Point: Herbert London Against such a fierce enemy, life comes before liberty
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November 14, 2004It had been assumed by many that with the end of the Cold War barbarism would have been a condition civilized people had left behind, a relic of a bygone era. But like so many predictions of contemporary society, this one is wrong.
After 9/11 we have entered a period in which our enemy, radical Islam, is out to destroy America. As Osama bin Laden noted in 1998, Muslims have an obligation to kill Americans. In addition, radical Islamists believe that the infidels, namely Christians and Jews, must be forced to submit to Islam or die.
"We must keep in mind the nature of the enemy," President Bush told graduates at the U.S. Air Force Academy in June. "No act of America explains terrorist violence, and no concession of America could appease it."
The predators have returned to the world stage. The killers we face are shadowy, supranational and faith obsessed. The methods they employ are suicide bombings, beheadings and mutilation. If they can get their hands on nuclear weapons, they will be used.
Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times argues there is a better-than-even-money chance a nuclear device will be set off, killing 500,000 people or more. The 9/11 commission report contends such an event is a probability. And bin Laden claims he has a religious duty to kill at least 4 million Americans.
Despite an understandable desire to deny this horrendous scenario, it must be confronted. Should we be unable to do so, or find that the sacrifice is too much of a burden, savagery will assuredly reign and the world will relapse into barbarism.
This is not an exaggerated claim since the threat was borne out on 9/11, and even before in the attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; the USS Cole; the Marine installation in Saudi Arabia; the 1993 explosion at the World Trade Center; and dozens of other violent episodes.
Countering an enemy filled with zealotry and potentially in possession of nuclear weapons is a challenge different from any we've confronted in the past. Our open society is vulnerable to attack. Hence intelligence is critical. We must be able to watch, listen and anticipate the evil deed over the horizon.
The ACLU in its effort to protect civil liberties seems to shortchange the threat we face. It is obvious that some freedom may be temporarily reduced in order to thwart the dangers that lurk in our midst. President Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War. For example, the Patriot Act is a small price to pay for bolstering intelligence operations that could forestall attack.
My major gripe with those who promote civil liberties to the exclusion of other concerns is their lack of realism about the enemy. Surely we can take al-Qaida spokesmen at their word. What they say is that war is necessary, democracy is evil, science is misguided and Islam must prevail even if Armageddon is fostered.
We are a long way from a "police state," which is glibly asserted as a criticism after every action taken by the attorney general in the war against terrorists. Moreover, I am all for glorifying liberty. Yet we must recognize the threat that exists and in the process, glorify life even as we glorify liberty.
Still it is not enough to say glorify life; there are specific measures that must be taken to thwart possible terrorist acts in our nation. The wall of separation between law enforcement and national security agents must be shattered.
Second, the human intelligence assets must be restored. Spying is a nasty but necessary business.
Third, preemption is a critical feature of prevention. We must use every legal means at our disposal to undermine terrorist cells.
Fourth, we should encourage the Immigration and Naturalization Service to deport non-citizens who foster violent activity. More than 80 percent of mosques preach anti-American dogma and some actively promote terrorism.
Fifth, despite a reluctance to consider profiling -- understandable since racial and ethnic differentiation is appropriately frowned upon -- it should be noted that 80-year-old grandmothers from Des Moines haven't been identified as terrorist "sleepers." Yet remarkably they are treated in precisely the same fashion at airports as those carrying Saudi Arabian passports.
Last, this war is different from others because our enemy is intent solely on destruction. Either the world submits to Islam, or the world is turned into the hell of destruction. In radical Islam, religion is "flesh and blood" and unless one submits, death is the only recourse. Hence a persistent refusal to use power against this threat must be overcome. We don't need martyrs to survive, but we do need vigilance, intelligence and legal mechanisms that realistically recognize the threat we face.
London is president of the Hudson Institute.
