San Franciscans will remember better than most Americans the anger that swept over our country when the forces of imperial Japan sneak-bombed Hawaii about 60 years ago.
In an important way, the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington represent Pearl Harbor II, and we cannot allow today’s national anger to be diluted by the failure to clearly identify this modern enemy.
The real enemy in this war is not so much a band of terrorists as it is the coalition of Islamic regimes that support and succor them.
We cannot win this war unless we directly confront those regimes and their terrorists, and confront the tendency to offer excuses for them.
There were voices 60 years ago that said we had pushed Japan into the Pearl Harbor attack by our embargo of that nation; there will be voices now that will say we pushed the more recent terrorists into their actions because of our support of Israel.
More importantly, there are already voices that say we should not blame any of the complicit Islamic regimes for the actions of a few terrorists.
We cannot be seduced by such specious arguments. Sure, there are differences marking the nature of the 21st century. For one thing, the perpetrators of Pearl Harbor I were clearly identified and could be easily found. But the similarities are profound, and we can hope that they will be perceived by the American public. The Japanese command thought that America could be brought to its knees by the devastating attack. But one Japanese admiral reflected after Pearl Harbor I that “perhaps we have just awakened a sleeping tiger.” And that is what happened. The United States may be awakened again by Pearl Harbor II, but we will have to wait and see.
In this case, we must awaken to the fact that a war has been declared on the United States not just by the extremist and potent edge of the radical Islamic movement, but by regimes that give that movement its needed support.
Of course, it is to be hoped that, especially in California, we have learned a lesson from that experience six decades ago, when we threw all Japanese-Americans into detention camps.
The Jews, at least, took that experience to heart, and we cannot open that Pandora’s box of bigotry again. But neither should that concern blunt our understanding that a war is being waged against the United States and its allies by a substantial section of the Islamic world. At the least, the Islamic regimes of Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan, not to mention the Palestinian Authority, have been involved in giving support to the terrorists. A recent “60 Minutes” TV report showed how much forbearance by the Palestinian Authority was necessary for a single suicide-bomber to operate. The recent attacks in New York and Washington needed even more support by some regime.
This terrorist war is seamless, whether against Israeli or American civilians. If Israel were to retreat in the face of that war, America would suffer a defeat from which it would be difficult to recover, and vice versa. And there are those who would soften our resolve to fight this 21st century war, who insist on pointing out that the terrorists, after all, have equal right on their side.
Recently, the most prominent piece in the San Francisco Chronicle front-page story of a horrific bombing of Israel civilians was an italicized box quoting a Palestinian spokesman that the terrorist had been motivated by Israeli oppression. We will continue to hear that “equivalency” argument which can drain any war effort. We may even hear that argument applied to the New York and Washington atrocities. The Palestinians and Arabs may have some valid aspirations, but the terrorists have none, and their actions only make those aspirations more difficult to address.
The defense against this war must, of course, encompass a more effective intelligence, one that includes much more human, not just technological, intelligence. But it also must include a much more forceful opposition to those regimes that allow and help these terrorist groups to operate. And, above all, we must help “awaken the sleeping tiger,” bring forth the resolve we had after Pearl Harbor I, unflinchingly identify the enemy and allow him no excuses. That is the message that must be brought to our public officials and to the American public.