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Facing Evil

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 13, 2007

Updated: 09/12/2007 06:55 pm

There is no photograph of Satan, so we must improvise with what we have: Osama bin Laden.

Looking like a Middle East version of a bad 'Just for Men' beard dye commercial, OBL has resurfaced to deliver another rambling address to America. Conversion to Islam, he said, would mean no taxes, just a low single digit 'alms' requirement. Maybe he's trying to appeal to the Republican base. The downside to his vision of no taxes and its accompanying fundamentalist baggage would mean a transformation in our way of life; from prosperity and individuality, to living in dirt and serfdom. No thanks. Our nation was born fighting and defeating tyranny and only fighting and defeating this latest tyranny will sustain it.

The gist of the opposition to the war and to the reports by Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker is that they are either not telling the truth about Iraq, or they are not telling the entire truth. Facts and figures are in dispute about the number of sectarian killings and the general level of violence in various Iraqi provinces. Some areas appear less violent than others, but a political settlement remains elusive.

We can't suddenly say, 'never mind' and pretend what we've been engaged in these six years is no longer of any consequence. While we debate timetables and withdrawal, Osama and his legions are taking the long view. They want to penetrate America with their twisted ideology until there are sufficient fanatics prepared to reign-down massive death and destruction on us. They've proved they are serious, they continue to advertise their future plans and they are even now building a religious and educational infrastructure inside the United States from which terrorist attacks could be carried out.

Many mistakes were made at the start of this war, including repeated claims that Islamofascism was not a threat. While those mistakes were costly, it would be a colossal mistake to abandon this war until it ends on terms favorable to the United States and Iraqis who have repeatedly braved death to vote for a new government.

While much of the focus continues on Iraq, an equally important war must be prosecuted and won at home. Like a vast shell game, we must find the Islamofascist pea inside growing numbers of pods. Is the mosque down the street from you peaceful, or a sanctuary for terrorist plots? Is the Islamic school teaching peaceful religion, or jihad? Is the government monitoring them, in spite of opposition to such things from 'civil libertarians'? How many civil libertarians exist in the type of society OBL wishes to impose on us? If bin Laden succeeds, the ACLU will be among the first organizations crushed, after appropriate thanks for helping to make the takeover possible.

Cal Thomas's column is distributed by Tribune Media Services Inc.

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