Wednesday, August 21, 2002
By Hal Lindsey
© 2002 WorldNetDaily.com
Support for the war on terror continues to wane on a worldwide basis as one nation after another considers the potential consequences involved.
From the Western perspective, wars are something that are fought somewhere else, usually by someone else. In those few instances in which we actually did the fighting (still somewhere else), it was conducted at arm's length as much as possible.
The Vietnam War was the last real ground war. And statistically, more Americans are killed annually in U.S. traffic accidents than were killed in 10 years in Southeast Asia.
For Europe, the carnage of World War II largely consists of anecdotal memories. The average living European has seen less war in the last two generations than has the average American.
Until Sept. 11, terrorism was criminal activity. The deaths of three thousand innocent civilians made terrorism an act of war.
War is a funny thing. When it first breaks out, it brings out the "whiskey courage" in people. The flags begin to wave as even politicians who built their careers around pacifism start to sound like hawks. But then, as there is time for sober reflection, the flags begin to appear less regularly, the pacifists begin to sound more reasonable, and the hand-wringing grows contagious.
Everybody becomes a military expert, and the only ones who don't seem to know what they are doing are the ones who actually are the military experts. On television, everybody knows what to do. And it isn't what the Pentagon is doing. So we'd be better off just packing up our stuff and coming home than allowing the Dr. Strangeloves at the Pentagon to blow up the world.
Islam has undergone a systematic rehabilitation. For every person who says something like Franklin Graham did recently when he called Islam "evil," there are two Islamic apologists on hand to explain why Islam is really a religion of peace.
The National Education Association is discouraging teachers from blaming Islam, al-Qaida, the Taliban or anybody else for 9-11, preferring instead to teach youngsters the attacks were a consequence of America's historical hypocrisy.
In universities that would fire anyone who suggested a course on how the Bible and Christianity has influenced Western civilization, classes on the Koran, Islam and its cultural significance are mandatory for freshman classes.
Anyone who dares criticize Islam can count on being labeled intolerant. Yet no one can deny the fact that every single terror attack against the United States was done in the name of Islam.
The fact every Muslim isn't a terrorist is not the same thing as the fact every al-Qaida terrorist is a Muslim. So pretending Islam is not a factor is colossally stupid.
As the White House continues to develop its war plans for Saddam Hussein, those stalwarts who were ready to fight to the last drop of blood on Sept. 12 are less enthusiastic about taking down Iraq as a necessary part of the war on terror.
Iraq is not a disembodied motley crew of terrorists. Attacking Iraq could mean lighting the spark that ignites the entire region. It could even ignite World War III.
Is it worth it? That is the question of the day. Why not just let sleeping dogs lie? I confess I've pondered that myself.
I was jolted back to reality by a report in the Boston Globe that details the plight of a 30-year-old Nigerian divorcee. She was arrested and charged with giving birth more than nine months after her divorce by an Islamic court applying Sharia Law.
She was condemned to death by stoning. An Islamic high court rejected her appeal, upholding the sentence, with the proviso that the woman not be executed until after she finishes breast-feeding the child whose birth was her death warrant.
''This is a triumph of Allah's law against the enemies of Shariah,'' said Mohammed Radiu, 26, an Islamic studies student.
That is the "sleeping dog" that we are tempted to let lie. That isn't anti-Islamic propaganda – that is Islamic law.
The same Islamic law that would be imposed on America, if the Islamic jihad of our enemies is successful.
Hal Lindsey is the best-selling author of 20 books, including "Late Great Planet Earth." He writes this weekly column exclusively for WorldNetDaily and maintains a website where he provides up-to-the-minute analysis of today's world events in the light of ancient prophecies.
