Winning Against Terrorism and Securing Our Borders

By Stanley Kimmel Kesselman

Nothing is more important than national security. With courage and clear vision we can protect our liberties. This means winning against this epoch's fascists and defending our sovereign borders.

When all is said and done, we come down to one question: will the bad guys leave us alone if we leave the Middle East? I say "no"; others say "yes." From this divide, everything else follows. However, this is not the first time the Near East has gifted violence to the world. For a helpful historical perspective I urge you to read at least the introduction of Divine Intervention: Jesus or Jefferson?

There is a sad truth: from the beginning of time evil men have caused havoc. What is happening today is nothing new in the course of history; it is only newly happening to us. As an historian I have studied the Old Testament of the Hebrews, the New Testament of the Christians, and Islam's Koran. Any one of these contradictory revelations + all from the same Lord - may be cited to provoke violence or urge peace. Any Jew, Christian or Muslim can say God wants war or doesn't want war while quoting scripture for support.

On the other hand, history provides at least one certainty: bad men do bad things. I do not believe that religion underlies the Middle East's conflicts. Rather, political men with a lust for control over people and territory are using hate and religion as their sword. Adolph Hitler cared little about the idyllic socialism of his National Socialist Party. Joseph Stalin cared little for the people's utopia which communism claimed as its goal. They, and today's brutal men sending brainwashed youths on suicide missions, seek power and control by using ideology or religion to motivate the troops. History's eternal power lust is on tragic display as Muslims slaughter Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan, Palestine, and Somalia. They are not doing God's work by slaughtering co-religionists. Rather, they are driven to kill and pillage without mercy by an incomprehensible lust in the soul that has always been. We must fight that.

It would be wonderful to call our soldiers home, to forget the always-in-conflict ancient Bible belt, and to lazily enjoy Seinfeld reruns in complete safety. But in today's brutal cycle of history that is a very unlikely result. Those who believe that reasonable men and decapitating men can settle differences at a conference table are fatally naïve. We have seen enough wanton, vicious, and inhuman disregard for life to know that today's generation of power-lusters will war until they are stopped. And doing lunch won't stop them. This is way beyond Hollywood deal making.

My neighbors, everything has a cost. Consider. If last year we had limited the national automobile driving speed to 5 miles per hour instead of 65, how many of the 42,000 - 42,000 Americans + killed in car accidents would still be alive? Probably 41,500. However, we choose to drive at freeway speed, accepting the enormous human and financial costs as the price for our mobility. And another statistic. Last year, 16,900 Americans were murdered. No, not in Iraq, but here at home in our fifty states. Civilization is truly messy. We should not be surprised that liberty is expensive. However, in the long run, the burdens we bear for freedom are small compared to the blessings we receive. But pay we must. History offers no other choice except tyranny.

Certainly, every opening for negotiation should be explored. A miracle is possible. However, we must be willing to fight our way through this bloody epoch. It was thus long before Islam's birth in about 630 AD, and so it is today. And we may rightly ask? Do the beheaders seek to rule only over various parts of the Middle East sand patch, including Israel, or over us as well? They don't know. No one knows. However, they will kill for all they can get, constantly testing our resolve on the way to grabbing more.

The good news is that we will win. That is beyond doubt. The United States will not lose to petty Napoleons in robes. However, whether we win relatively easily because we are committed, or only after tragic setbacks because we dither, remains to be seen.

I know that many of you reject this analysis. I do not believe that wanting to bring the troops home is a sign of bad faith. However, if leaving the battle with our tails between our legs turns out to be a mistake, the error will be costly beyond measure. I cannot favor such a deadly gamble.

Still others are frustrated because today's "stay-the-course" policy is painfully less than a "let's win" policy that actually would win. Clearly, some men at the highest levels have to go. There has been serious bungling. It is unacceptable that we seem to be grasping defeat from the jaws of victory. Instead, we ought to do what it takes to win. And we ought to do this without tying our selves in the knots of those anxious to demonstrate their elevated humanity even at the cost of national suicide.

Immigration

First and foremost, illegal immigrants are "illegal". They have broken the law. Ours is a nation under the rule of law and it is dismaying that the federal government has failed + perhaps 12 million times + to enforce our immigration laws. We feel that our home has been invaded by uninvited and illegal strangers who won't leave our living room. And our wallets have been invaded by taxes supporting huge increases in school, health, and welfare expenditures for illegals. Meanwhile, the quality of schools, health, and our city environment has diminished.

First things first. The border must be sealed now and visa overstays must be sent home. This is simply enforcing the law. With a fence and modern technology, along with federal troops where necessary, we can probably be 95% successful. That means about 900,000 fewer illegals per year. On the other hand, legal immigrants should be encouraged. We should seek and welcome the brightest, most creative and skilled people on the planet, whether they work in the trades or technology.

What about the 12 million illegals? Or is it 15 million? More debate is needed on this contentious issue which has so many economic ramifications. The incompetent governance that couldn't stop 12 million from coming in could never get them out. That's a sorry reality. And, in any event, we may not want to send them all home when we better understand the consequences of doing so. However, this debate should occur only after we do the obvious: stop further illegal immigration.

Critical to discouraging more from coming is the enforcement of existing prohibitions against hiring illegals. To do this, we need a forgery proof social security card for identification. Surely American Express or MasterCard can show the government how to do this fast and well. Why can't we all have a tamper proof card within one year?

As a personal aside, I note that Mexico is my favorite foreign nation to visit. I have spent a year in Mexico. I have studied Spanish for the last five years just for the joy of doing so. It breaks my heart that Mexico and its southern neighbors fail to meet their enormous potential because of faulty institutions and poor political policies. We should do everything, everything possible to help our Latin neighbors, except get their unresponsive governments off the hook by allowing their poorest citizens to come here illegally. Legal immigrants should be welcomed, aided and honored. Illegals, no.