I was just reading that a CNN poll shows that 57% of Americans are opposed to the war in Afghanistan, a war that even the tremendously timid Obama has called necessary. Surprisingly, only about three quarters of Democrats oppose the war, I was expecting something nearer to 100%. The numbers are frightening because they show us two different thing about Americans: we do not understand the stakes in Afghanistan and that it takes a catastrophic terrorist attack to make us understand the stakes. That’s right, on cue I bring up 9-11. Now, don’t ever forget it. It is well worth repeating that what America faces in the world is not a rag-tag team of terrorists here and there, we face a well-organized, well-financed, and relentless offensive campaign against freedom. They are connected… no not in the neoconservatives’ imagination, but rather in real-cold-as-ice-life. Ask yourself why North Korea was building a nuclear reactor in Syria? Why Russia is doing naval exercises in the Caribbean? What we face is an Anti-American Axis that stretches across the globe constituted by nations and groups that want to destroy the type of world we have brought about.

At present, Islamo-fascists, communists, and dictatorships of all types are arrayed in a relatively well-strung-together coalition against all of our interests. Where does Afghanistan figure in all of this? It (and Pakistan) is the epicenter of the most well-organized and anti-American international terrorist organization in the world. Hezbollah is actually better organized, but they are not as virulently anti-American as Al Qaeda… yet. We are fighting two wings, the domestic wing and the international terrorist wing. The former is the Taliban and the latter is Al Qaeda. The former secures a safe haven for the training, arming, recruiting, and planning of the latter. The latter is dedicated to our destruction and/or the re-establishing of the Caliphate or “true Islamic state(s).” If we withdraw at this point, the Taliban and Al Qaeda will make short work of the current Afghan government and reinstate a terror sponsoring state. What person in their right mind would want to let this happen? Do the majority of Democrats truly believe that Al Qaeda was just joking with us that one time in 2001? Do they not understand the threat? To my more libertarian friends I say this: if you believe that blowback was the reason for their attacks against us, consider the near-impossible task of complying with their demands that we leave Muslim lands forever and abandon our ally Israel. What we need to do is complete our mission in Afghanistan and get Pakistan to keep cooperating with us on the War on Terror, I mean Overseas Contingency Operations. We cannot surrender now, just look at Iraq, a partial withdrawal has already increased the frequency and intensity of Al Qaeda’s attacks and now they await our full withdrawal.

The far Left has hijacked the Democratic Party, insisting on socialism at home and surrender abroad. We cannot let the world think that only catastrophes like 9-11 can wake us from our naive slumber, even if it might be true for the majority of the current dominant political party.

-AG