January 30, 2009, 4:00 a.m.
Be Not Afraid
Terrorists rely on intimidation and deception. We can’t be fooled, and we must resist.
By Gabriel Ledeen
Evil’s strength lies in its ability to intimidate. I saw this truth play out during my two tours in Iraq, as al-Qaeda dominated the spirit of Anbar’s Sunni population. The mighty Sunni Awakening movement represented the rejection of the oppression and intimidation the population had been enduring at the hands of al-Qaeda. As Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha said of his movement, “We Sunnis had to convince ourselves.” After all, their instincts and traditions had told them that we were the outsiders and therefore had to be worse than al-Qaeda’s Muslim operatives. They first had to understand the evil that we—and they—were confronting, and then they could take responsibility for their lives and act decisively.
Our Islamist enemies can’t win when confronted directly with the truth because they are essentially hollow. As in Iraq, they will eventually wither. Their false jihad often relies on deception, bribery, and drugs to gain recruits and compel attacks. Their movement is founded on lies, as seen in the propaganda used to indoctrinate new followers to the culture of hatred. They oppose freedom and individual liberty, and reject the value of each human life, and therefore are at odds with the self-evident Truths that govern our existence.
It is imperative to recognize the central characteristics of our enemy’s ideology in order to expose its ontologically false foundation. As Americans observed in our struggles against the Soviet Communists and the Nazis, with the understanding of the threat comes an understanding of the necessity of a sufficient response. While such a response can be costly and difficult, such efforts can be powerfully exerted when fueled by the truth. Our enemy knows this, and strives to cloud our understanding and prevent us from exposing the reality. It is our reluctance to confront such enemies that emboldens them, allows them to perpetrate evil on the world, and causes extraordinary suffering. This is not merely a philosophical point.
I have spent the last two weeks in Israel trying to understand what exactly is going on here and what it means in the broader context of the global war on terror. I find myself dwelling on the question: Why do democratic and liberal nations condemn Israel for fighting against terrorists who deliberately target civilians?
The usual answer—anti-Semitism—is certainly justified in some cases, but I reject it as the categorical cause of this illogical (or pathological) but common response to Israel’s efforts to survive. No, the fundamental answer to this question is that we, as democratic and liberty-loving societies, are afraid to identify candidly the defining nature of our common enemies. Whether knowingly or through tragic manipulation, Westerners who attack Israel in effect join, support, and propel a force that makes this world worse. This force degrades humanity by denying the value of the individual human life, the essential basis for liberty. It is a force for evil that desecrates the holy, defiles the innocent, and denigrates those values that uplift the human spirit.
Israel has no choice but to confront the threats against its existence. When one is pushed into such a position, one must either fight back or die. Israel is unique as the only democratic, non-Muslim country that is continually confronting the brutal realities of radical Islamic terrorism within its borders. Because it is unique, Israel is constantly pressured by Western opinion makers to respond only to those threats that are immediate, and to define those threats through a limited and local perspective. This way, the world’s other democratic nations can maintain their distance and continue to promote the lie that Israel’s fight against terrorism is somehow completely different from everyone else’s. Certainly we would all be more effective at confronting this threat together, with a shared understanding of what we face and the determination to defeat it. So what are we afraid of?
Studying this fear is like peering uneasily into the dark after hearing an unusual sound. If we don’t have to, we’d rather not. Why are we afraid of candor? I see two connected reasons: 1) An honest understanding would require decisive action; therefore 2) it would make us feel weak. It would make us feel weak because we would sense that we were being compelled to do some unpleasant things in the belief that doing them would improve conditions enough to make up for the doing. We despise being coerced to do what we don’t really want to do, especially when it requires sacrifice and suffering. In this it is not only our love of liberty but also our love of comfort and leisure that causes our disquiet. The longer the period of sacrifice and concentrated effort is likely to be, the stronger is the resistance and hence the more troubling are the feelings of weakness.
It is common, even natural, for an individual to feel weak if he or she is afraid. The perception of helplessness translates into a loss of self-confidence, which is then processed in diverse ways. One popular defense mechanism is to convince oneself that the threat doesn’t exist. This allows the individual to ignore the unpleasant reality, embrace blissful ignorance, act as if there is nothing to worry about, and keep a false self-confidence intact. If you doubt that this process really occurs, I encourage you to look in on a women’s self-defense class. Instructors constantly preach awareness and preparation, and always emphasize the danger of giving in to the desire to pretend that the world is a safe place. These instructors know that too many victims are unprepared to meet real threats because they refuse to accept that the threats exist. In a society where self-confidence seems ever more important, but ever harder to attain, it is unsurprising that our minds would develop ways around such conflicts.
