Words save blood - so give words a chance
Reader comment on item: War's New Face

Submitted by Glen Wishard (United States), Apr 16, 2003 at 17:25

Unfortunately the superiority of American military power (in firepower, mobility, logistics, command and control, etc.) has no deterrent effect on those who live in the highly manipulated reality of the radical Islamic world. The radicals are assured of victory right up to the last full measure of humiliation, after which they are easily convinced that they were somehow betrayed and robbed of their rightful victory.

The punishment meted out by US forces is so swift and severe that it seems to obscure its own lesson - it seems unreal, and produces such lopsided results that the enemy feels the loss of pride more keenly than he does the loss of blood. The temptation to simply refuse to accept reality is very strong. And leftist critics play with the notion that it's somehow unfair, and that we ought to give our enemies a chance to hurt us a little so they can save face - even if that means longer, bloodier struggles in which more people die on both sides.

Only by breaking the grip of radical Islamic and Arab nationalist propaganda, with vigorous counter-propaganda of our own, can we get out of this vicious circle without fighting another dozen wars. Unfortunately, the Left is appalled by the notion that we should beat the drums for freedom and democracy, and advocate our own values in response to those who would violently impose theirs on the entire world.

---

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 for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.