We Cannot Compromise With Evil
By Jon Alvarez (08/25/03)
The other night I had to take a break from watching the news. The footage of the young victims of the latest bus bombing in Israel was especially disturbing and was causing my blood pressure to rise. So I decided to watch the old film, ''MacArthur,'' starring Gregory Peck. As I watched this film, I was amazed at how General MacArthur's words spoken nearly fifty years ago still ring true today.
MacArthur was a strong leader, filled with conviction and determination. This seemed to alienate many who seemed to be quite jealous of his popularity in this country. Sound familiar? In his battle versus communist China and North Korea, political enemies, too, hindered him in his quest for victory. Sounds familiar? In many ways, President Bush is in the same situation General MacArthur was over fifty years ago. MacArthur also said something that really seemed to stand out. He stated, ''We cannot compromise with evil.'' Truer words have never been spoken. Fifty years later, we are still battling not only with evil, but those within our country who are willing to compromise with evil.
In light of this past week's bombings in Israel and Iraq, it should be perfectly clear that there is no reasoning with terrorists. Yet, were one to listen to any news broadcast, you'd hear politicians and news analysts calling for Israel to exercise restraint while her citizens are being targeted for murder. When will the lesson be learned that we cannot compromise with evil? How many innocent children are to be slaughtered by radical Muslims before enough is enough? It is time to either unleash Israel or to join the country in destroying Hamas, Hezbollah, and other like-minded terrorist groups, as well as their supporters within the governments of Syria and Iran.
To achieve peace in the Middle East, the terrorist-supporting regimes in Syria and Iran must be destroyed. That is the true road map to peace. Syria should be held responsible for Hamas and the attacks against Israel. Have Syria's rulers done what Powell told them to do in Damascus with regards to Hamas? No. Iran is backing the attacks by terrorists in Iraq and is on the verge of obtaining nuclear weapons. It is time to act before it is too late. In both instances, the road map and the war on terror are inter-connected, as they were in Iraq. America and the world are both safer today because Saddam Hussein is no longer in a position to sponsor terrorism.
Getting back to General MacArthur, history has proven that MacArthur was right: 50 years later North Korea is still around and is currently resorting to nuclear blackmail. Compromise has not solved anything on the Korean peninsula; it has only exacerbated the situation. Let's look at what MacArthur told Congress in 1951 after he was relieved of command:
''There are those who claim our strength is inadequate to protect on both fronts, that we cannot divide our effort. I can think of no greater expression of defeatism..
''If a potential enemy can divide his strength on two fronts, it is for us to counter his efforts. The Communist threat is a global one. Its successful advance in one sector threatens the destruction of every other sector. You cannot appease or otherwise surrender to communism in Asia without simultaneously undermining our efforts to halt its advance in Europe...
''There are some who for varying reasons would appease Red China. They are blind to history's clear lesson, for history teaches with unmistakable emphasis that appeasement but begets new and bloodier war. It points to no single instance where this end has justified that means, where appeasement had led to more than a sham peace...
''Like blackmail, it lays the basis for new and successively greater demands until, as in blackmail, violence becomes the only alternative."
Not only was General MacArthur correct in his assessment of dealing with the threat of communism, but the dangers of appeasement as well. Some critics argue that we cannot fight on more than one front. That did not stop us during WW2 when we had to. This is America; we can do anything we put our minds to.
We are once again at a crossroads in history. We not only have a threat, once again, from N. Korea, but from terrorism as well. Will we rise up to the challenge? MacArthur believed that we could not and should not compromise with evil. History confirms this as a truism. Just look at Nazi Germany for further evidence of how compromise and appeasement failed and ultimately, force had to be used to defeat evil. Examine the situation in N. Korea fifty years later; the threat is still there and has become much worse. Can we afford to deal with terrorism in the same manner? General MacArthur would say no.
"In war there is no substitute for victory." - General Douglas MacArthur
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