“Top Ten List of things I believe to be true about the global war with radical Islamic terrorists”
Sometime after the attacks of September 11, 2001, I created what I titled the “Top Ten List of things I believe to be true about the global war with radical Islam,” and those states that support and encourage them. Sadly, this list is still valid today, especially after recent events in Libya, Egypt and elsewhere in the Middle East. Here is my Top 10 List:
Number 10. Regardless of where they live on planet Earth, all people who are free – or who want to be – are in a global war against radical Islam.
Number 9. The war on terror has no front lines, rear areas, demilitarized zones or safe harbors.
Number 8. Islamic terrorists kill innocent people because they hate Jews, Americans and other "non-believers" more than they love their own children.
Number 7. The war on terror is not about oil or Israel; it's about global domination by radical Islam, which wants to take civilization back to the first millennium A.D.
Number 6. Terrorism is very efficient. Even failed terrorist acts are successful because they almost always have the effect of limits being imposed on free societies, like having our shoes and liquids screened every time we board a plane, and being groped by the TSA as if the 4th Amendment wasn’t part of the Constitution.
Number 5. For many years, mistakes have been made in dealing with terrorists by many governments and their leaders; more mistakes will be made. Our enemies are the terrorists, not those who make mistakes trying to fight them.
Number 4. Success in the war against radical Islam will not come to the naive, the passive or the squeamish. History has shown that appeasement does not work when dealing with evil. Islamic terrorists will never employ or respond to diplomacy or negotiations; they will kill and create chaos until they win or we kill them.
Number 3. By themselves, terrorists cannot defeat us; they can only create conditions that diminish our resolve and cause us to defeat ourselves.
Number 2. Today, the future of the free world is at stake because of the stated goals and determination of radical Islam.
Number 1. It is absolutely possible that we could lose the war against radical Islam.
In 1998 I started saying that the 21st century would be the century of the entrepreneur; where small businesses around the globe would leverage liberty and free markets to collectively lead the world with their contribution. I still believe that.
But unfortunately, simultaneous with making the world a better place through our efforts in the marketplace, we also have to do whatever is necessary to prevent the 21st century from becoming the century of radical Islam.
Finally, to paraphrase the almost 300-year-old wisdom of Edmund Burke, the only way for evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing.
Jim Blasingame is creator and host of the Small Business Advocate Show. Copyright 2012, author retains ownership. All Rights Reserved.
