With the ongoing comparisons mounting between the current war with Islamo-fascism and WWII, it merits a look at the social climate during both conflicts. The media, the participants, and the nature of the conflict all play a roll in the way it plays out. While technology has moved ahead by leaps and bounds, has the development of our society hampered our ability to conduct an effective military operation?

During WWII, there was no global media. The news was carried primarily by newspapers, movie reels, and radio. There was no up to the minute reporting or hourly body counts. There were no cameras beaming live images back to the living rooms of millions of people or members of failed administrations being paraded on television arm chair quarterbacking the war. The Nation as a whole was not caught up in decades of political correctness that would have impaired their ability to find spies or federal court misinterpretations of the constitution to hamper our government’s efforts to protect our people. The times were different and the results were a success.

The American people during WWII were united in their support for the war against the Japanese and the Germans. It was not a war of precision guided weapons or politically correct fighting, it was brutal and effective. They did not worry about civilian casualties on the German or Japanese side to the degree that we are seeing today, they wanted to see them decimated and the countries brought to their knees. Thousands died on D-day, Iwo Jima, and on the march to Baton; more Americans died in each of these operations that the entire Iraq war to date.

Would have the American public have given their staunch support for the war effort in WWII under today’s conditions? Had the body count from Iwo Jima and the beaches of Normandy been reported in “breaking news” sound bites, public opinion may have been swayed. Had Roosevelt and Truman had the media and the ACLU looking over every decision with a microscope would they have used the necessary ruthlessness required to break the will of Japan and Germany? Had WWII been fought in today’s age of mass media, would they have been as sympathetic to the Nazis and Japanese as they are to Hezbollah and Hamas today? The thought of the Secretary of State trying to negotiate an appeasement with Hitler or the media debating the lives lost in Hiroshima and Nagasaki vs. the potential casualties on both sides if the war with Japan continued at the pace it was going makes one shudder.

What we have now is a new era in warfare. We see cameras brining you live video of the battlefield and we get up to the minute body counts of American casualties (the media never gives us a body count of terrorists killed). Our soldiers have to walk on egg shells lest they be brought up on charges of killing the wrong civilians in a war where the other side does not wear uniforms. Terrorists attack from the masses and then blend back in once they have made their attack. Anyone walking down the street could be a terrorist, they are indistinguishable from everyone else, and they have shown the willingness to use women and teens to carry out homicide attacks. With the media and the UN looking over their shoulder, it is a surprise that our troops have been allowed to fight at all.

During WWII we Americans were willing to sacrifice for liberty and freedom; we now see the Democrats and the ACLU fighting tooth and nail against every effort made by the Bush Administration to protect this Nation from terrorists under the guise of protecting our civil liberties. Their efforts have done more harm to the defense of this nation than the forces of Al Qaeda did on 9/11. With the FBI actively searching for Hezbollah terrorists they suspect are here in the United States, the Left has taken away many of the most effective tools that they had at their disposal. How can they find a mosque, say in Detroit, where militant Islamo-fascists are preparing to kill Americans if they can’t track their financing or listen to their phone calls? (Thank you New York Times) How can they even investigate suspected terrorists without being accused of racial profiling? (Thank you ACLU) Would Roosevelt or Truman have put up with this, or would they have rounded up everyone who fit the profile and ferreted out the terrorists?

This is a different time; the will to break the enemy no longer exists. There are too many people fighting for the civil rights of terrorists in Guantanamo and not enough people willing to fight the terrorists themselves. Terrorists see weakness and they capitalize on it. They believe that if they can drag a conflict out long enough the will of the West will wane and they will win. Just look at how, after two weeks, the international community is scrambling for a way to stop the fighting in Israel. Let them fight; let Israel break Hezbollah; let Israel show the terrorists how wars used to be fought.

The role of Iran in the conflict raging between Israel and Hezbollah continues to be revealed. Few doubt that they are the puppeteer pulling the strings of Hezbollah and using them to strike at Israel. The latest development is that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has come out publicly, again, calling for Israel’s destruction and praising Hezbollah. He quotes an Islamic proverb:

"He who raises the wind will get a hurricane."

