Part II- What Then, Realistically Speaking, Can We Do?

First, let's take a look at some recent headlines (from the past week alone):

Ahmadinejad: Iran will press ahead with nuclear work- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday that Iran would press ahead with its nuclear plans and that a UN resolution imposing sanctions on Iran was "invalid". 'If bullying powers ... want to resist Iranians' will, we will give them a historic slap in the face'

Iran: 3,000 centrifuges 'operational by March'- Some 3000 centrifuges currently being installed at the Iranian nuclear reactor in Natanz will be operational by March of this year, says Iranian government Spokesman Gholam.

Iran To Produce Nuclear Fuel Soon- Speaking at a public gathering in Gatvand, Khuzestan province in Iran, Ahmadinejad said, "Iran has access to full nuclear fuel cycle and we will soon push the button on nuclear fuel production for industrial uses. The Iranians are determined to achieve peaks of success and defend its interests powerfully."

Iran: Mahdi will defeat archenemy in Jerusalem-State media says, ‘Shiite messiah will kill archenemy in Jerusalem, will come during spring equinox' (This is possibly relevant if comparing the timing of Iran's 3,000 operational centrifuges with the knowledge that the nutjob thinks he can bring about the appearance of the so-called Shiite messiah through death, destruction and chaos but I'll admit, guessing what Iran may do and when based upon insane ramblings is always a risk. I've also read that this "messiah" is to rule from Iraq, suggesting this may be at least one of the reasons we see such heavy Iranian interest working against our own there, but having trouble running down a link on that one.)

Hezbollah offers pay-per-slay- Hezbollah is not only funneling Iranian money into Israel, but the group has marketized its terror aid by linking funding to the successful targeting of Qassam rockets from Gaza into Israel, with the payments linked to the number of Israelis killed or wounded.

New UN chief – Israel at the heart of the problem- This does not necessarily mean Ban believes Israel per se is to blame– Israelis have expressed the hope that he would be friendly towards their country. It strongly suggests, however, that under his leadership the international community which is pushing so hard to see Israel surrender its land to the Arabs will continue – and very likely intensify – that push; and all the more as an appeasement-inclined West becomes desperate to defuse the Iranian nuclear standoff.


News Analysis: In 2007, Expect PA Factions to Wage Civil War- This time around, the talk of "brotherhood" will likely be finally exposed for the myth it is. Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other assorted terrorist gangs will participate, while outside sponsors such as Iran, Syria, and Jordan will supply the bullets, rockets, money and ill-will.


'Israeli weapons transfer to be used against Jews'
- Weapons transferred yesterday with the help of Israel to militants from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party will be used in attacks against the Jewish state, a senior Fatah militant told WND.

Iran has 1,400 Uranium Mines- The Iranian Atomic Energy Organization said 1,400 mines were available for the extraction of uranium.

Muslim sensitivity training for 45,000 airport workers- The Transportation Security Administration – created after 9/11 to safeguard America's airports – is providing Islamic sensitivity training to 45,000 airport security officers so they'll know what to expect when Muslims fly from the U.S.

N. Korea escalates 'cult of Kim' to counter West's influence- North Koreans are taught to worship Kim Jong Il as a god. In a manner unique among nations, the North exerts extraordinary control through deification - a cult ideology of complete subservience - that goes beyond the "Stalinist" label often used to describe the newly nuclear North.

China's Hu calls for powerful, combat-ready navy- Chinese president and commander-in-chief Hu Jintao urged the building of a powerful navy that is prepared "at any time" for military struggle, state media reported on Thursday. At a meeting of delegates to a Communist Party meeting of the navy on Wednesday, Hu said China, whose military build-up has been a source of friction with the United States, was a major maritime country whose naval capability must be improved.

Meanwhile-

Dems set to regain power in Congress- Highlights?

"A jubilant Rep. Nancy Pelosi was poised to become the first woman to run the House of Representatives as Democrats relished being the majority party on Capitol Hill for the first time in 12 years.

"The Democrats are back," Pelosi said after administering a ceremonial oath of office to the Congressional Black Caucus"

"House Democrats planned quick action on legislative priorities that included boosting both the minimum wage and stem cell research. Democrats also said they would pressure President Bush to bring the troops home from Iraq."

"Pelosi, taking over as House speaker, promised immediate steps to ban gifts from lobbyists and to clamp down on travel funded by private interests. Democrats also planned to vote next week to raise the federal minimum wage, increase federal support for stem cell research and allow the government to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices on prescription drugs for Medicare recipients."

The Senate, as is typical, was getting off to a slower start than the House, where rules and practice permit speedy debate and ensure tight majority power control over the agenda. After passage of a series of routine resolutions — including elevating 89-year-old Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., as President Pro Tempore, third in the line of presidential succession — the Senate floor was opening up for speeches about the upcoming session."