Of course the problem is that the illusion of strength is not strength, it is weakness. It allows fear to keep us from doing what it is right. True strength is doing what is right despite the fear. Do not give in to the temptation to ignore what is true and real because it threatens you and makes you feel weak or helpless. Recognizing evil is the first and most essential step in defeating it. Once you accomplish that feat, nature impels you on your course, and you have but to continue as you have begun, with strength and virtue. Let us confront our enemies with the knowledge that Truth is with us, and the recognition that they stand arrogantly on ice, denying the sun, awaiting the thaw.
Be not afraid, for fear will be our undoing.
— Gabriel Ledeen is a senior fellow with the Vets For Freedom Educational Institute. He served two tours in al-Anbar, Iraq, as an officer with a Marine infantry battalion.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: This article has been amended since its initial posting.]
National Review Online - http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YTYxMjIyMGE3MDhjMGNiZWRkMjg5Nzc0OGI4OWIxNTE=
Friday, January 30, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Sderot, Israel is Like Iraq Without the Body Armor
Tuesday, January 27, 2009 9:48 PM
I am no stranger to the danger of rocket and mortar fire. As a Marine officer serving in Iraq in 2006, a 122mm rocket landed roughly 50 feet from where my Staff Sergeant and I were walking through our motor pool. Thankfully it was a dud and didn't explode, but the experience of hearing the incoming rocket and knowing that it was too late to take meaningful cover was truly and uniquely horrible. Of course, we were Marines fighting in a war and were fully aware of the threats we faced. We had body armor, armored vehicles, fortified buildings to live in, and aircraft and artillery to return fire when we were attacked. We were in a war, we were prepared for the danger, and we knew that eventually we would go home. For Israelis living in Sderot, Ashdod, Ashqelon, and nearby towns, it is much different. They live in normal homes, drive normal cars, and wear normal clothes. They eat at restaurants, watch movies, and go to school and work. They don't carry weapons, and they aren't at war. Yet they have endured over 6,500 rockets and mortars over the last three years, with 80 landing per day on the worst days. Roughly figured, every four hours these civilians have 15 seconds to find shelter from an incoming explosive. That is substantially more indirect fire than anything I, or anyone else that I know, ever experienced during tours in Iraq.
As I walk the streets of Sderot I am struck by the absurdity of this situation. These are civilians living normal lives in a normal town in a democratic country. Yet their bus stops were converted into blast-proof shelters, and every other block has a "Lifeshield" bunker. Camp Fallujah is the only place I've ever been with such "force protection" measures in place. How absurd that Sderot is in that kind of company. Sderot has no rocket launching pads or artillery equipment. There are no helicopters or jets based there. Not only is there no offensive military presence, but there is no mechanism to return fire either. If you told Marines that they would be living in a place that received regular mortar and rocket fire, had no counter-fire capability, and would never be allowed to return fire, they would tell you that you're completely insane…among other things.
I am told by Sderot's residents that there are typically two times per day that are most dangerous: when the children go to school in the morning and when the children return from school in the afternoon. The pre-school children learn to sing songs about the proper response to the "Code Red" siren warning of an incoming rocket. Imagine that, a child returning from school proud of the new song she learned, unaware that she lives in the only place where such songs are taught. In Haditha and Fallujah the youngest kids that I had to worry about were 18 years old, and that was a heavy enough burden to bear.
With only 2.5 miles between Sderot and the Gaza border, every resident remains keenly aware of the 15 second rule. Every action is taken with the nearest bunker in mind, and every trip to school is rushed to minimize the time spent outside. Baths and showers, bathroom breaks, wake-up times, naps, and exercise are all planned around the likely times of rocket attacks, but the residents are all too aware that there is no way to be sure. If one is observant, the signs are everywhere. Savage holes scar the walls of buildings, and larger holes in sidewalks and streets remind passersby of the ever-present danger. I pass a home destroyed by a recent Qassam rocket attack, and recall the 70 year old grandmother who lived there. She survived because she decided that morning to sleep in a bit longer; otherwise she would have been in the now non-existent kitchen or bathroom when the rocket crashed through her roof.
