This is How We Are Going to Win the War on Terror

While we need to be killing or capturing every last one of the cowardly thugs who wish to destroy the Western model of liberty, doing so alone will not win the war on terror. Many politicians and pundits pay a lot of lip service to winning the hearts and minds of the Middle East 'street', yet we are painfully shallow on follow-through. A bunch of neanderthals posting to amateur websites from their parents' houses in Iraq often show more media savvy than our government.

If we are going to stamp out Islamist terrorism, we are going to have to win the battle of ideas. We must show the people of the Middle East our concepts of freedom and liberty are superior and desirable over the culture of hate and death espoused by the terrorists. Unlike military conflict, the battle for the mind is played out in the open arena of ideas - no amount of money, numerical advantage, military hardware, or technology sophistication can provide an edge on this battlefield. Only the best ideas win.

That is why it is so encouraging to see the stories of compassion and humanity spun by ordinary Americans doing their part (and making the sacrifices our political leaders have been too weak to ask of us in the war on terror) to win this war. Like this story in the New York Times about a handful of citizens who heard the story of a young Iraqi boy disfigured by an American cluster bomb and flew him and his father to New York for three weeks of reconstructive surgery, all expenses covered except for the hotel. Although we will continue to win the battles, it is not citizens of the West who will decide when the war on terror is won. It will be when the Muslims around the world decide the West has a better future to offer than the terrorist thugs.