cruel and barbaric savages prey mostly upon the weak and vulnerable and must be expelled from planet earth.
Remember the words of Paul Johnson's wife, Thanom, a Thai citizen as she fought back tears while pleading for her husband's life. "When I see his picture in TV, I fall down," said Thanom. "When I hear the name Paul Johnson, I cry a lot. He is my only family here." Her pleas went unanswered, and so will America's if the terrorists win. At the Sept. 20, 2001 joint session of Congress, President Bush proclaimed, "I will not yield, I will not rest, I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people." The President can't do it alone, we must join him in the struggle, because when world's collide, it's us or them.
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Horace Cooper writes a regular political analysis column for United Press International and GOPUSA.com. He was praised as a key Republican strategist in Elizabeth Drew's New York Times bestseller "Showdown: The Struggle Between the Gingrich Congress and the Clinton White House" and extolled as a "poster conservative" by Michele Mitchell in "A New Kind of Party Animal."
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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA.