Containment

In the latest issue of National Review, Jay Nordlinger interviews former secretary of state George Shultz (subscription required). Mr. Shultz has many noteworthy things to say, including this brief discussion of Islamic terrorism:

Further, says Shultz, if we are to attain victory in the War on Terror, we have to borrow a page from the beginning of the Cold War and come up with a containment policy for today: “Our object is to contain the spread of radical Islam, that uses terror, and help whatever you want to call it — mainstream Islam — learn how to be part of the modern world in a manner consistent with their religion.” Also, the opening up of economies makes a big difference in the opening up of governments: as in Chile, Taiwan, and South Korea, to name three.

I’m a big fan of National Review. It’s the best political magazine around. And I admire and respect George Shultz.

However, this quote illustrates the divide that has opened up between “old school” conservatives, as represented by the Cold Warriors, and the new grassroots activists of the Counterjihad.

Regardless of one’s opinion about the number of “moderate” Muslims (or even whether they exist), resistance to the Great Jihad bears only a superficial resemblance to the anti-communist cause during the Cold War.

There is no “Iron Curtain” behind which Islam sits.

There were no communist no-go zones within capitalist countries in which communism could be practiced with impunity.

It was rare for Western communists to call publicly for the overthrow of capitalist governments, and those who did were often tried and imprisoned when caught.

Capitalist governments did not have an official policy of paying for the training and upkeep of communists within their midst.
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Communists had no vast community of “moderate” sympathizers amongst whom they could hide in order to launch terrorist attacks on the civilian populace.

The struggle against the Great Jihad requires a different paradigm.

The jihad is indifferent to national borders. The jihad is not interested in keeping a standing army, or fighting a conventional war.

Before we can form a successful strategy in the “War on Terror”, we must acknowledge that “terror” is not what we are fighting.

Before we can think of containing militant Islam, we must first exorcise it from our midst.

To do that we must acknowledge our original and fundamental error: we invited millions of Muslims to immigrate to our countries and form enclaves within our cities. Among those Muslims are untold thousands of our deadly enemies, people who wish to destroy our societies utterly and construct a worldwide totalitarian theocracy in their place.

There is no way to “contain” militant Islam when we are so thoroughly infiltrated by Muslims.

First we must address the issue of the enemy among us.

We must also acknowledge the fact that — regardless of how many moderate Muslims walk our streets — the problem is inherent in Islam itself.

Only then will we be able to consider containment.