Such strikes are not accidental. These rockets are deliberately fired at civilian areas like Sderot with the intention of killing the residents as they go about their daily lives. Every one of the 9,400 rockets fired into Israel since 2003 is a war crime. The people of Sderot continue to wait for these charges to be made against the Hamas terrorists controlling Gaza. They believed that the withdrawal of all Israelis from Gaza in 2005 would improve the situation, and despaired when Hamas drastically increased the number of attacks. They live on with the hope that soon the rockets will stop. They dream of a day when their lives will more closely resemble those of citizens of other democratic nations, and less the experiences of those of us who must endure the risks of combat. They ask us why this dream is not possible, and we pretend not to hear.
Published at New Majority
I am no stranger to the danger of rocket and mortar fire. As a Marine officer serving in Iraq in 2006, a 122mm rocket landed roughly 50 feet from where my Staff Sergeant and I were walking through our motor pool. Thankfully it was a dud and didn't explode, but the experience of hearing the incoming rocket and knowing that it was too late to take meaningful cover was truly and uniquely horrible. Of course, we were Marines fighting in a war and were fully aware of the threats we faced. We had body armor, armored vehicles, fortified buildings to live in, and aircraft and artillery to return fire when we were attacked. We were in a war, we were prepared for the danger, and we knew that eventually we would go home. For Israelis living in Sderot, Ashdod, Ashqelon, and nearby towns, it is much different. They live in normal homes, drive normal cars, and wear normal clothes. They eat at restaurants, watch movies, and go to school and work. They don't carry weapons, and they aren't at war. Yet they have endured over 6,500 rockets and mortars over the last three years, with 80 landing per day on the worst days. Roughly figured, every four hours these civilians have 15 seconds to find shelter from an incoming explosive. That is substantially more indirect fire than anything I, or anyone else that I know, ever experienced during tours in Iraq.
As I walk the streets of Sderot I am struck by the absurdity of this situation. These are civilians living normal lives in a normal town in a democratic country. Yet their bus stops were converted into blast-proof shelters, and every other block has a "Lifeshield" bunker. Camp Fallujah is the only place I've ever been with such "force protection" measures in place. How absurd that Sderot is in that kind of company. Sderot has no rocket launching pads or artillery equipment. There are no helicopters or jets based there. Not only is there no offensive military presence, but there is no mechanism to return fire either. If you told Marines that they would be living in a place that received regular mortar and rocket fire, had no counter-fire capability, and would never be allowed to return fire, they would tell you that you're completely insane…among other things.
I am told by Sderot's residents that there are typically two times per day that are most dangerous: when the children go to school in the morning and when the children return from school in the afternoon. The pre-school children learn to sing songs about the proper response to the "Code Red" siren warning of an incoming rocket. Imagine that, a child returning from school proud of the new song she learned, unaware that she lives in the only place where such songs are taught. In Haditha and Fallujah the youngest kids that I had to worry about were 18 years old, and that was a heavy enough burden to bear.
With only 2.5 miles between Sderot and the Gaza border, every resident remains keenly aware of the 15 second rule. Every action is taken with the nearest bunker in mind, and every trip to school is rushed to minimize the time spent outside. Baths and showers, bathroom breaks, wake-up times, naps, and exercise are all planned around the likely times of rocket attacks, but the residents are all too aware that there is no way to be sure. If one is observant, the signs are everywhere. Savage holes scar the walls of buildings, and larger holes in sidewalks and streets remind passersby of the ever-present danger. I pass a home destroyed by a recent Qassam rocket attack, and recall the 70 year old grandmother who lived there. She survived because she decided that morning to sleep in a bit longer; otherwise she would have been in the now non-existent kitchen or bathroom when the rocket crashed through her roof.
Such strikes are not accidental. These rockets are deliberately fired at civilian areas like Sderot with the intention of killing the residents as they go about their daily lives. Every one of the 9,400 rockets fired into Israel since 2003 is a war crime. The people of Sderot continue to wait for these charges to be made against the Hamas terrorists controlling Gaza. They believed that the withdrawal of all Israelis from Gaza in 2005 would improve the situation, and despaired when Hamas drastically increased the number of attacks. They live on with the hope that soon the rockets will stop. They dream of a day when their lives will more closely resemble those of citizens of other democratic nations, and less the experiences of those of us who must endure the risks of combat. They ask us why this dream is not possible, and we pretend not to hear.
Published at New Majority
Thursday, January 15, 2009
A Firsthand Look at the Real Guantanamo
Posted By Gabe Ledeen On January 15, 2009 @ 6:35 am
I recently visited the detention facilities at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and was dismayed at what I saw. The place was nothing like what I expected, and I was struck by how little we Americans actually know about these facilities and the conduct of our personnel there. With every new interview and every new area walk-through I hoped to find some validation of the certainties I brought with me from the hundreds of articles, documentaries, and speeches presented to the American people by our intellectual superiors.
Instead, my experiences at Guantanamo Bay illustrate the thoroughness of the miseducation of the American people and our willingness to assume the worst about our men and women in uniform. Furthermore, the visit clearly demonstrated that there is a widespread ignorance of the complexity of the situation that we face in the current war against our terrorist enemies. This ignorance results in a focus on superficial issues instead of core questions, and a naive trust in false stories and an astonishing proclivity to be misled.
Our willingness to believe the worst about our servicemen and women is evident in the popular beliefs about Guantanamo Bay, despite the facts. There are quite literally too many examples to choose from to represent the overwhelmingly negative and sensational views on what occurs at the hands of American citizens under direct supervision. Here’s one attempt: “Guantanamo Bay, in addition to Abu Ghraib, is a national disgrace and international embarrassment to us, to our country’s ideals, and a festering threat to our security. It is a legal black hole that dishonors the principles of a great nation.” These inaccurate and deliberately misleading comments made by Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT) illustrate the point nicely. Never mind that the incident at Abu Ghraib was never excused by a single military or civilian leader, and that it stands out as an extreme and isolated example of the unfortunate effects that a few anomalous individuals can produce. Instead, he deliberately links Abu Ghraib with Guantanamo in an effort to demonstrate to his audience that there is a pattern of immoral behavior perpetrated by members of our military.
What I found at Guantanamo Bay was that the American servicemen and women there are committed to standards well above those of the average citizen. For twelve hours a day, four days a week, for at least a year, these soldiers with a median age of 22 demonstrate inspiring discipline and dedication to duty. There are multiple assaults on guards every day, mostly verbal and sometimes physical. At least once a week, every week, at least one soldier is doused with a “body fluid cocktail” of feces and urine as they attempt to perform their daily routine. I asked one young female non-commissioned officer what happens after such an event. She explained that the soldier washes off and changes into a clean uniform, and after a medical evaluation is permitted to choose whether or not to return to the cell block.
The option is given so the soldier has the opportunity to calm down, process what happened, and seek out a chaplain or mental health professional if desired. Without my prompting, the NCO added that in the year that she had worked there, not one soldier had decided to take the rest of the day off. Instead, they return to the cell block to show the detainee that no level of provocation will be sufficient to break the soldier’s will or provoke a reaction. Indeed, every soldier is obsessed with performing their duty in a manner worthy of America’s praise and support. As the Joint Task Force commander, Rear Admiral David Thomas, put it, “Of course we’re doing it this way; we’re Americans, and we want Americans to be proud of their military and the way we conduct ourselves.” In order to confirm that the nasal feeding tubes were humane and effective, Rear Admiral Thomas instructed the medical staff to feed him with the device — for a week.
During a brief, Rear Admiral Thomas made a point that all Americans should understand. He said, “The debate about the right policy and the right legal framework for handling unlawful enemy combatants is extremely important and complicated, and should absolutely continue to take place. But Americans do not have to worry about the treatment of these detainees. We are committed to the safe and humane, legal and transparent care and custody of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and we do so in a manner that Americans can be proud of.” These soldiers are dedicated to upholding our highest values in their daily conduct, and are committed to their mission because they know that it helps to protect our nation.
As an Iraq veteran who led convoys transporting detainees, I know firsthand that these men and women represent the norm in our armed forces, not those involved in the Abu Ghraib incident. Due to time limitations on holding detainees at the battalion level, we would brave the roads of Anbar province in the summer of 2006 at all hours to make sure we met these expectations. Despite the frustrations of detaining the same individuals multiple times because of the slowly maturing Iraqi justice system, our Marines showed tremendous integrity and discipline and set an inspiring example. When faced with impossible split-second decisions, Marines would put themselves at incredible personal risk to avoid potential civilian casualties and collateral damage. These men and women volunteered to serve our country at a time of war, and all but a tiny minority are performing admirably in the most challenging of circumstances. They have proven themselves in the face of overwhelming adversity. They deserve our support and respect, not more doubt and disbelief.
