The siege of the Middle East by radical Muslims has become a protracted spectacle of carnage, presented nightly on television with disturbing photographs and videos, highlighting savage murder by demented and corrupt terrorists.
In an effort to intimidate the West, these radicals have dropped to a new low. They are using children to send fear around the globe – from the Boko Haram kidnappings of school girls in Nigeria to the current activities in Mosul, Iraq, in which “children’s heads are being erected on poles in the city park.” This latter killing spree by jihadists, according to Catholic Online, has turned into a festival of evil highlighted with “music videos of (them) murdering civilians and captured soldiers.” http://www.catholic.org/news/international/middle_east/story.php?id=56481
While all of this has been making headlines, President Barack Obama has been devoting much of his attention to golf and fund raising for his party. It wasn’t until the public showed outrage over the beheading of two American journalists that the president took a stand on the matter and ordered air strikes against the militants responsible for these crimes. How effective these air strikes are against the enemy is debated nightly on television by political pundits and military leaders. According to the latest reports, some of the targets of these strikes are empty buildings, long abandoned. The general consensus is without the backup of reliable intelligence and aggressive ground troops the chances of eliminating the continued threats of the enemy by air alone are minimal.
Many thinking Americans are wondering why the president has waited so long to respond to the crisis, and, when he did respond, respond so ineffectively?
Mass murder of Christians, churches incinerated, Christian girls sold into prostitution, non-believers beheaded or skinned alive, and other vicious acts against humanity are occurring regularly in Muslim countries, while our president dodges sensible military action. His general behavior suggests an indifference to the plight of Christians and other “infidels.” Some critics believe this is because the government is so constrained by political correctness that they can no longer think rationally.
I disagree. I think the problems runs much deeper. Even the Huffington Post hinted at that when it predicted the Syria-Iraq crisis in its August 7, 2014, issue. “A horrific fate awaits the Christians in the Arab world, particularly in Iraq and Syria. Yet, the world is silent. The progressive left wing has its own ideological agenda, to which the Christians of the Middle East are irrelevant.” (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sheldon-filger/the-final-solution-of-the_b_5659800.html)
This seems to fit what is happening today. While the Christians in the Middle East are being subjected to the cruelest possible torture, Secretary of State John Kerry is courting the Sultan of Brunei. Despite the strict Islamic law there that supports stoning and other harsh punishment for unacceptable behavior (i.e., pregnancy outside of marriage, drinking alcohol, insulting the Prophet Mohammed, and more), the Secretary of State is busy negotiating deals with the enemy of western civilization.
According to the Boston Globe, the explanation for Kerry’s relations with the Brunei nation is the Obama administration: “wants to stay close to the oil-rich nation (Brunei) because it is located along the strategically vital South china Sea and is a participant in high-level trade talks. That makes it a key ally in the administration’s so-called Asia pivot, which is designed to strengthen US economic and security alliances in the region to counter China’s rise.” http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2014/05/08/backlash-over-islamic-law-adopted-small-ally-highlights-foreign-policy-challenge-values/UhWfehZO4GZMc76UIg4BuI/story.html
At this time in history, this administration should be strengthening its ties with its long-time allies like Israel rather than corrupt world leaders like the Sultan of Brunei. With Iran on the brink of gaining nuclear power, this isn’t the time for irresponsible partnerships. This is the time to join forces with our allies and demonstrate to the world our strength and moral fortitude.
Yet on almost every level of government decision-making, the opposite is occurring. According to Yahoo News, for example, the family of the recently beheaded journalist Steven Sotloff reported that “a White House counterterrorism official at a meeting last May (told them) that they could face criminal prosecution if they paid ransom to try to free their son…. The Sotloff family issued their statement after Diane Foley, the mother of murdered journalist James Foley, told ABC News that her family took the statements by the White House counterterrorism official about legal bars to paying ransom as a ‘threat, and it was appalling. … We were horrified he would say that. He just told us we would be prosecuted.’” http://news.yahoo.com/sotloff-s-parents-were-told-they-could-be-prosecuted-for-paying-ransom-to-is-234329991.html
This all leads to what I think is the big question: Why hasn’t every decent person – Jew, Christian, Muslims, and Catholic – come together to protest with organized determination? Have they all forgotten what happened to Germany under Hitler when good citizens were silent? Are they so blinded by all the political spins in the news that they can’t grasp what is happening to the world and to America?
If all these good people would stand up together against this outrage with one voice, America could successfully redirect such misguided leadership. Could it be that this isn’t what certain powerful religious leaders want? Is it possible they want to stand close to the president? They want to see the country self-destruct. Because they want to experience the joy of martyrdom that would come from leading their hymn-singing, Bible-toting saints to their Calvary?
Admittedly, this is a horrible thought. Yet it may be truer than one may think, given how insane the world has become.
Joe David is the author of The Infidels, a moving story about a genocide, and The Fire Within, a hard look at America’s decaying educational system. His writings have appeared in numerous publications including, Christian Science Monitor, Education, US Airways, and more.
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