Book Reviews

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THE NEW WORLD WAR: What It's About, And Why We Must Win

In my new book, Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame, my twelve-year-old son, Anthony, travels back in time to witness one of mankind's greatest conflicts: World War II.

At the close of World War II, Anthony says:

"I couldn’t help thinking that all the horrors I had seen during this war were somehow connected - that the thirty-six million dead, the Death Camps in Europe, and the dropping of two atomic bombs were all part of the shameful price for not stopping evil early enough. It’s been said that 'every evil in the bud is easily crushed; as it grows older, it becomes stronger.' I think that is true. In my time, evil is the cause of a new World War. And once again, it's an evil that was ignored and allowed to grow stronger..."

What is the "new World War" in Anthony's time?

Anthony is referring to the War on Terrorism. The War on Terror was named for the tactic most often used by the enemy - terrorism, or violence against innocent civilians - but it is really a war of ideologies, that is, beliefs. The War on Terrorism pits the forces of freedom and democracy against the forces of tyranny.

In Anthony’s time, violent Islamic terrorists have banded together in an organization called Al-Qaeda, under the leadership of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. Al-Qaeda’s goal is to establish a tyrannical form of Islamic rule in the Middle East and, ultimately, in other parts of the world. Al-Qaeda favors the kind of government that was practiced by the oppressive Taliban regime in Afghanistan until 2001.

In August 1996, Al-Qaeda formally declared war on the United States when Osama bin Laden published his “Declaration of War Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Places.”

Osama bin Laden and his terrorist allies had actually been attacking American interests around the globe for many years prior to the declaration of war. Bin Laden’s first attack on American soil occurred in 1993, when his operatives bombed the World Trade Center in New York, in an attempt to kill more than fifty thousand people. After declaring war, Osama bin Laden stepped up his attacks on America: He bombed the Khubar Towers in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia in 1996, the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, and the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000. On September 11, 2001, bin Laden’s terrorist henchmen hijacked commercial airplanes and flew them into the World Trade Center towers in New York, and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., murdering three thousand innocent people in America. Only the heroism of New York City’s policemen and firemen, and the brave acts of civilians on board United Airlines Flight 93, prevented bin Laden from attaining his goal of killing fifty thousand Americans in his second attack on American soil.

On November 24, 2002, Osama bin Laden wrote a letter to the American people explaining the reasons for his War on America. His list of grievances included the American business and military presence in the Middle East, but he also wrote: “The creation and continuation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes, and you are the leader of the criminals. The creation of Israel is a crime that must be erased. You support the Jews.”

In his letter, Bin Laden also told the American people what he wanted them to do in response to his attacks. He wrote: “What are we calling you to do, and what do we want from you? The first thing we are calling you to is Islam. You are a nation who, rather than ruling by shariah of Allah in its Constitution and Laws, choose to invent your own laws as you will and desire. You separate religion from your policies.” Bin Laden was very clear: He wanted Americans to shred their beloved Constitution and submit to Islamic rule.

A military response to the war declared on America did not come until after September 11, 2001. Until 9/11, the U.S. government viewed terrorism as a legal problem: terrorist acts were considered criminal acts, not acts of war. After the first attack on the World Trade Center in 1993, for example, President Bill Clinton directed the FBI to arrest and jail the terrorists, and to prosecute them in court. But after 9/11, President George W. Bush took a different approach. In his State of the Union Address on January 20, 2004, President Bush explained: “I know that some people question if America is really in a war at all. They view terrorism more as a crime - a problem to be solved mainly with law enforcement and indictments. After the World Trade Center was first attacked in 1993, some of the guilty were indicted, tried, convicted, and sent to prison. But the matter was not settled. The terrorists were still training and plotting in other nations, and drawing up more ambitious plans. After the chaos and carnage of September 11, it is not enough to serve our enemies with legal papers.”

On September 14, 2001, the U.S. Congress authorized President Bush to use “all necessary and appropriate force” against terrorists, their sponsors, and those who protect them.

The Taliban government in Afghanistan was protecting Osama bin Laden, so the U.S. military invaded and removed the tyrannical Islamic rulers from power, destroyed Al-Qaeda’s training bases in Afghanistan, killed thousands of terrorists and drove the rest into hiding in the mountains bordering Pakistan. Osama bin Laden is still in hiding.

At the same time, the United States allied with dozens of other nations to root out elements of Al-Qaeda hiding in more than sixty countries around the world. Agreements were also struck to cut off financial funding to terrorist organizations. In the United States, Congress passed the Patriot Act, giving law enforcement authorities the power they needed to find hidden terrorist groups in the United States. Indeed, many terrorists were found and their murderous plans were disrupted. Congress also established the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, focusing more government resources on the War on Terror.

After the victory in Afghanistan, the U.S. military, with the help of the armed forces of other nations, invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein. Saddam had provided support for international terrorist organizations, given sanctuary to Al-Qaeda terrorists on the run, allowed terrorist training camps to be established within the borders of Iraq, and was in a unique position to provide advanced weaponry to terrorists. Saddam was also responsible for the following: Starting a war in the Persian Gulf in 1991 that jeopardized America’s energy supplies and national security; breaking the surrender agreement after the Persian Gulf War by refusing to prove he had disarmed his military; firing missiles at American military aircraft patrolling Iraq as peacekeepers after the Persian Gulf War; attempting to assassinate an American president; the torture and murder of hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens. Iraq was liberated and Saddam was removed from power in 2003. American soldiers found Saddam hiding in a hole, covered by a dirty rug and a piece of Styrofoam. The soldiers told Saddam: “President Bush sends his regards.”

The actions of the United States after 9/11 put the enemies of America on notice: America would consider terrorist attacks to be acts of war and it would respond militarily. Pakistan, a longtime supporter of the Taliban in Afghanistan, switched sides in the War on Terror and became America’s ally. Libya’s tyrannical leader, Muammar Khadafi, a perpetrator of international terrorist activity for decades, announced that he would give up his weapons programs. Saudi Arabia, a country known for its financial support of Islamic extremist groups, embarked on a program to eliminate Al-Qaeda terrorists from within its borders.

In addition to military action, America’s national security policy after 9/11 also included a commitment to fostering freedom and democracy in the Middle East. In his January 20, 2004, State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush said: “As long as the Middle East remains a place of tyranny, despair, and anger, it will continue to produce men and movements that threaten the safety of America and our friends. So America is pursuing a forward strategy of freedom in the greater Middle East.”

President Bush’s words echoed something that President John F. Kennedy said before Congress on May 5, 1961: “Our strength as well as our convictions have imposed upon this nation the role of leader in freedom’s cause. No role in history could be more difficult or more important. We stand for freedom. That is our conviction for ourselves, and that is our only commitment to others. No friend, no neutral, and no adversary should think otherwise. We are not against any man, or any nation, or any system, except as it is hostile to freedom.”

In an audiotape released on January 23, 2005, Islamic terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, reminded Americans what the war was about: “We have declared a bitter war against democracy and all those who seek to enact it. Democracy is based on the right to choose your religion, and that is against the rule of God.”

In Anthony's time, America is fighting a new World War: A war against tyranny, a war against evil. It is a war America must win.

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed by American forces on June 7, 2006.

All of the above information can be found in the new book: Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame, by Michael S. Class.

Thank you.

Michael S. Class

Web Site: www.MagicPictureFrame.com
Blog: www.MagicPictureFrame.blogspot.com

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