Dare to Be Different

Submitted by linda (United States), Nov 16, 2006 at 19:37

Extremely well put. The only others I've heard brave enough to express the unpopular is the military. Lieutenant General R. Steven Whitcomb, Commanding General of the Third Army, U.S. Army Central, Coalition Forces Land Component Command out of Kuwait (who is in charge of all forces eventually going into Iraq) said last Friday,

"Today our nation is engaged in a long war against terrorists and extremists, that I fear that many do not truly understand the scope and breadth of this war. The enemy is different today. He is faceless, nationless and is able to claim credit for success without ever having to face any responsibility for failure. The enemy hides behind regional, national and ethnic borders. He does not obey the laws of war or of humanity. So it's down to the military and a small number of Americans -- not enough to save the world, or even ourselves. Feeling very alone.

"This enemy knows he can't defeat us militarily on the battlefield, but he is smart and he is media savvy. He uses our media to intimidate and inspire...And most importantly, this is an enemy that is true to his word. We must read every sentence when he speaks...I know our troops will meet the challenge. And if our enemies could but see the heart and spirit of our Purple Heart recipients, they would quickly know that we will stop at nothing ‘till the mission is complete."

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".