Article printed from Pajamas Media: http://pajamasmedia.com
URL to article: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/a-firsthand-look-at-the-real-guantanamo/
I recently visited the detention facilities at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and was dismayed at what I saw. The place was nothing like what I expected, and I was struck by how little we Americans actually know about these facilities and the conduct of our personnel there. With every new interview and every new area walk-through I hoped to find some validation of the certainties I brought with me from the hundreds of articles, documentaries, and speeches presented to the American people by our intellectual superiors.
Instead, my experiences at Guantanamo Bay illustrate the thoroughness of the miseducation of the American people and our willingness to assume the worst about our men and women in uniform. Furthermore, the visit clearly demonstrated that there is a widespread ignorance of the complexity of the situation that we face in the current war against our terrorist enemies. This ignorance results in a focus on superficial issues instead of core questions, and a naive trust in false stories and an astonishing proclivity to be misled.
Our willingness to believe the worst about our servicemen and women is evident in the popular beliefs about Guantanamo Bay, despite the facts. There are quite literally too many examples to choose from to represent the overwhelmingly negative and sensational views on what occurs at the hands of American citizens under direct supervision. Here’s one attempt: “Guantanamo Bay, in addition to Abu Ghraib, is a national disgrace and international embarrassment to us, to our country’s ideals, and a festering threat to our security. It is a legal black hole that dishonors the principles of a great nation.” These inaccurate and deliberately misleading comments made by Senator Pat Leahy (D-VT) illustrate the point nicely. Never mind that the incident at Abu Ghraib was never excused by a single military or civilian leader, and that it stands out as an extreme and isolated example of the unfortunate effects that a few anomalous individuals can produce. Instead, he deliberately links Abu Ghraib with Guantanamo in an effort to demonstrate to his audience that there is a pattern of immoral behavior perpetrated by members of our military.
What I found at Guantanamo Bay was that the American servicemen and women there are committed to standards well above those of the average citizen. For twelve hours a day, four days a week, for at least a year, these soldiers with a median age of 22 demonstrate inspiring discipline and dedication to duty. There are multiple assaults on guards every day, mostly verbal and sometimes physical. At least once a week, every week, at least one soldier is doused with a “body fluid cocktail” of feces and urine as they attempt to perform their daily routine. I asked one young female non-commissioned officer what happens after such an event. She explained that the soldier washes off and changes into a clean uniform, and after a medical evaluation is permitted to choose whether or not to return to the cell block.
The option is given so the soldier has the opportunity to calm down, process what happened, and seek out a chaplain or mental health professional if desired. Without my prompting, the NCO added that in the year that she had worked there, not one soldier had decided to take the rest of the day off. Instead, they return to the cell block to show the detainee that no level of provocation will be sufficient to break the soldier’s will or provoke a reaction. Indeed, every soldier is obsessed with performing their duty in a manner worthy of America’s praise and support. As the Joint Task Force commander, Rear Admiral David Thomas, put it, “Of course we’re doing it this way; we’re Americans, and we want Americans to be proud of their military and the way we conduct ourselves.” In order to confirm that the nasal feeding tubes were humane and effective, Rear Admiral Thomas instructed the medical staff to feed him with the device — for a week.
During a brief, Rear Admiral Thomas made a point that all Americans should understand. He said, “The debate about the right policy and the right legal framework for handling unlawful enemy combatants is extremely important and complicated, and should absolutely continue to take place. But Americans do not have to worry about the treatment of these detainees. We are committed to the safe and humane, legal and transparent care and custody of the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and we do so in a manner that Americans can be proud of.” These soldiers are dedicated to upholding our highest values in their daily conduct, and are committed to their mission because they know that it helps to protect our nation.
As an Iraq veteran who led convoys transporting detainees, I know firsthand that these men and women represent the norm in our armed forces, not those involved in the Abu Ghraib incident. Due to time limitations on holding detainees at the battalion level, we would brave the roads of Anbar province in the summer of 2006 at all hours to make sure we met these expectations. Despite the frustrations of detaining the same individuals multiple times because of the slowly maturing Iraqi justice system, our Marines showed tremendous integrity and discipline and set an inspiring example. When faced with impossible split-second decisions, Marines would put themselves at incredible personal risk to avoid potential civilian casualties and collateral damage. These men and women volunteered to serve our country at a time of war, and all but a tiny minority are performing admirably in the most challenging of circumstances. They have proven themselves in the face of overwhelming adversity. They deserve our support and respect, not more doubt and disbelief.
Article printed from Pajamas Media: http://pajamasmedia.com
URL to article: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/a-firsthand-look-at-the-real-guantanamo/
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