By Kerry Patton
“Our jeep was banked with flowers, the gift of the people of the little town’s enroute to Paris, and we had a small store of tomatoes and apples and bottles of wine that had been tossed to us as we slowly made our way through the crowds that tore down the barricades that lay in our path. As we came to halt in the square before Notre Dame, a boy in the truck ahead of us looked up at the spines and said, wonderingly, ‘and one month ago I was in Bensonhurst.’” (World War II Photographer Robert Capa)
This quote, from the famous World War II photographer Robert Capa, describes the mental state of the French after U.S. forces liberated the country from German control. The French were elated due to the American military’s heroic actions to free the French society. The French were so ecstatic, the people were willing to take up arms and form a resistance even more powerful than that which was already formed. They bonded in masses in an attempt to continue support for the rest of the free world ensuring the Nazi ideology would be defeated.
Today, one must ask, where is that support amongst those whom the United States has liberated through the current War on Terrorism? Where are the Afghans supporting the U.S. coalition after we liberated them from Taliban control? Where are the Iraqis after we liberated them from the Saddam Dictatorship? One should ponder not just where are these persons assisting us abroad in their homeland but also where are they in the United States?
Truth be told, very few persons exist today. We have witnessed continuous support for Islamic extremism and little support for the U.S. and Western allies free democratic ideologies. The reason we see such counter action in comparison to that witnessed during World War II is because the Islamic ideology simply does not allow support for us so called infidels.
Capa once stated, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.” Unfortunately, our own political leadership fails to see the picture. They are not close enough in understanding the Islamic ideology we attempt to defeat. They have been harbored in their cushy D.C. offices blind to those whom continuously resist our actions. Their blindness has hindered not only operations abroad but also National Security within our own borders.
Recently, we have witnessed an attack on one of our own military bases which left thirteen dead. We have witnessed an attempt to poison soldiers posted in Ft. Jackson. These are only two incidents recently mentioned out of many. What should spark the reader’s attention is that both of these plotted attacks stemmed from Islamists. They were not only Islamists; they were also uniformed members of our own Armed Forces.
For many of us, a picture has been clearly presented. Unfortunately, our own leaders fail to see the same picture. Are our politicians close enough to observe the picture, as Capa would ask? The answer is no.
Until our leaders step outside their protected boxes, they will never be close enough. They will continue to rant about actions they plan on taking to secure the nation but those actions are only smoke screens. Some of those smoke screens mentioned are health care, bailouts, job creation, etc.
Mr. President, those of us who are legitimate taxpaying citizens don’t care about your health care, jobs, or bailout agendas. We will take care of that on our own because we are capitalists. We care about the physical security of our communities and our men and women serving this nation abroad. It is time to see the picture clearly and allow any and all means to win this war without the beurocratic political nonsense you continue to present. We are in a war; it’s about time we act like the United States that once fought tirelessly to defeat our enemies foreign and domestic.
Kerry Patton served in the U.S. Defense and Justice departments, and as a contractor within the Homeland Security and State departments. He has worked in South America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Europe, focusing on intelligence and interviewing current and former terrorists, including members of the Taliban. His upcoming book, “Sociocultural Intelligence: The New Discipline of Intelligence Studies,” is due out in June 2010. Currently, Mr. Patton teaches for Henley Putnam University.
