Understanding the Enemy
by James Carvin 5/14/04

When Nick Berg was murdered by Osama Bin Laden's Lieutenant, Abu Musab al-Zarkawi, who has been hiding in Iraq assisting the Iraqi "insurgency," something happened that should help us understand our enemy. The declared premise was that this brutal decapitation was in retribution for the prison abuses at Abu Grabe. No one looking at the video of Berg's death, or hearing it on the radio, believes that the act was an equivalent response, no matter how outraged they may have been over the hundreds of photos being time released by the press and the democrats for maximum damage to President Bush and the war effort.

I am a little perplexed by Nick Berg's father, who has been leading antiwar demonstrations for at least two years. Even in the face of his son's death he fails to understand what kind of enemy we are dealing with. I hear people of his political bent repeating the same old things. We need to understand why 911 happened. We need to understand how people in the Middle East think. We need to consider how they will react if we do certain things. They ask us to think of the US mission as an "occupation." And they make the assumption that Iraqis are very upset by it. Indeed, some very vocal Muslims are quite opposed to a US presence in Iraq, though polls of Iraqis show most understand we are there to complete a job. They understand that it will take a little time. Most are optimistic.

I am amazed at how so many Americans adopt a double standard. One is for the US. The other is for Arabs. It is understandable to to such individuals that terrorists should be in such a rage that they would kill innocent civilians. But it is not understandable that a handful of American military personnel might ever commit crimes. Only the American offenses are unforgivable. Their logic escapes me. If there were 15 offenders simple math says that represents one tenth of one percent of the military presence in Iraq. (.001) since there are 150,000 American soldiers there. How can the American political left can over look so much? On the one hand there is the fact that for Al Qaeda and the many terrorist networks that exist Abu Grabe is mild in comparison to their own wrongdoing, as reprehensible as acts of our MPs may have been. On the other hand we are talking 100% versus 0.1% at most. In other words, ALL terrorists think and believe in a reprehensible fashion. The crimes which are committed are applauded by all. Almost no Americans do. And do the Americans applaud the actions of the prison guards? Absolutely not. Are there any in America who do? Very few. And of those who do a third difference is understood. The victims were violent criminals. Terrorists, by contrast, kill innocents. They even use their own children as human shields.

This is what needs to be understood. When we are looking at what drives terrorism we are talking about a subhuman mentality that is not going to change no matter what Americans do. We think that if we change certain policies that this might effect the number of terrorist attacks leveled against us. We think that by backing out of Iraq or Afghanistan this will somehow make us safer because the terrorists will be pleased with us. They will lay down their weapons and their plans for our destruction. They won't. 911 was not provoked by George Bush. It was going to happen no matter what we did because the people who committed these crimes have a religion which teaches them to do things like that. The cries of "Allah Aqbar" (Praise God!) over Nick Berg's screams should make that clear.

I am not saying that all Islam teaches terrorism. But under the Wahabi teaching of Al Qaeda and other terrorist networks and unnamed sleeper cells it does. And those groups are not reacting to anything the United States does. They will always view the US as the great Satan. There is not any way to change that.

Assumedly those who suggest that we give in to the demands of terrorists must think that those terrorists act as spokespeople for the rest of the Arab world because the only people who are reasonable reside outside their networks. Thus, when they claim that an act of murder is in retribution for something we have done and we believe what they tell us we are giving them the status of Arab spokesperson. When we believe that 911 was somehow our fault we do the same thing. Yet we know that most good Muslims have sought to distance themselves from these terrorists. They may agree with some of the things they say but they do not approve of their violence.

That is what perplexes me. If the Muslims outside the terrorist networks do not approve of the violence of the terrorists then why do we fear that US policy will affect them? Why do we fear that by going to war we will foment violent anger? Christ said, "he who will live by the sword will die by the sword." Well, if these words are to be fulfilled they will all die. And if they all die once they've been fomented, then we've successfully rounded them up and done away with them. And that solves a problem for the rest of us. The other solution is to do nothing and hope the problem will go away as we appease by granting one request after the next. Personally, I don't think that works. Quite the contrary, cutting and running will only encourage more violence. This problem is going to come to us if we don't go to it. Think of how quickly 911 followed Mogadishu. We are at war, like it or not.

Like many people, when we were first considering going to war with Iraq I too was concerned about Arab reaction and our diplomatic ties. I somehow had the impression that the Arabs had little ought against us. I even believed in the UN, until I started studying the matter and came to realize that Kofi Anan had his hands in the oil for food program through his son and that the French and the Russians had economic ties to Iraq that were undoubtedly affecting their votes. I believed that going to war, particularly without the very broad support symbolized by the UN, would give them reason to hate us. I still do. But I don't think the feeling is universal. Quite the contrary, it appears that most Arabs are actually somewhat reasonable. They realize that we have done a good thing by capturing Saddam Hussein. They understand that the UN was corrupt and powerless to counter rogue nations and tyrants. And they recognize that there is indeed an alliance between Al Qaeda and the Baathists and other groups who would like to destroy the US even if they are also enemies of one another, despite the efforts of Al Jazeera and the liberal international media to disassociate them.

I don't think that the average Muslim is concerned about America's decision to fight despite the UN's refusal. On the contrary, I think they realize that we are a much more reliable power if we are not bound by a corrupt organization. Whether or not that is so, at the least, good and decent human beings of every religious persuasion are hoping for an effective government to take power in Iraq in the coming months. And they are allied in their hearts with the US in our hope of eliminating terrorism around the world, which any reasonable person recognizes will take decades, not just years.

