THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume VI, Issue # 154, July 13, 2004
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
TERRORISM PREVAILS ONLY AGAINST THE TIMID
By Christopher G. Adamo
FULL STORY:
In the wake of the hideous beheading murder of Paul Johnson, the Saudi Arabian government struck back forcefully by killing
several high-level al-Qa'ida operatives. Such rapid and decisive action begs the question, “If the Saudi government was able to
take several of the murderers out on a moment’s notice, once it decided to do so, why weren’t they eliminated in the days or
weeks prior to Johnson’s murder?”
The answer to the question, unfortunately, is that Saudi officials were not responding to the moral outrage of the situation, but
rather to its economic fallout. In the wake of the Johnson beheading, foreigners have been leaving Saudi Arabia in droves,
believing that they lack sufficient government protection from future attacks. Thus the government is compelled to display its
ability to maintain a safe haven for non-citizens who are crucial to that nation’s industry and economy. Only the “almighty dollar”
was able to prompt Saudi leadership to overcome its fear of terrorist backlash and deal resolutely with seditious al-Qa'ida members.
Though al-Qa'ida has been temporarily shaken, this pattern of reaction is the very thing the terrorist organization, and terrorists in
general, bank on. Halfhearted responses from an overly cautious government have allowed terrorists to determine the unfolding of
events to their greatest advantage. As nations recoil from gruesome barbarism, but do not retaliate, the organization is only
emboldened and encouraged.
Despite the caterwauling of Liberals that the “Arab Street” would rise up in outrage against U.S. actions in Afghanistan and Iraq,
reality still predominates, even in the minds of Islamist national leaders throughout the Middle East. Though their hatred of the
West is no less intense than it ever was, neither do any of them want to step up to the plate and be the next regime to share the
fate of the Taliban or Bathists. The actions of Muammar Qadhafi in Libya stand as inarguable proof of this.
Along the way, the terrorists have occasionally achieved sufficient victories to encourage them to continue the fight. Conversely,
intelligence gained during interrogation of al-Qa'ida members since 9-11 clearly indicated that the terrorist organization was wholly
unprepared for the magnitude of American response to the attacks. As a result, its intentions of carrying out follow-up actions
were utterly thwarted. Only now, as American resolve is giving way to shameless partisan politicking by Democrats who aspire to
make electoral gains this Fall, has al-Qa'ida shown signs of sufficiently regrouping and laying the groundwork for another attack.
In Spain, however, public reaction to a major terrorist attack was entirely different. Rewards for the barbaric Madrid bombings were
instant and profound. Public sentiment turned from the Conservative government that had supported U.S. efforts in Iraq, and the
Socialist Party swept into power. This move guaranteed that Spanish forces would be withdrawn from the conflict. Thus, a major
enemy of the terrorists was neutralized, and they could proceed on to other targets.
Spanish capitulation, and the message it sent to the terrorists, could only have been a motivating factor in their efforts to use South
Korean businessman Kim Sun-Il as a bargaining chip in order to prevent the South Korean government from sending several
thousand civilian and military personnel into Iraq. South Korea’s refusal to change its plans resulted in the beheading of Kim Sun-Il.
The proper response, in the wake of that horrific event, would be a resolute counterattack to convince the terrorists of the futility of
any repeats of the atrocity.
The grimness of recent terrorist actions makes it understandable that many would wish only to turn from them and avoid any future
recurrences. Reality and past experience, however, prove that no such retreat exists from those who would use brutality and
intimidation in order to dominate, not only their own region, but the entirety of civilization.
Dire predictions of an upcoming terrorist event of enormous magnitude in the United States, regardless of Liberal/Democrat efforts
to undermine their significance, suggest that some, at least, among this nation’s present leadership understand the methods Islamist
operatives consider to be successful in altering the direction of a country. An effective defense is necessary, but, by itself, is
altogether insufficient to maintain the integrity of the nation’s borders. It never worked for the Saudis. Only a proactive effort to
pursue the terrorists will ever be adequate to keep their hideous activity from once again becoming a nightmare on the streets of
America.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
More on the Threat of Radical Islam
The Middle East & the Arabs
War & Peace in the Real World
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
Christopher G. Adamo is a freelance writer who lives in southeastern Wyoming and works in the field of industrial instrumentation.
He is actively involved in Wyoming's political process, serving as a delegate to successive Wyoming State Republican Conventions
and as a member of the Wyoming State Republican Central Committee. He has assisted Republican candidates for local and state
legislatures and for the United States Congress. His articles, which appear regularly in The Progressive Conservative, U.S.A.,
and on a number of other websites, reflect a major concern with the damage being done to Conservatism and Conservative causes by
the Liberal Leftist faction in the Republican Party as well as by the much larger and more powerful Liberal Leftist faction in the
Democratic Party. During the early and middle 1990s, Adamo was Editor of the Wyoming Christian Coalition's official news organ,
The Wyoming Christian. Adamo maintains his own Internet website, which is located at
www.chrisadamo.com.
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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