God of Love and War on Terror
Obviously the war on terror as conducted by this administration needs complete reform. Here is a layman’s proposal to begin dealing with Radical Islam and the Jihadists who daily threaten our very existence:
Strong alliances with Russia, Israel, Great Britain, South Africa, Poland, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France and many other European and African countries, and other willing countries in Central and South America and Asia — the focus being coordinated efforts to defund and disrupt terror networks, as well as conducting joint search and destroy missions against confirmed perpetrators of terrorism via stealth operations, small team incursions.
Strong alliances with Muslim countries that express and demonstrate moderation and a willingness to assist the Coalition in the above outlined endeavors, combined with Coalition increases in foreign aid to assist with charitable works for those Muslim countries that demonstrate a real willingness to cooperate for mutual benefit.
No state sponsor of terrorism will receive any foreign aid from the U.S. and neither shall such state sponsor of terrorism enjoy favorable trade status with the U.S. Other Coalition partners will make their own decisions along these lines of course.
Treating terrorism fighters as enemy combatants subject to Coalition military tribunals conducted by the country most greatly injured by whatever terror attack was suffered. In the case of multiple nations being attacked, the military tribunal will have judges from each of the affected countries. Enemy combatants should have a right to a speedy trial but they do not enjoy all the rights and privileges of American citizens. The penalty for engaging in terrorism in any substantive way: public execution by firing squad, period.
The American intelligence services, under DOD and DOJ advice and consent, are allowed to gather intelligence globally to protect American lives, and such intelligence gathering may involve enhanced interrogation techniques sanctioned by the FISA courts.
War Powers: the U.S. may not invade, attack, or otherwise engage other sovereign countries with the use of ground troops or sophisticated weaponry without congressional approval and oversight. Groups like Al Qaeda, known terrorists that do not represent a sovereign state, may be attacked without such congressional oversight. However, conventional oversight should be sufficient in this realm to check the power of the Executive.
Muslims as U.S. citizens will swear the oath like any other new citizen. If they refuse to pledge allegiance and promise to abide by our laws and respect our Constitution, they will be deported. Any citizen, legal resident or visitor who is convicted of terrorism via due process will suffer appropriate penalty of law. If that involves execution, so be it. If it involves incarceration or deportation, so be it. Muslim or otherwise, terrorism will not be tolerated.
Muslims in the U.S. have free speech and freedom of religion, even to the extent of expressing sympathy for Jihad, but anyone convicted of giving aid and comfort to Jihad disqualifies himself from receiving any entitlement benefit from the state, and such individuals will be subject to other prosecutions under law.
A nuclear Iran is entirely unacceptable. Preventing Iran from acquiring any form of WMD will be the objective of the U.S., by any means.
Anyone killing or abusing women and children in the name of Jihad will be considered an enemy of the Coalition and will be dealt with accordingly.
Any Mosque in the U.S. that preaches hatred toward non-believers, encouraging adherents to injure or kill non-believers will be subject to prosecution and if convicted, will be shut down, and its leadership will be deported.
The vast web of Jihadist front groups in the U.S. shall come under special scrutiny, and any organization found engaged in sedition will be shutdown, its members prosecuted to the fullest extent.
America will make every effort to develop its own sources of energy across the spectrum, doing so in an environmentally responsible way, the goal being almost complete self-reliance within 20 years.
America will lead the Coalition of nations to make sure there is no more proliferation of nuclear weapons, and no manufacturing or distribution of other forms of WMD. Sober assessments and appropriate actions must be taken in Afghanistan and Iraq. In the last five years both situations have been allowed to deteriorate to the point it’s questionable if U.S. presence makes much of an impact any longer.
The Coalition will convene and sponsor think tanks comprised of Muslims and former terrorists and other experts in the field to research and issue intelligence briefings, white papers, and other notifications concerning strategies and tactics of terrorist individuals and groups most likely to pose a threat. Such research will also forward recommendations as to best responses.
Rules of Engagement pertaining to American military personnel. While our focus is indeed winning hearts and minds, our priority is military victory and protecting American lives. If Americans are fired upon, personnel have the immediate green light to shoot back, taking every precaution to avoid civilian casualties.
There will be a new initiative in American colleges and universities to train specialists in Arabic and foreign service in Muslim countries to pave the way for new relations and alliances in the years to come.
The U.S. military will be sufficiently funded and manned to respond in whatever way is necessary to prevent attacks, or answer them with rapid, lethal force, the only language terrorists understand.
No member of the Muslim Brotherhood or other terrorism organization may hold public office in the United States, nor can another self-described enemy of the United States obtain citizenship in this country.
The use of drones needs to be reviewed. From reports, such use has gone far beyond what was imagined even in recent years. Drone attacks on other sovereign soil are causing political fallout which is counterproductive to the mission.
Domestic surveillance policy as it pertains to the NSA, CIA and FBI needs to be reviewed. It is apparent the Executive has far too much discretionary power and that the civil liberties of Americans and others are being infringed.
The southern border is rife with infiltration, crime, human and drug trafficking. That border must be sealed, and the illegal immigration issue must be settled, fairly, and legally, without sending a message “come one come all” without consequence.
The U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of our land. American sovereignty is inviolate. No treaty or other international agreement ever overrides the Constitution.
Let it be understood, this is an all-out war on terrorism, not on Islam or Muslims or anyone else, only Jihadi terrorists.
Finally, introducing people to the God of Love will have more of a positive impact than all the armies on earth.
Image: Courtesy of: http://ahrcanum.wordpress.com/2009/06/23/u-s-ready-for-war-against-north-korea-ah1n1-swine-flu/