The Long War
Slated on Backbone Radio, September 9
Listen every Sunday, 5-8pm on 710 KNUS, Denver.. 1460 KZNT, Colorado Springs… and streaming live at 710knus.com.
“Time to move past 9/11″ said the headline on a syndicated column in Friday’s Denver Post. That’s one view. Another view, which we uphold on Backbone Radio, is the one that says “Never forget. Never relent. Never again.” The conflict waged against America and the free world by radical Islam since at least 1979, and with unmistakable ferocity since September 11, 2001 — when we finally began to fight back — has been called by various names.
The most common, War on Terror, fails to name our enemy: Mohammed’s fanatical followers continuing a 1300-year obsession with universal conquest. World War III (by Gingrich, or IV, by Podhoretz) has also been suggested. It has the advantage of stressing the huge stakes involved.
But this epic struggle, whatever else we may call it, is certainly well termed the Long War. Its roots tracing to the 7th century after Christ, and its horizon stretching toward AD 2100 with both military and cultural-demographic dimensions, conclusively prove that.
So for purposes of this Sunday’s show and next Tuesday’s infamous anniversary, there is no way Backbone Radio agrees to “move past 9/11.” We must dwell on it, learn its lessons, and redouble our determination for victory — nothing less — in the Long War defending liberty worldwide.
** Charles Kesler, political scientist and editor of the Claremont Review of Books, is my featured guest for this discussion as it relates to Iraq today, elections next year, and the Bush legacy.
** Jimmy Sengenberger, a high school student working to rally teens from across Colorado for a Constitution Day conference on 9/15, also joins me in the studio.
** Plus former senator Mark Hillman on the Ref C spending scam, home-schooling expert Mike McHugh, and civil rights leader Ward Connerly.
Our little radio show isn’t Rush or Sean or Laura, not yet at least, but listeners in Colorado and (via Internet) across the nation have recently called it “indispensable” and “uniquely valuable.” One even said we “work wonders.” Flattering indeed; listen carefully this Sunday and you will hear me blushing at the praise as we fire up another edition.
Yours for liberty & victory,
JOHN ANDREWS
The author can be reached at John@BackBoneAmerica.net
bill_blomberg@hotmail.com… I refer to the war by Islam on all of non-Islam as “World War 0″ because of its seventh century roots. They have been at war with us all that time. We need to recognize that and return the favor.
by John Andrews | Friday, Sep 14, 2007 | 2:22 pmbenjamin.t.lyng@gmail.com writes: I normally do not argue about what many would consider semantics, but as someone has had the privilege of leading soldiers in combat during the so-called “Long War,” I respectfully disagree with the latest term assigned to our current struggle for a number of reasons:
1-Calling this the “Long War” does nothing to instill a sense of urgency to take any action necessary to win this war. In fact it does the opposite, as such language develops a tolerance for a prolonged grind of low intensity conflict which will inevidably wear down our military and degrade our ability to project force in other areas of the world against currently unforeseen threats.
2-The “Global War on Terrorism” is a more accurate description of what we are dealing with. American soldiers are engaged with a terrorist enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan. You claim that this term fails to name our enemy, which may be correct, but the “Long War” is even more ambiguous with regard to naming the enemy.
3-The term “Long War” evokes memories of the Cold War, which unlike our current situation, is remembered as a conflict that was settled through the threat of force as opposed to active battles. Our soldiers are engaging the enemy in close combat every day, and the citizens must continue to appreciate that fact. Describing this war in docile terms would serve to further distance a generally disinterested and unaffected population from the soldiers fighting on the front lines.
As someone living less than five hundred yards from Ground Zero, and seeing that hole in the ground almost every day, I feel a great desire to win this war as soon as possible. I also feel that it can be accomplished (how is an entirely different conversation) in a reasonable timeframe.
However, calling this the “Long War” will do nothing but instill an expectation of perpetual conflict. By doing so, we lower expectations of could be a swift and decisive victory, and surrender the high ground to a future of fear and uncertainty.
by John Andrews | Friday, Sep 14, 2007 | 2:28 pm