"House Democrats promised speedy passage of the first six bills on their agenda and a series of stiffer ethics rules." [Ahem..]

As several posters over at Daily Kos have exclaimed, "Let the investigations begin!"

Of course, I've also seen the phrase "SUPER Mandate" over there while the Democrats have the same "mandate" that Bush had (51%) when they said he had none. haha

For balance, I give you some some encouraging words from Mark Noonan over at BlogsforBush-

"We Republicans should be of good cheer - remember, these are Democrats; they will blow it. This is especially true as the leadership of the Democratic Party is mostly kook-leftist these days. As the Party of Congressional opposition, we'll have the fun task of picking to pieces every action of the Congress and pointing out how mind-bogglingly stupid it is. Democrats are also up to their necks in corruption (I know, I've co-written the book on the subject) and while they were in the minority status, a lot of things were allowed to slide because, quite honestly, the GOP had better things to do than run down Democratic corruption...well, we've got some free time on our hands now."

"For you younger GOPers, this will be an instructive time - being in the minority has its drawbacks, but it also tends to be a lot more fun, on a day to day basis. So, relax - make some popcorn, and watch the freak show unfold."

(Give me more!)

In any case, back to my point, the freak show is not interested in our safety and security.


Daniel Pipes gets to the heart of the matter in How The West Could Lose, by diagnosing the illness.

After defeating fascists and communists, can the West now defeat the Islamists?

On the face of it, its military preponderance makes victory seem inevitable. Even if Tehran acquires a nuclear weapon, Islamists have nothing like the military machine the Axis deployed in World War II, nor the Soviet Union during the cold war. What do the Islamists have to compare with the Wehrmacht or the Red Army? The SS or Spetznaz? The Gestapo or the KGB? Or, for that matter, to Auschwitz or the gulag?

Yet, more than a few analysts, including myself, worry that it's not so simple. Islamists (defined as persons who demand to live by the sacred law of Islam, the Sharia) might in fact do better than the earlier totalitarians. They could even win. That's because, however strong the Western hardware, its software contains some potentially fatal bugs. Three of them – pacifism, self-hatred, complacency – deserve attention.

Mr. Pipes goes on to discuss these three fatal flaws in more detail and ends with-

Pacifism, self-hatred and complacency are lengthening the war against radical Islam and causing undue casualties. Only after absorbing catastrophic human and property losses will left-leaning Westerners likely overcome this triple affliction and confront the true scope of the threat. The civilized world will likely then prevail, but belatedly and at a higher cost than need have been.

The notion that absorption of catastrophic human and property losses is our only hope (where the left is concerned anyhow), is not an uncommon one. It was only after 9/11 that our great nation experienced unity and the will to really do something about Islamic terrorism. The leftists really had no choice but cooperate at that time, but what about now? They seem to assume that the American public approves their pacifism, self-hatred, and complacency due to recent elections. Conservative voices will likely tell you that the left has managed to fool the public by running fake "conservative" Democrats and the public doesn't necessarily approve the "do nothing" attitude. I don't know. Be the approval real or imagined, I do think it is likely that the left will make decisions based upon the dangerous ideology of looking extremely busy while not really doing anything at all (much like the UN). The right certainly doesn't get a pass here either. We desperately need strong and honest leadership now, more than ever before. They need to hear this from us, often.

So what else can the average Joe do? Not only do we need to make our voices heard often in Washington, we need to help educate our fellow American (if we aren't doing so already). Not everyone is paying attention. Not everyone reads blogs. Not everyone seeks alternative news sources in order to get the entire story. Many are still relying upon CNN for information. It also seems as if some have gone back to sleep after the rude awakening of 9/11 though the world is a much more dangerous place today than ever before.

There is a wealth of information available via the Internet. How many times do we receive an email with 50 FWD in front of the subject having made its way to thousands of people throughout the United States just to open and discover contents that are incredibly silly and/or easily proven false according to snopes.com or urbanlegends.com? Trust me, if people don't mind passing some of the junk that makes its way to my inbox, they won't mind forwarding information that is meaningful and with substance. I'm tempted to start tacking "Jesus will cry, your computer will blow up and you'll burn in HELL if you don't forward this, it happened to my neighbor!!!" to informative articles. I won't, but it is tempting.

If you know people who don't have access to the Internet, you can always print things for them to read and consider. Talk to neighbors, friends and family. I know this isn't exactly a happy-joy-joy topic, but the misinformation and ignorance that continues to thrive is just amazing. I think perhaps it is not enough that we educate ourselves, we also need to help educate others. One single email can reach thousands, maybe more. The blogs are not only huge sources of information but interactive (and fun) so send links to great blogs as well.

The West will not lose, but how much must we suffer before being allowed to win?