"That proverb fully relates to the Middle East, which is a very volatile region," he said. "And it will be a strong hurricane which will strike really hard." Story

He is warning the world that the winds of conflict may spread like a hurricane across the Middle East. Only the naïve would not see that he is, once again, revealing his plans to the world. While the impotent United Nations fumbles around trying to broker some temporary and futile cease fire, and Condoleezza Rice is working to build an “enduring peace”, Iran tells the world that they will not let that happen.

The “hurricane” would undoubtedly attack Israel and would likely take the conflict to another level. Knowing that Ahmadinejad is determined to exterminate the Jews, the comparisons to 1930s Germany and a rising anti-Semite named Adolph Hitler become clearer. The question is whether or not the international community will stop this lunatic before he kills millions of Jews, or continue to attempt to appease him as Chamberlain did Hitler prior to WWII; time will tell.

The truly frightening aspect of this can be seen with a quick look at the media coverage of the war on the Israeli border. The pro Hezbollah coverage seemingly ignores the decades of history that Hezbollah has of terror attacks on Americans and Jews in the Middle East. Ahmadinejad is becoming a PR master on the order of Goebbles. He plays the liberal media like a fiddle and openly declares his intentions while garnering praise for his surrogates. Al Qaeda has become adept at playing the media to their benefit, and now Iran has begun winning the PR war as well. Like lemmings of a cliff, the Media continues to play into their hands.

The term “Global War on Terror” neither resonates with the American people nor is accurate; it is a misnomer. The reality is that this is a “War Against Islamo-Fascism”. Every front in this war; from Afghanistan to Iraq; from Israel to India; and from England to Spain; the enemy is one and the same. Islamo-fascist forces working to undermine democracy and united in their desire to destroy Israel.

Make no mistake, this is a world war. A look at the terror attacks perpetrated by Islamo-fascists shows that they are global in scope. This may be the reason the Bush Administration has stuck with the term “Global War on Terror”. This term may have been used initially to try to diffuse the media fixation on what they called Bush’s war in Iraq. In fact, after 9/11, the Bush Administration took out the Taliban in Afghanistan before setting its sights on Iraq.

The puppeteer of islamo-fascist groups is clearly Iran. The deranged President of that rogue nation has been identified as the number one supporter of Hezbollah, Hamas, and Al Qaeda. He is the number one state sponsor of terrorism and has been very open about his plans for Israel and the rest of the world:

• Prepare for the coming of the 12^th Imam
• Wipe Israel off the face of the earth
• Establish a world wide caliphate
• Kill all infidels
• Do it in less that 2 years

Not only is the Iranian President open about his desires for global conquest by his islamo-fascist forces, he has the idiotic American Media paying into his hands. Anyone who watches the news sees that they are sympathetic with Hezbollah. They are played like a fiddle by Al Qaeda, and will side with the very people who would cut their throats for an opportunity to undercut the Bush administration.

There is some measure of reassurance to be derived from the focus of President Bush on fighting islamo-fascists. It would behoove them to clarify what this war really is, a “War Against Islamo Fascism”. This is a concept that the American public can get a handle on. It specifically delineates the battle lines in the latest World War and identifies the foe in a manner that the average American can understand. This would, very likely, increase public support for the War and rekindle the National patriotism that we all felt when Islamo-fascists struck the World Trade Center towers on 9/11.

Condoleezza Rice visited Lebanon, Israel and is on her way to Ramallah. She is displaying the strength and resolve that befits her position as Secretary of State. In stark contrast to former Secretary of State and left wing media darling, Madeline Albright, she is not willing to give away the farm in exchange for empty promises from terrorists.

Secretary Rice has a vision of a new Middle East and did urge an end to violence in the region. To this end she is showing foresight in expressing that what is needed is an enduring peace and does not want to be back in a few months to put the peace back on track after the terrorists go back on any agreement. She is holding a firm line and is displaying the backbone Americans expect from someone in her position.

Secretary Rice’s plan is solid, yet simple:

· She has proposed that the fighting stop at the same time that an international force deployed in southern Lebanon.

· Secretary Rice wants Hezbollah weapons be removed from a buffer zone extending about 18 miles from the Israeli border.

· $30 million in humanitarian aid for Lebanon

· "If we have learned anything, it is that any peace is going to have to be based on enduring principles and not on temporary solutions."

