In a recent article titled, "Lessons So Far," commentator Ralph Peters spelled out a number of lessons that have been learned from (or confirmed by) the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Two of Mr Peters' observations are of particular importance, and I want to discuss them together. They are: "Never underestimate your enemy;" and, "Can we win "Eastern" wars with Western values?"

As regards the first lesson, I believe we have severely underestimated Radical Islam as a threat. The reason lies in our Western values, as Mr Peters implies in his second observation.

I don't believe we can win this "Eastern" war and still hold true to our Western values. The Eastern (radical Islamic, in this case) worldview and fundamental concepts of life, death, and faith are utterly alien to our Western ones. The jihadi who believes with all his heart and brain that killing infidels is God’s will, and that he is headed for paradise if he gets killed in the process, will be a tenacious and suicidally ruthless fighter who will have to be killed to be neutralized. At the risk of trivializing a critically important point, he's like the Terminator: He can't be bargained with. He can't be reasoned with. He doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And he absolutely will not stop, ever, until you and I are either dead or converted to Islam.

To really defeat an enemy like this, we must be able to fight with a degree of ruthless violence alien to our cultural sensibilities. Our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines can learn that (as they learned to kill fanatical Japanese troops in WWII), but I doubt that our political and social leaders and media elites will be able to set aside our Judeo-Christian ethics which regard life as sacred. At least, until it’s too late.

Think about it. More thoughts coming in the next few days.

Bilbo