John L. Perry
Monday, Aug. 14, 2006

Reprint Information

Book on Katie Couric Makes Waves White House: We're Not Subject to FOIA FBI Seeks 2 Mysterious Men on Ferry Publisher: Conservatives Do Read As Much As Liberals Romney Shrugs Off Mormon History Film

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
"Of shoes – and ships – and sealing-wax –
"Of cabbages –and kings –"

If Lewis Carroll were around today, he might well have his garrulous Walrus continue, thus:

"Of ostriches who still don't know
"For whom the death knell rings.

"They act as if they're not involved,
"As if they have no clue.
"The war they think is not for them
"Is global through and through.
"And this is starkly odd, because
"The bell does toll for you."

In the days ahead there will be cease-fires agreed and cease-fires ceased.

There will be dueling rockets and artillery, irrelevant score kept of who's ahead or who's behind, of who fired first and who struck whom.

There will be intelligence enhanced and intelligence failed.

Story Continues Below

There will be escalations, there will be pauses.

There will be, from the corrupt and irrelevant United Nations, resolutions passed and resolutions ignored.

There will be flutters of diplomacy achieving further procrastinations.

There will be indecisions following hesitations.

There will be blusters of rhetoric and shows of force.

There will be still more enemy propaganda, abetted insidiously by unfaithful Americans.

The one positive to come out of it all will be a little more time for the United States and its diminishing allies to learn lessons of battle, refine tactics and ramp up munitions and delivery systems.

Then the job that must be done, by the only nation that can do it, will still remain to be done – its imperative all the more severe.

There is a fiercely gathering reality that cannot be escaped:

The only way now to avoid all-out nuclear war is for America to bring to bear all its military resources – even nuclear weapons – that fall just short of all-out nuclear war.

Anything less, including futile pursuit of negotiated peace when peace is already dead, will only hand an earlier victory to the Islamic fascists, whose fanatical definition of victory is their destruction of everyone else – including those who still don't get it.

This is the war we never sought, the war for our nation's very survival, the survival of ourselves, the survival of our children, the survival of our grandchildren.

Despite all denial, this is it.

John L. Perry, a prize-winning newspaper editor and writer who served on White House staffs of two presidents, is a regular columnist for NewsMax.com.

Read John Perry's columns here.

Editor's note:
Iran`s Clerics Plan a Nuclear Showdown with the U.S. - Click Here!
Ann Coulter`s `Godless` - FREE Offer!
Homeland Security alert: You must have emergency radio

Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:

Middle East

War on Terrorism