SUMMARY: "No Substitute for Victory: Military Offense and the Defeat of Islamic Totalitarianism"

I'm envious of my colleague Julian who is presently attending the Boston Objectivist Conference (OCON in Boston), and posting updates to SOLO. From his latest update comes this (lightly edited) summary of an insightful lecture by John Lewis, assistant professor of history at Ashland University, with the subject, "No Substitute for Victory": Military Offense and the Defeat of Islamic Totalitarianism. [Dr. Lewis] began by assessing the differences in response by the US administration to the attacks on the USA by the Japanese in WW2, and the approach taken following the September 11 attacks. In the former case, there was an unrestrained response, which culminated in the A bombs. There was no warning, no threats, just a stated recognition that the blame for any suffering lay at the feet of the militarists who had initiated the war, not at the feet of the US. The goal was to bring the enemy to its knees, and the US was forthright and did not attempt to hide the truth in what it was trying to achieve (see telegram below). And the Japanese empire fell and now Japan is a peaceful prosperous nation. The attacks of September 11, by contrast, have been met with restrained responses which have been considered both moral and practical. The results have been a complete contrast to the success of the war against Japan. The USA has been shown to be weak which gives the enemy hope, and encourages continued resistance, and even more bloodshed. Furthermore, and unlike the successful strategy of McArthur's in Japan, the US military of today has not broken the link between Islam and the state (see Iraq, for example, where Islamism is written into the very constitution introduced by the US). Dr Lewis distributed a copy of a telegram from the State Department to to the Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Japan which stated:

Shintoism, insofar as it is a religion of individual Japanese is not to be interfered with. Shintoism, however, insofar as it is directed by the Japanese government, and is a measure enforced from the government is to be done away with... The Japanese government will be required to cease financial and other support of Shinto establishments.

Dr Lewis then asked us to substitute Iran for Japan and Islam for Shintoism. Iran is a country which is actively seeking to destroy Israel and the USA and is seeking to obtain nuclear weapons. They support terrorist organisations and this regime must be eliminated. And not one American soldier needs to set foot in Iran. We must not seek legitimacy for action outside of our right to self-defence. We must break the political power of Islam, the clerics must be stripped of power. Once Iran is dealt with the message is clear to all other regimes that Islamic States will not be permitted. And most importantly, state clearly what you are going to achieve. Be forthright and don't hide the truth of what you are doing. This was an outstanding lecture. LINK: The jihad against the west: The real threat and the right response - Objectivist Conferences (OCON) OCON Boston now free for students - SOLO RELATED: Objectivism, Politics-World