Bill Neinast
IN PERSPECTIVE
“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date that will live in infamy—” is how President Franklin D. Roosevelt began his address to the nation the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Many senior citizens will remember those words forever. Few. however. remember what else he said that day.
Here are his concluding comments:
“No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
“I believe I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make very certain that this form of treachery shall never endanger us again.
“Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger.
“With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people -- we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help us God.”
Recently, Deryl Skelton wondered “what if Obama were president in 1941?” His answer in a political cartoon has gone viral. It pictures Obama with a golf club and reads,
“We think it might’ve gone like this.
“Yesterday..December 7, 1941,was a pretty rough day.
“Some bad dudes from another country...doesn’t matter which one...randomly attacked some folks in Hawaii who were on some boats.
“Now before we get on our HIGH HORSE about this, I have to remind you that WE’VE attacked people before. It’s up to us to find out what WE did to make them mad.
“In response, I plan on hosting a seminar to give job opportunities for KAMIKAZE PILOTS to give them other things to do.
“After all, it wasn’t an entire country that bombed us. Just a few guys in planes.”
Cartoons are supposed to be funny, but this one is more scary than funny. It is scary because it accurately reflects the sad state of our role in the current world war.
The quotes are accurate reflections of President Obama’s views on the present conflict, but do not include his latest observation. He noted recently that, “i don’t think we are losing.”
This was just after ISIS took control of Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province in Iraq. Now ISIS controls one-third of Syria and more than one province of iraq.
Even after being embarrassed by his claim that killing Usama bin Laden destroyed al Qaeda and that his strategy in Yemen was working, he still has the Chutzpah to say, “i don’t think we are losing.”
There is no Obama strategy comparable to that of Roosevelt that “Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory and our interests are in grave danger” and that, “we will gain the inevitable triumph.”
We are in World War III. It is a war like none before. There is not a country or countries with leaders that can be destroyed. There are, instead, ant hills of violent fighters in many countries, including the U.S.
Those hills are like the many headed Hydra of Greek mythology. Cut off one head and two more grow back.
So here’s the perspective.
One of the Jihadist hydra heads in the form of bin Laden was cut off. Look how many more have grown back.
As taking off heads is not working, the blood supply will have to be cut off.
The enemy’s blood is weapons and money, but it has no industrial base to turn out weapons and no fixed income base to support military operations. The blood supply, however, is coming from somewhere. Deny that blood, and the ant hills will dry up and die.
Cutting the blood supply requires the cooperation of every nation to not buy oil from the fields controlled by ISIS and to refuse weapons and financial support for the radicals.
Implementing such a strategy requires an effective world leader. Unfortunately there is none in the White House today and there is no possibility of getting one for another 18 months.
So prepare for many more Days of Infamy in our future.