Unlike Madeline Albright, she did not give away nuclear technology. She is showing resolve in attempting to change the culture of violence in the Middle East. She is not buying temporary peace, but is looking for long term solutions.

While I commend her approach, I think that this conflict will have to play itself out. One lesson that we should have learned over the past several decades is that we can not negotiate with terrorists. They are singular in their focus; wipe Israel off the face of the earth. They will do this at all costs and long for the opportunity to die in process. What could we possibly offer them that they would want? Short of the demise of Israel, they want nothing! This is the time for Israel to break the back of Hezbollah and Hamas. It is also the time for the United States to break the back of Al Qaeda. It is my opinion that an exponential increase in the force of US and Israeli response to terrorists is warranted. Force is something terrorists under stand, and those who live by the sword . . .

It amazes me that there are still a large number of Jewish Democrats in this country. When you look at the lack of values espoused by today’s Democratic Party, it stands in stark contrast to the values of Jewish society. When you see the way the Democratic Party has abandoned prominent Jewish leaders like Joe Lieberman for supporting the war on Islamo-fascist terrorists around the world, it makes no sense. He has been a Hawk on the war and should garner support from Jewish Americans. Since the Democratic Party has abandoned him he may end up running as an independent; I hope that Jewish Americans will rally behind him; he is more liberal than I like, but his support for the forces that want Israel hone should earn him the support of Jewish Americans.

The abandonment of Democrat support for Jewish Americans dates back to the Clinton Administration; they welcomed Yasser Arafat to the White House! What a slap in the face for the Jewish community; the world’s premier anti-Semitic terrorist welcomed to the White House. The Democrats have always tried to negotiate with the terrorists who want to exterminate the Jewish people. Republicans want to take them down, plain and simple. How is it possible for the Jewish American people to support a Party who has little interest in destroying the forces that want to destroy Israel?

Let’s look at what Israel is going through today. They are fighting for their very existence against the terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah. These groups have made an open invitation to Islamic Jihad to open up a third front against Israel. The Democrats and their Left wing Media machine are openly sympathetic to Hezbollah and openly critical of Hamas. Democrats continually question the Bush Administration for not pressuring Israel to stop defending itself! The best friend Israel has in the world today is the Republican Party. President Bush openly stated that Israel has a right to defend itself, John Bolton vetoed yet another impotent UN resolution (which would have ultimately given the terrorists time to regroup before striking again in a couple of years).

Israel has a right to fight for its life. The forces of radical Islam have openly stated that they want to attack them, cut off their heads, and eliminate them from the face of the earth; and are openly going about their attempt to do it. Only fools with blinders don’t see that Iran is pulling the strings in this war. The President of Iran has reportedly wanted this since he came to office, and he is arming and funding the groups that are fighting Israel. This may lead him to overplay his hand, however. He may perceive the US letting Israel fight alone as an opportunity to strike directly. If they do, it would not surprise me to see an American response in support of Israel. Naturally, the Democrats will criticize this too. How can Jewish Americans continue to support a Party that no longer supports or defends their core values? Perhaps it is time that they re-evaluated who really has their best interest and survival at heart.

The United Nations is blundering ahead with another attempt at a resolution that will have no impact on the Middle East . As they work to develop another impotent resolution I suggest that they try enforcing resolution 1559! If they enforced this resolution, they would not have the problems in with Hezbollah that we have now.

The truth is that there is no negotiating with terrorists. There is nothing the impotent United Nations can offer that they will want. Radical Islamic terrorists around the world have openly stated what they want; wiped off the face of the earth and every Jew killed. Anything short of this is unacceptable to them. Every time the UN steps in they only buy time for the terrorists to regroup and plan their next strike at.

Instead of conning the world into thinking a new UN resolution will have any significant impact on the Middle East , Kofi Annan should be answering some questions. What have the 2000 UN peace keeping forces been doing in for the past 6 years? Why have they turned a blind eye to the arms build up of Hezbollah? What will new UN peace keepers do that is any different? The bottom line is that the United Nations is an impotent world body that has run its course. It should have been disbanded years ago and the baby blue helmets of useless peace keeping forces retired. The UN should learn from the and , you do not negotiate with terrorists!