Gary Cooperberg
April 10, 2003

Everyone who watched the statue of Saddam Hussein toppled and then dragged through the streets by the Iraqi populace felt assured that, indeed, we have accomplished a tremendous good deed by liberating the Iraqi people from a hated dictator. It certainly was heartwarming to see the bitterness displayed toward the Iraqi leader by the people of Baghdad.

Despite the fact that, clearly, Saddam was a brutal and hated leader, we must be careful not to rush to celebrate what we would all like to see, but which is not likely to happen. . . the transition of Iraq into a free democratic country. It is very tempting for all of us to try and load all the evils of the world on one or two individuals. We must remember that, as evil as these individuals may be, they could not have gained control without the support of a great many others.

Islamic ideology which requires the masses to submit unconditionally to the rule of their leaders will not change. Western democracy will never take root in Iraq. The only hope for stabilization of that country is for the United States to install a puppet government with a leadership that knows where its limitations lie. An Islamic nation can and will respect the authority of a foreign force if it knows that force is willing and able to assert its power over it. The minute that nation even suspects that the ruling power is either unable or unwilling to assert that power, it will rebel.

This is precisely why we have a seemingly never-ending war in Israel. Our leadership chooses to treat Islamic entities as if they understand and respect western values. They do not. The only way to have any kind of peace with an Islamic entity is to show them, unequivocally, that you will not hesitate to smash them militarily should they dare oppose you in any way. To propose negotiations is to demonstrate an unwillingness to use force. This is interpreted as weakness and serves as an incentive to terror. One cannot negotiate with radical Islam. You can either flee from it or smash it.

Sharon took a gamble when he chose to put all his cards on Arafat. He assumed, and reasonably so, that by rendering Arafat persona non-grata, Islamic ideology would prevent any other Moslem from taking his place. Arafat outsmarted him by appointing an underling to go through the motions of “democracy” while effectively changing nothing.

There is only one way to deal with the terrorist organizations which we have allowed to fester in our country. We must methodically and ruthlessly destroy them completely, not just their leaders. All are cancerous growths which feed upon our gullibility and use it to continue plotting our destruction, even as they “negotiate for peace”. The only road map we should be devising is one devoid of any Arab sovereignty or independent authority. When the Arab living in Israel knows that he is responsible to obey our laws or he will be removed, then we will have peace and an end to terror. When he hears us squabbling among ourselves as to how we will build him a new independent state on our sovereign Land, even as he continues to murder our citizens, he is certain that, by continuing terror, he will eventually succeed in destroying us.

So if Mr. Bush really wants to wage a serious war against terror, he must understand the mind set of those who murder thousands by crashing jumbo jets into tall buildings. He has accomplished a tremendous feat by taking over Iraq. He has set an example which has the potential of really dealing a death blow to terror. But it can also backfire. It is extremely important that the aftermath of Iraq shows a consistent and continuous will and intention to follow through wherever dictators threaten world security. It is very likely that Syria, Iran, Libya, Saudi Arabia and other Islamic dictatorships will try to test the will of the American leadership. When they do, they must be fiercely and forcefully shown that they too will risk losing their leadership if they dare threaten the free world.

The next test is already upon us. The Islamic nations are demanding, as a form of reparation for standing aside when the US and Britain attacked their brother, that Israel be forced to make a new Islamic state within the tiny State of Israel. If this threat of the Islamic nations causes the US to try to pressure Israel into surrendering to Arab terror, then the defeat of Iraq will have been transformed into a victory for Islamic terror.

If the victory of Iraq is genuine, then there is no longer a need to contemplate appeasement of other Arab nations. On the contrary. The only way for this victory to be complete is for our leadership to be consistent and to show the Islamic world that we will not knuckle under to their demands. The next blow to international terror can and should be the removal of the PLO and all of its supporters from Israel without any conditions. Only those Arabs who repudiate any claim to sovereignty over Israeli soil and who adhere to our laws would be permitted to remain. By so doing Mr. Bush will be showing the Arab world that terror will not be tolerated anywhere. Only via such clear demonstrations will we succeed in fighting terror. As we have just seen in the Iraq War, Islamic dictators are willing to call our bluff. If we back down, we lose. Never again dare we make the mistake of assuming that appeasement or “negotiations” can stop terror. Only swift and brutal military action can and will succeed in putting an end to terror. To hesitate will only make the job more costly in human lives.

Project Shofar is dedicated to spreading these truths wherever it is possible to do so. It is sounding the alarm, to Jew and Gentile alike, to open our eyes to the G-dly process that is presently underway, and work to support it. We dare not stand idly on the sidelines.