It is because of the nature of the enemy. It is because we understand the power of religion.

Politics also is a religion - a set of beliefs. There are those who feel so strongly about their political beliefs that they are not the sort of decent human beings who want peace. They do not want the US to succeed in Iraq because to do so would mean four more years of George Bush, possibly even followed by four to eight years of Dick Cheney as president. This to them is unthinkable. And that is why they find themselves not only criticizing the war but secretly wanting the Americans to lose. They are hoping for another Viet Nam, another "quagmire," another loss because for them this means victory. Such is the power of religion. Although they would never admit this out loud they inwardly wish the body bag count was much higher than 700. Secretly, they want the number of innocent Iraqi civilians killed to be higher, as well. Especially children. Together with the terrorists we are fighting they understand the propaganda value of such tragedy. Whatever it takes to declare our defeat and send the rest home defeated. Then they can come back into power with a big "I told you so." This could last for a good twenty or thirty years. It might even be permanent.

Have you been one who has secretly had such thoughts? You know who you are. Either the shoe fits or it doesn't. Just don't be so naive as to think that there aren't a good number of Americans who want America to be defeated for this reason. They lead antiwar demonstrations but in truth they don't care how many people have to die - even if it is their own children. It's religion. Think of Molech and Marduk. It is the spirit of Babylon, where this battle has taken place. And it is within each one of us.

We look into our hearts and we find many things that shouldn't be there. The good thing about some religions is that they ask us to remove them. Right religions do. They ask us to be unhypocritcal. And they ask us to look at our own hearts, not just the hearts of the enemy. They ask that we change.

Politics, on the other hand, always looks to others for change. It may include a set of beliefs but the focus is always outward. It is on government. Many people care very little about religion or self-examination but are very heated about their politics.

Wake up! This war is not about them. It's about you!

You see when I look at the world I see a big disaster about to happen. The country is not sufficiently united to have the political will to stay in Iraq long enough to set up an effective government there. We couldn't be more divided than we are. Ultimately, the terrorists will win their war. Ultimately, America is going to be defeated. Probably the Chinese will become the world's dominant power after the terrorists have worn us down and the democrats have come back into power. I see a very dismal future under a totalitarian rule. This is the government we will eventually have if we do not have the resolve we need to win the war in Iraq. We will be ruled by the Chinese and by people who do things like what was done to Nick Berg.

But we will not have such resolve because we are divided. We are divided because there are too many people in America who have let politics become their religion - people who actually want us to lose there. People who want to see more Americans die, who want to see more disasters like what we saw in Abu Grave.

You know who these people are when they extrapolate as they speak. They are not satisfied to hear that there were only seven individuals involved in Abu Grave. They always say fifteen or more, even though so far only seven have been charged. And they will be the first to suggest that the problem was "systemic." They want it to be a huge problem, not a small problem. They will look for statistics that help them bolster their argument against the war. The innocent Iraqi children dead will always be on their lips. Do they not inwardly wish their numbers were even higher than they are? Naturally, they want to persuade you, to win their argument, just as the terrorists do.

What do you wish? Do you find yourself hoping the problem at Abu Grabe is bigger or smaller? Check your heart.

You probably scoff at my saying the Chinese will rule us soon. I hope I am wrong with all my heart. What I want to say is that we need to understand the enemy. The enemy is religion that is reduced to politics. In politics the responsibility lies with someone else. But in religion that stays religion and isn't reduced to politics the responsibility is within you. You may not live to see the Chinese rule America. That may be our children's problem. Maybe not. But you may have terrorism warring in your own heart, strong feelings that blind you to compassion and decency. How is your prayer life? Have you ever stopped to think that maybe there was a spiritual war going on within you that you might actually be able to win?

Understand your enemy. Your enemy can't be bargained with. Neither can your enemy be killed. Your enemy is not going to go away. Your enemy doesn't just want to kill you. He wants you to agree with his violent ways. He wants you to become just like he is. He wants to poison you with error and ignorance, turning you into a weapon of his grief in all of your relationships. Your enemy is the devil. If you don't believe in the devil, understand that within you there is true evil. And it can't be ignored. Just take a look. So much the better if you don't believe in the devil because now you can focus on the solution to your problem. The problem is you. The problem is your heart.

Fortunately, the solution also is your heart. This resident evil, whatever its source, can be defeated.

I will cut to the chase. To defeat this evil you must learn vigilance. Vigilance is the first step in what will be an ongoing battle in your life. If you can win this battle and ultimately the war within you then you will do much more good for this world than you would have done if you had persuaded 100 people to agree with your political views and vote for your favorite candidates. That is because the cleansing of your heart will create a new and better you. And your goodness can be contagious. Your honesty can be contagious. Your smiles. Your hope. Your example. Your selfless service to others. Do you fight for peace? Reconcile with God. Lay down your weapons. Surrender to Him.

The guarding of the heart. It is a daily, minute by minute, examination. Yearn for good within yourself. This is the kind of thing that becomes an inheritance for generations. It will probably outlast Social Security. It may even outlast America. May I therefore invite you to spiritual warfare, to vigilance of heart? And to prayer! Do you have any idea how many wars can be prevented by the prayers and vigilance of a single saint? We may never know. But we certainly wouldn't want to leave it to chance. Thank you for your good heart. You are the enemy. Subdue the enemy and watch peace happen. You will be very glad you did!

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