When the distinguished commentator Victor Davis Hanson publishes a downbeat column deploring our seeming inability to cope with jihadist terrorism, attention must be paid, above all by our leaders.  Professor Hanson's column appears in the Jewish World Review today, Thursday August 24, 2006.  He lists seven points where our response fails to match or overcome our enemy.  Among them:

• Death, to the Islamists, is not only a means but an end in itself.  We recoil from it, they relish it and profit from it.
• The spectacular rise in oil prices puts powerful and sophisticated weaponry into the hands of jihadist barbarians.
• Western reliance on air superiority--given the pitiful naïveté or outright hostility of the media--is more of a drawback than an asset.

I want to call attention to his bottom line:

But unless we in the West adapt more quickly than do canny Islamic terrorists in this constantly evolving war, cease our internecine fighting and stop forgetting what we've learned about our enemies--there will be disasters to come far worse than 9-11. [emphasis mine]

For everyone, this column is a must-read.  Those who have the stomach to contemplate civilian casualties on the scale of Hamburg and Dresden and the fire-bombing of Tokyo may want to read on and consider a "Modest Proposal" that deals with how we might benefit tactically from what we have learned about our enemies.

One thing we have learned about our enemies is that they respond vociferously to provocation.  Who can forget the hundreds of thousands who thronged the streets, from London to Southeast Asia, in reponse to a few "offensive but accurate" cartoons published in a Danish newspaper?

The proposal: Provoke and Provoke, again and again.  In anticipation, have a fleet of war-weary old A-10 Warthogs and AC-47 Magic Dragons at the ready, all gassed up and munitioned.  Not being an expert on weaponry, this writer sought the sage counsel of a former USMC gunnery sergeant of his acquaintance, who answered "Five words: daisy cutters, cluster bombs, MOAB."  With all due humility, this writer would add fuel-air [thermobaric] weapons to the arsenal, on the grounds that they--although nominally conventional--are spectacularly lethal when the target is massed humanity.  First, kill them by the boulevard-full. Then use cluster bombs and the like to fragment the corpses,  As a final touch, to get their attention, use precision-guided napalm bombs dropped from B-52s to quick-roast the massed corpses into the thick, charred gelatinous mass that filled the basements of Dresden in 1945.

What is the point of all this horror?  It would serve admirably to concentrate the minds of radical imams and mullahs on religious affairs, to the detriment of preaching jihad to disaffected Muslim youth.  Of course, reducing the size of their congregations would be a net plus in and of itself.  But the main benefit would flow from forcing them to consider, with all devotional reverence, how Mohammed [pbuh] would solve the problem of providing an honorable, duly Koranic martyrs' burial to tons of bone fragments embedded in a revolting mass of raspberry JELL-O™.  The ensuing theological discussions might consume vast imam-hours of pious disputation, at grave cost to the intrinsically political activity of preaching Jihad.  Who knows? It might even direct their minds to the notion that the path to Jihad leads only to the grave, not to establishing the umpteenth caliphate.

Disclaimer: 

The opinions expressed in this post are those of its author alone.  They do not reflect any policy or position taken by the Old War Dogs as a group.

Contributed by John Werntz on August 24, 2006 at 12:02 PM in Best of Old War Dogs, Current Affairs, Islamism Delenda Est, John "72nd TCS" Werntz | Permalink

Comments

Posted by: Zero Ponsdorf

Ditto!

Posted by: Zero Ponsdorf | Aug 24, 2006 1:28:29 PM

Posted by: Rurik

Those opinions are not those of the author alone. Let me be the next OWD to sign on for your recommendations.
Back on September 12, 2001 I called for the carpet-bombing of Baghdad by B-52s packed full of FAEs (Thermobarics). I still think that would've been a proper response.
I also think we need to consider adding neutron bomb munitions to our inventory. As I understand, neutron warheads kill lots of the bad guys we're after, while causing minimal structural damage. And best, the radiation is only of short duration. That sounds like an ideal warhead for use in an area containing a large portion of the world's proven oil reserves.
Of course, a different tool for each purpose. If and when we hit Mecca, it need not be a large warhead, but I think that there long-lasting radiation would be a very productive refinement.

Posted by: Rurik | Aug 24, 2006 2:57:03 PM

Posted by: John

Rurik: What's your secret? How did you get to be so lovable?

Posted by: John | Aug 24, 2006 3:54:18 PM

Posted by: The Gray Dog

I've always imagined a squadron of precision crop dusters with red paint in their canisters, creating concentric circles around the entire area. The physcho-warfare aimed at these heartless bastards would be a bit of delicious amusement just prior to the creation of the world's largest glass parking lot.

Thank you John. I truly love your posts.

Posted by: The Gray Dog | Aug 24, 2006 4:22:31 PM

Posted by: Bill Faith

John, I just post-dated your post by about 10 minutes to move it higher on the site but not the very top. Based on the other comments I think maybe it may be tomorrow's featured post. I'm going to have to poll the pack before I decide for sure.

Posted by: Bill Faith | Aug 24, 2006 4:28:32 PM

Posted by: 1st Cav

Count me in as a signatory to this operations strategy! I'm sick of these bastards.

Posted by: 1st Cav | Aug 24, 2006 5:17:51 PM

Posted by: Rurik

John. How did I get to be so lovable? Easy. I've been taught that it is more blessed to give than to receieve. This is particularly true with munitions. And since the Muslims want so very much to have a nuclear bomb, perhaps they might feel better disposed toward us if we were to deliver them one or two of ours.

Posted by: Rurik | Aug 25, 2006 5:37:11 PM

Posted by: Debbie

I agree with everybody. These folks cannot be negotiated with. They have one goal and one goal only... The entire world will be Islamic, or they die. Simple. Why can't folks understand that? It is hard for civilized people to accept the fact that one group of people want to completely wipe out, or control, the rest of us. They need only look to Nazi Germany if they have any doubts. Crank up the planes, time's a wasting.

Posted by: Debbie | Aug 25, 2006 8:52:38 PM

Posted by: malakkasinc

Semper Fi !
and
waiting FOR :
adeste fidelis.

Posted by: malakkasinc | Aug 26, 2006 11:13:27 AM

Posted by: gene

It simply makes sense; or to (mis)quote Elliot, "not with a whimper, but a BANG!"

Posted by: gene | Aug 26, 2006 4:07:36 PM