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We Fight for Our Very Survival Philip V. Brennan James Baker and his crew of Iraq Study Group retreads have been described as members of the "realist" school of diplomacy, a description which on the basis of what they say about the situation in Iraq demands a redefinition of what realism means.
To qualify as a realist, one must be willing and able to face facts no matter how unpleasant they may be. But in the Baker school of realistic diplomacy, when facts are unpleasant or don't fit within your narrow perspective of how things should be in your conception of what is an ideal world, it's best to ignore them or insist they don't exist. To Dine With Lions
Thus, for example, nothing prevents you from proposing with a straight face that it might be a dandy idea to sit down and have a friendly chat with a couple of states that would like nothing better than to see the United States in shambles, and have demonstrated a determination, and a growing ability, to bring that about.
Story Continues Below
God forbid, however, that in your efforts to play the role of wise men you should tackle the real issues by looking the real facts in the face and, instead of recoiling, set about recommending that the United States start doing the things the facts demonstrate must be done to prevail in a struggle where the stakes are nothing less than the survival of what's left of Judeo-Christianity and those of us within that tottering structure.
In Jim Baker's world, all that's needed to deal with a crisis, any crisis, is to endeavor to keep things on an even keel; and above all, to avoid rocking the boat.
Members of the realist school of politics and diplomacy tend to see friend and foe alike as separated only by their particular selfish interests. It might be called the "Can't we all get together" solution pioneered by that eminent peacemaker Rodney King.
Since Baker's concept of realistic diplomacy is totally pragmatic, it fails to recognize that some people are totally motivated by beliefs that inspire fanaticism and defy reason.
You simply cannot negotiate with them because our very reason tells us they are irrational.
This, and not his quotes from a 14th century Byzantine emperor, is what got Pope Benedict XVI in trouble with the world of Islam. He decried the divorcing of faith from reason common not only among Muslims but also in the West where much of what passes for Christianity has lost its Hellenistic roots.
Plato, Augustine and Thomas Aquinas have been replaced by Dr. Phil. It is patently irrational, the Pope said, to seek not to convert others by reasoned discourse, but by the sword.
Dogged by Dogma
Baker and his old school chums see the world in materialistic terms. They cannot conceive of a vast international movement motivated by a steely determination to subjugate the world to its religious dogmas and discipline, or permit themselves to recognize the impossibility of having rational negotiations with irrational enemies.
Tragically, they come on the stage at a crucial point when the U.S. is faring badly in Iraq and the American public is losing heart and desperately scrambling to find a way out — any way out.
Baker and company offer what has been called a "graceful" way out, a means of cutting and running while appearing solely to be merely bowing to realism.
Were they to face the facts squarely and unblinkingly, they would be forced to the conclusion that the United States and the West are involved in a struggle for our very survival, that we face an implacable enemy that numbers in the tens of millions worldwide.
If only 10 percent of the world's one billion Muslims are dedicated to our destruction, that's one hundred million enemies many of whom would willingly sacrifice their lives to kill us.
Shadowy Enemy
We face an international guerilla movement operating in the shadows.
The only visible battleground is in the Mideast — in Iraq. We are fighting to keep a foothold in the heart of enemy country where our declared aim is to enable the Iraqis to have the capability to defend themselves.
Iraq at the moment is the high ground in the struggle. It is the enemy that is tied down in Iraq — as long as Iraq is free, al-Qaida and the Islamic jihad rooted in Iran where it was first launched in 1979 are prevented from turning their attention elsewhere, such as to the United States.
The most pressing problem we face in Iraq is twofold in nature: the current out-of-control sectarian violence and the insurgency with which it is intertwined. It is clear that the Iraqi government is equipped to deal with neither problem. Added to that quandary is the active involvement of both Syria and Iran in keeping both pots boiling.
If we are to prevail, and prevail we must, we must resolve to deal with those problems without regard to the sensibilities of the Maleki government or world opinion. That means to deal with finality the Iranian puppet Muqtada al Sadr, must dismantle his Mahdi army — so called because it is to be an instrument of the return of the Mahdi who will rule an Islamic dominated world — get rid of the Sunni militias, and take on the insurgents full bore with all we've got, and we've got plenty.
It also means that the regimes in Syria and Iran must be replaced, whatever it takes.
None of this fits in with our present reluctance to rock the boat, but should we fail, the boat will go down to the bottom.
These are the facts. Facing them will not be easy, or pleasant. We are in a war of survival. People are going to continue to suffer and to die.
We have either to fight that war with the same dedication displayed by our enemies, or lose it and leave our children and grandchildren to face the consequences.
Faugh 'a ballagh!
Phil Brennan is a veteran journalist who writes for NewsMax.com. He is editor and publisher of Wednesday on the Web (http://www.pvbr.com) and was Washington columnist for National Review magazine in the 1960s.
He also served as a staff aide for the House Republican Policy Committee and helped handle the Washington public relations operation for the Alaska Statehood Committee which won statehood for Alaska. He is also a trustee of the Lincoln Heritage Institute and a member of the Association For Intelligence Officers.
He can be reached at pvb@pvbr.com.
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