A Tangled Web

'If You Want to Play, I'll Play'



These strong words, uttered by the great Al Pacino in the film Cruising, represent a truism for how the war on terror in 2004 should be conducted. Yesterday, we were starkly reminded of the callous ruthlessness of the forces of evil we are engaged in battle with. Al Queda militants beheaded another American civilian, Paul Johnson, in a so-called revenge killing to atone for the USA's policies in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. Meanwhile, proponents of liberal pacifism in the West continue to monitor every action taken by our governments and armed forces, to ensure that captured Muslim militants are - by comparison - pampered, plied with fine foods, and comforted with honeyed provisions of 'Human Rights'.



We are either willing to see the war on terror comprehensively won or we are not. There is NO middle ground. We cannot be expected to apply Western standards of warfare, restraint and regulatory correctness to defeat an evil which recognises no rules of its own. Not since (arguably) World War 2 has the Free World mirrored the combative strategies of an enemy. The former is expected to be a model of civilised values; the latter, axiomatically, behaves as it sees fit. This is why, for example, the United Kingdom was unable to defeat the IRA on its own territory: we refused to be as utterly merciless as they were. Consequently, they now operate a Mafia-like system of criminality across a portion of our country whilst, simultaneously, retaining the credo and ability to extract 'rights' from our weak government to reward the Neo-prols who find voting for terrorist proxies acceptable.



In tackling Al Queda we cannot show the same leniency. At the end of the day this is a terror group not only proficient in all the traditional ways of cold-blooded murder, but a unit invigorated by a sense of destiny bound up with addictive Islamic religiosity. Therefore I propose that, if and when, any captured members of Al Queda face the appropriate punishment State-side, their executions should be beamed across Times Square - followed by a tickertape parade of joyous celebration. Let's see how much these scumbags enjoy a little taste of their own medicine.