War As A Way Of Life (WWIII Coverage, Part 2)

Jules Crittenden of the Boston Herald and I seem to be on the same wavelength lately with regard to World War III (formerly known as “War on Terror”).

In my posting, Let Israel (and the USA) Win WWIII, I argued…

It is time for a war to be waged on all fronts in World War III.  A war where there is nothing demanded of our enemies (nations and their terror-backed groups alike) except total and unconditional surrender.

That posting prompted some good comments about what it would take by the US military, as well as us civilians, to properly fight and win World War III.  

Crittenden took on that very subject in a July 14 column: War As A Way Of Life (read the whole thing!):

Get ready for it.  You will have to pay more to drive your car. Everything will cost more.  You will need to make a choice.

The time for easy “war is bad, peace is good” choices is passing. This could be the end of button-pinning, sign-painting, street marching anti-war vs. quiet, stay at home silent majority pro-war kind of choices, where you can “support the troops” and despise their mission; being glad Saddam is gone, but hating Bush for doing it. Where you can loudly parrot the “Bush lied” line and secretly think things were better when Saddam was politely torturing people to death behind closed doors and plotting his next move toward domination of the world’s primary oilfields. Or conversely, where you can drive around with an American flag and a W’04 sticker on your SUV, drop a remark now and then, and maybe even know someone whose son or daughter is over there. This difficult insurgency in Iraq may come to look like the prelude.

War is ugly, but it is not the worst of options. That would be acquiescence. The situation, while dangerous, is not bleak, and total war may not be the outcome. Iran, like an unruly child who has never been disciplined, is making some serious miscalculations. The Iraq War has shown us that the Arab street has limited interest in rising against the West … only a handful of zealots over the past three years — several thousands among the hundreds of millions — have opted for martyrdom in Iraq. Most Arab nations have learned that openly confronting either the United States or Israel is a bad idea, and are not likely to rise to take sides with Persians and Palestinians. Iran is also dealing with two highly capable adversaries, the United States and Israel, that have shown they are capable of decisive, targeted action.

Should the situation escalate into open warfare throughout the Middle East, including the frontiers where United States forces now face Iran directly in Iraq and Afghanistan, should the U.S. Army find itself extended and in need of more troops, we will see a push in Congress for more money to boost the size of the volunteer army. Then, the American left in its desire to hobble the Bush administration, will push for a draft. They should be careful what they wish for. Even in periods of prevalent isolationism — and this is not one of them — Americans have shown themselves willing to rise to the needs of the nation.

That would include us gay Americans shut out by Clinton’s military policy…..

The time has come to prepare. To get ready for it. War brings hardship, loss and hard choices. War spares no one. War requires both mental and physical preparation. We are far from done with this one, and perhaps only in the early stages of it.

This is a very poignant observation and it is as scary as it sounds.  Yes, my fellow Americans, the “phony war” stage of World War III is coming to an end.  Whether you are in denial or not.

**UPDATE** – In an email to me this morning, Crittenden joins with those who label the War on Terror as World War IV, and the Cold War as World War III.  Valid argument for that point of view.  I think World War III fits only because the Cold War was the Cold War and never properly labeled WWIII.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)