This Spengler makes the error of projection - he is projecting a part of the West upon the whole of it. There is a part of the West which is entirely incapable of self-defense...if ordered by victorious enemies, these people would meekly show up to be massacred in an orderly fashion.

This element of the Western population - much more prevalent in Europe than the United States - is, however, on the way out. Its that weak-willed element of the population which made socialism possible. Its dying off very fast because being so weak-willed, it cannot even breed in sufficient numbers to replace itself.

The core of the West, for the past century contained within the United States, is as strong as it ever was in the moral sphere...and its about to reclaim its own in its entirety as the weak, debilitated chicken of leftism makes its last gasps.

I do run across these people who simply cannot contemplate us fighting a war - let alone fighting it to win. In the olden days, we had a word for these people - they were yellow; lilly-livered cowards. They blanch at our 300 dead and want us to call it quits - fortunately for civilisation, most people aren't like this and even 10,000 dead would not dismay provided we can see clearly that we're fighting for victory.

As for those Islamists who think that enforced virtue is actual virtue, they're going to get knocked on the head in a decisive way. They have forgotten the United States of Okinawa, and we're going to remind them of it.

You know, this is going to sound a bit radical, but I think that our fight against radical Islamism (or whatever you want to call The Bad Muslims) won't necessarily be won because our convictions are stronger than theirs. Perhaps we're going to win not because we're so strong per se, but because we're so relaxed. One of the beautiful things about America is that, despite whatever arguments we get into, we're more or less a "live and let live" kind of country. At least within our own borders, we generally leave one another alone. We generally refrain from telling other people how to live. We generally mind our own business.

This is, of course, antithetical to the totalitarian (and essentially socialist) theocracy of some Islamic nations. Their entire governmental structure and way of life is based on enforcing a particular world-view, a particular religion, and a particular behavioral code. Their rigidity makes them incapable of surviving change (just look at how Iraq fell apart after decades of strict control under Saddam -- and how quickly Yugoslavia fell apart after the fall of communism). Their inability to comprehend and tolerate other ways of life puts blinders on their problem-solving abilities.

I know that "United We Stand" is a big slogan these days, but I'm inclined to think "Loosely Affiliated We Win" is a less-moving but more-apt phrase. Our diversity and adaptability, as in all natural systems, is what makes America so great.

John,

True, thats not exactly the Battle Cry of Freedom...but it does contain a great deal of truth about the United States. Some other suggestions would be "Remember the Beach!" and "Damn the War, I'm Still Going to Have a Cookout". As the President observed in December of 2001, the Taliban were cowering in caves while Americans were enjoying their holidays.

I think we can rest assured that while the troops in Iraq would be appreciative if we threw them a parade when they come home, they also wouldn't mind if we just sent them to Cabo San Lucas for a week. Our country, as I've pointed out elsewhere endlessly, is infinitely strong - so strong that we can do several things at once and as long as we have clear-headed leadership we'll always come out on top, in spite of any mistakes we might make on the way.

Don't think even for a single minutes that the United States couldn't kill them all. This country has enough military power to destroy virtually anything on this planet, if our leadership chooses to follow a ruthless and implacable course of action, should the Arabs continue to provoke us. As for their fervent belief in islam, which is an Arabic word that means 'submission', that can be blown away with the nuclear winds, should it come to that.

Make no mistake, it is the Arabs who are now the leading enemies of the United States and of western civilization. The Arabs are the heart of the islamism that now threatens the west. They will continue to attack this country and other non-islamic societies wherever and whenever we permit this, through ignorance and national apathy. For some reason that I cannot fathom, we have permitted these people, in their hatred, violence and insolence, to take massive liberties with us, of a type for which we killed many millions of Germans and Japanese just 60 years ago.

Because if the Arabs were to succeed in successfully attacking and destroying another high profile target on American soil, or kill a large number of Americans by chemical, biological or radiological means, that is exactly what would have to be considered an appropriate response.

Their terror gangs will overcome all our efforts to defeat them in the Middle East, and with each such victory, more such gangs will be formed. Inevitably they will acquire and deploy weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them, and the west will be the target. Not just the Jews of Israel, but the west that threatens their culture of submission merely by existing, in liberty, diversity and individualism.

Accordingly, I think it will come down to the west using weapons of mass destruction against them, because any and all other tactics that have been tried with them has lead to them regarding us as decadent and frightened weaklings not worthy of the power and wealth we have accumulated over the centuries. We must not allow the worms of liberalism to gnaw away the guts of the power, unity and sense of purpose of the west. Because the purpose of these worms is to weaken our western cultures to a slow suicide.

To be or not to be, has always been the question in these matters. It is as true for us now, as it was for our counterpart, the Roman Empire, in the days of the caesars.

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI

Yep. It's the Arabs. Every single one of them. Many, many arab people living in the Middle East can tell the difference between American people and the American government. Only a small minority of them blur the distinction and attack our people. I hope we can stay as clear-headed. It isn't all the arabs who are the problem. I don't think that nuking other countries is the way to go.

Arnold,

Well, lets at least hope that the current plan will work: this being a combination of force and pursuassion.

But you are right in this - if our enemies manage a major WMD attack upon the US (which is, horrifyingly, one of their aims in life) then the death and destruction we'd deal out in response would beggar the world.

This is what the anti-war people don't get - 9/11 tried our patience sorely; as a people, we wont tolerate another one. We'll go the whole hog if it happens again - we're talking internment of all people of middle eastern origin; war to the knife with all of the middle eastern governments all at once (save any of those who swiftly and unconditionally surrender) and a remorseless occupation for a decade as we wipe out any vestige of Arab ability to resist us.

As I said, I'd rather avoid that - so, lets stick with the current plan.

Mark,

I too would like to avoid such a solution as the one that I described. But if the United States is pushed to extremity by the Arabs, then that solution and your accurate comments upon it is exactly the policy that the majority of us will demand and which our government will implement.

We have put people into concentration camps before during wartime, based solely on the fear or expectation that the internees -- because of ethnic connections to an enemy country -- would harm our national security. We will do it again if need arises.

We have used nuclear weapons against an enemy country before, during the same war, and since then, have come close to using them again against a hostile government armed with the same kind of weapons. We will do it again if need arises.

We have utterly destroyed entire countries before, in order to get rid of hostile and dangerous regimes. We will do it again if need arises.

I think one more such serious Arab attack against the United States may well set in motion such a catastrophe for the countries involved in perpetrating terrorism.

I hope it does not come to this, but if it does, I have no apologies whatsoever to anyone in the world.

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI

Gentlemen:

I take heart in the hope that we will, within 3-5 years, have at our disposal a 100%-accurate, MRI-based lie detector (there's already a working version profiled in Newsweek a few months ago, but it's gigantic and expensive) which will enable us to calmly question all suspected terrorists as to their activies, return the innocents to their communities unharmed, and humanely execute the rest.

If America succeeds in treating everyone as they need to be treated, we'll maintain our attractively "relaxed" posture while being tough as nails everywhere we need to be. One way or the other, our enemies will become extinct.