Regarding your astute perceptions of people of the Moslem faith and tradition, I would have to say this; although these are modern times and we are at the beginning of the Third Millennium, we are talking about a vast number of people who still live in a 'tribal' or 'clannish' type of political and actual lifestyle, more suitable to the mid 18th century. From what I understand of the Q'oran, very little of what is being said and practiced by many Moslems today reflects what that book teaches. Actually, it is much like our own New Testament, in that it espouses a love of one's neighbor, and reaching out to help those more disadvantaged than ourselves, and through enlightenment, to bring others to the knowledge of their supreme being, Allah. Unfortunately, a rather large, and extremely volatile and militant number of Moslems are in a power struggle within their own religion for dominance. These people care little for what their holy book actually says, it is a front for their bid to strike out at those they deem to be inferior to themselves in every way. As with most tyrants, the only thing they will respect is power and force. Anything else is viewed as a sign of weakness by them. As Americans, we've faced this sort ol' thing before, e.g., the Empire of Japan, who thought that they were superior to all others, especially Asians, and set out to prove it by brutally fighting their way across the vast Pacific and much of Asia. Because of their 'Code of Bushido,' it was unthinkable to ever surrender, no matter what the consequences and to die in service of their emperor was a noble thing, indeed. I think we are presently seeing a similar mindset with the terrorists and suicide bombers who are willing to give their lives for 'Allah,' although this is not what Allah would have of them. Fortunately, or perhaps not, depending on your viewpoint, God has seen fit to make the United States of America the most powerful country on earth today, and it falls to us to police the rogue nations that refuse to abide by 'the rules of engagement' of civilized discourse between nations. There comes a time when diplomacy and talk is no longer of any value, as in the Spring and Summer of 1939 when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with Chancellor Adolf Hitler and 'gave away' Czechoslovakia to the Germans in return for 'Peace in our time.' Within six months there was another 'world war.' As the philosopher Georg Santayana said: "Those who fail to heed the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them." I believe this to be true, and therefore it is time for America to once again pick up the 'Big Stick' of Teddy Roosevelt and go punch some lights out. In the long run, we will save countless lives. If history teaches us anything, it is that he who hesitates is lost.  Back to Dispatch October 2002 Table of Contents Back to Dispatch List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by HMGS Mid-South This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com