Worldwide focus on this presidential election

By Carol Devine-Molin
web posted November 1, 2004

There's nothing like an American presidential election, and for
one simple reason: It's a race of tremendous consequence that
has impact in ways both great and small, particularly in the realm
of worldwide safety and security, economic markets and the
promulgating of freedom and democratic reforms. Everyone
apparently wants to weigh-in on this particularly contentious
election including various heads of state, the UN, the fourth
estate (the mainstream media), the fifth column (Left-wing
politicos and their Left-wing buddies in the mainstream media),
and the entire blogosphere and Internet punditry (Left, Center-
Right, Libertarian, Green, etc.).

Let's see, have I forgotten anybody? Oh yes, now even the
terrorists are throwing their two-cents into the mix. Osama bin
Laden views himself as a political spinmeister, and has the
incredible chutzpa to try to influence this election by not only
denigrating and taunting President George W.Bush, but by
extending intimating words toward the American people. Or is it
just the red states that are in peril? Amazingly, Osama's screed
against President Bush sounded as if it was lifted directly from
moveon.org and "Fahrenheit 911." Well, maybe Osama is a fan
of both George Soros and Michael Moore who are at the
vanguard of the "Blame America First" crowd. In any event,
some commentators have opined that Osama's words will cut
both ways politically, and ultimately fail to help either Bush or
Kerry in this election. I believe otherwise. The sight of that
Terror Monster on the tape will only reinforce for Americans that
they need a true Terror Warrior in the White House.

Given the worldwide conflict being waged by Jihadis, we're very
lucky to have President Bush and his team in place, which
understands the nature of the enemy and the new type of warfare
we're up against. Sorry, the Democratic Party, which now
represents the political Left in America, just doesn't get it. First,
the Jihadis exhibit a cult-like mentality, and they're never going to
be appeased or dissuaded, so the Left-leaning crowd can just
forget about diplomacy and negotiations. Second, the Jihadis are
conducting a new type of warfare, now known as asymmetric
warfare, or fourth generation warfare, or just plain terrorism, if
you prefer. This new-styled warfare is being perpetrated on a
worldwide basis, even in the US as demonstrated by 9/11, and
seeks to exploit vulnerable targets. The terrorists are cognizant
that they can never compete with western civilization in the arena
of conventional warfare; hence they've reverted to non-
conventional methods that specifically target civilians. How
heinous! In a free and open society, it's impossible to guard
against all terror attacks, and that's why it's necessary to kill or
capture as many terrorists as possible. That's the only way to
stop terror assaults. And, we must continue to fight on their turf,
not ours. "Bring the war to them" is now the popular saying.
We're killing the Jihadis and old-regime Ba'athist "dead-enders"
at a significant rate in Iraq, and we should be proud of our
efforts.

President Bush, America's commander-in-chief and leader of the
world's only remaining superpower, rightly responded to the
Web of Terror and its murder of 3000 Americans by
overthrowing two of its rogue regimes and democratizing those
nations, Afghanistan and Iraq. And it had the added effect of
convincing another rogue dictator, Moammar al-Gadaffi of
Libya, to turn over his WMDs. The political Left continues to
obsess about al-Qaida and the capture of Osama bin Laden,
blinded to the larger, and more pertinent, scope of
circumstances. The Left fails to grasp the "Big Picture" that
involves combating the culture of hate being stoked by the
Jihadis in the Islamic world, and which spawns new terrorists.
That is precisely why democratization of the Middle East is a
necessary strategy. Free societies, by their very nature, undercut
the rigidity and excesses of Islamic fundamentalism. Al-Qaida
might very well be leading the charge against western civilization
and moderate Islamic states, but it's only one of the many players
in this worldwide Web of Terror comprised of numerous terror
groups and about a handful of terror states – the rogue regimes –
that aid and abet terrorists. And make no mistake, these terror
organizations cannot conduct global Jihad without the help of
terror states that provide funding, weaponry, safe haven and
training grounds for these thugs.

Moreover, transnational terrorism is big business (involved with
narco-terrorism, the arms trade, kidnapping, extortion, theft,
etc.) and terror organizations are akin to crime syndicates or
mafias that engage in cooperative efforts with each other. This is
just not about "getting" Osama bin Laden – far from it. We're
going to have to take down the entire Web of Terror, one way
or another, in order for the world to be safe. And it's going to be
a long term endeavor. The political Left is in denial of all that's
stated here, and sadly, these peaceniks and appeasers
understand little about the nature of warfare. The paradigm set
forth here is what our active military and veterans know to be
true, and these are the warfare experts who are deserving of our
respect. That's the reason they support President Bush over
Senator Kerry, four to one. Instead, the political Left
demonstrates contempt for the military, which is one of the
notable causes of political polarization in our nation.
 
Beyond this election of 2004, political enthusiasts can only guess
what the future might bring. Personally, I believe Senator Hillary
Clinton, the darling of the Democrats, will be her party's likely
candidate in 2008. And, if Hillary carefully positions herself as a
moderate, she might win. No doubt about it, she has been
helped by the John Kerry candidacy. Hillary Clinton actually
comes off looking centrist to the politically naïve, in comparison
to the blatantly Leftist John Kerry, considered the most liberal
member of the Senate, and saddled with a history of antiwar
activism and secret meetings with Communist delegates at the
Paris Peace Talks during the Vietnam War. And this occurred
when Kerry was in the inactive reserves, I might add, which is
totally unconscionable and probably illegal. Now Hillary
Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton, is voicing a
hankering to become head of the United Nations. With Hillary
Clinton as POTUS and Bill Clinton at the helm of the UN, you
have to think that all their hopes and desires -- all their little
Leftist dreams -- will come true. Then we'll have true American
socialism, a la European socialism. That's just dandy.

Carol Devine-Molin is a regular contributor to several online
magazines.

Enter Stage Right -- http://www.enterstageright.com