A Global War on Radical Islam
Atrocities like those in Paris
won’t stop until the civilized world mobilizes to wipe out the forces of
violent jihad.
By Joseph Lieberman in the Wall Street Journal
A few important questions, following
the terrorist atrocities in Paris last week: We are all Charlie now, but are we
ready to fight to protect freedom of expression before another cartoonist is
killed by Islamist extremists? Are we ready to do what is necessary to stop the
killing of another police officer just because she is a police officer, and
more Jews just because they are Jews?
In other words, can the inspiring
unity that filled the streets of Paris on Sunday in defense of freedom be
transformed into the mighty unity that is necessary now to defeat radical Islam
before it kills more people and takes away more freedom?
In rapid order, the three attacks in
France last week showed more clearly than ever that the international movement
of violent Islamist extremism has declared war on Western civilization’s
foundational values, which are embraced by so many people throughout the world.
The murders of police officers, cartoonists and Jews were attacks against the
West’s most central values and aspirations—the rule of law, freedom of
expression and freedom of religion. Radical Islam will continue to threaten
what we hold dear unless it is fought and eventually defeated.
Since 9/11, the U.S. has inflicted
severe damage on Osama bin Laden ’s al Qaeda. But al Qaeda has divided and reconstituted
itself throughout the world under groups with new names like Islamic State, but
with the same evil purposes.
The truth is that the enemy is
stronger today in more places than it was on 9/11 and is gaining more ground
than ever. It is also true that homeland defenses are significantly better in
the U.S. and elsewhere, which has helped thwart many planned terrorist attacks.
But wars aren’t won on defense.
After the three attacks in France,
which so touched the hearts and fears of people everywhere, the world must go
on the offensive. The radical Islamists long ago declared war on the West, but
most of the nations targeted or threatened have not yet declared war against
them.
The spirit that brought millions
together in France on Sunday in support of the values of freedom and law should
now bring those millions and tens of millions like them in other countries
together to support a program like the following:
First, the civilized nations of the
world must acknowledge that we are at war with violent Islamist extremism and
that as long as these extremists continue to recruit, attack and expand
territorially, the civilized world will continue to lose and the number and
frequency of attacks like those in France will increase.
Second, every nation whose
government or people have been attacked or threatened by Islamist terrorists
should formally declare war against them. Congress should update the
Authorization for Use of Military Force passed in the wake of 9/11 to grant the
president broad authority to take action.
Third, the U.S., along with the
world’s other great powers, should form and lead a global alliance against
radical Islam. That alliance must include leading Islamic nations—Saudi Arabia,
United Arab Emirates, Egypt, to name a few—because Muslims who do not share the
extremist views of the terrorists constitute the largest number of its victims.
Combining military, intelligence,
economic and diplomatic assets, the goal of this Alliance Against Islamist
Extremism should be nothing less than total destruction of the enemy—beginning
with Islamic State, AQAP in Yemen, al-Shabaab in Somalia and Boko Haram in
Nigeria. These groups are not interested in accommodation; they will not be
diplomatically contained. They must be eliminated. As long as they exist, they
will continue to radicalize followers, in person and online. They will provide
training for terrorists who will attack us where we live, work and worship. That
will stop only when they are destroyed.
Fourth, we must use our values as a
weapon instead of allowing the enemy to exploit and target those values. The
world war against Islamist terrorism is as much an ideological conflict as were
the world wars against fascism and communism. The rule of law and the freedom
of expression and religion that were attacked in France last week should be
championed and spread by the alliance because where there is law and freedom,
radical Islamists cannot flourish.
In the aftermath of the Paris
attacks, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Saturday declared that France
was “at war” with radical Islam. If that conclusion takes root, there is every
reason for confidence that the civilized world can defeat the latest threat to
its existence.
The White House has now admitted
that it made a mistake on Sunday by not sending a high-ranking representative
to the remarkable march in Paris. But a much greater, history-changing
opportunity still awaits President Obama : to lead a global alliance to destroy
violent Islamist extremism.
Mr. Lieberman, a former four-term
U.S. senator from Connecticut, is senior counsel at Kasowitz, Benson, Torres
& Friedman.
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