By Jeff Snyder
William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, Act III Scene I
In the 13th century AD, a governor in the most powerful state in the Middle East got greedy. He beheaded some envoys and stole the trade goods they were carrying. Unfortunately for him, these ambassadors represented the Mongol emperor Genghis Khan. The Mongols responded by putting the governor’s entire nation to the torch while its leader, Khwarazm-shah (one of the most powerful monarchs in the world), was chased down like a rabid animal. The avaricious governor himself was reportedly killed by having molten silver poured into his eye sockets. Genghis Khan knew a thing or two about dealing with terrorists.
September 11, 2001 was one of the darkest days in the history of this great nation. Most Americans were shocked that something like this could happen here. They should not have been surprised. Our current crisis represents the culmination of 30 years of poor foreign policy decisions based on the theory of moral relativism (the belief that everyone’s ideas or opinions are equally valid). America’s self-styled intellectual elite has advanced this politically correct idea because it is philosophically palatable to them. Like many of their Ivory Tower pronouncements, it fails utterly in the real world. Logic dictates that some ideas are simply better than others. (Who do you want designing a new bridge: an engineer or Mrs. Peterson’s third grade class?) Since the end of the Vietnam War we have whined, begged, and paid off every two-bit thug with a grudge. The terrorists and the states that spawn them respect only one thing: power. Our pitiful attempts to placate or bribe them are seen as signs of weakness. I am sure they appreciate the irony of using American taxpayer dollars to fund their wars against us. These fanatics are evil. They do not simply have a different point of view. They are jealous of the wealth and prestige of the United States. They have twisted the teachings of one of the world’s great religions (Islam) to lend religious fervor to their crimes. They are criminals that we have too long treated as political equals.
For years we have been the biggest kid on the block paying the weaker kids not to pick on us. What good is our military power if we lack the political will to use it to protect American citizens? I am no warmonger (even the victor in war pays a terrible price) but terrorists and rogue states only understand violence, so that is what we must give them. Our response to terrorist attacks must exact such a cost from our enemies that they never again contemplate violence against the United States. This should be our message to them: Kill one of our people and we send in the SEALs to kill 10 of yours. Bomb one of our embassies and we reduce your capital city or terrorist enclave to rubble. Hijack four of our planes and crash them into our buildings and we make you wish that it were Genghis Khan coming after you instead of the United States of America. That is how you respond to terrorism.
Jeff Snyder is a senior history major and a columnist for The Louisville Cardinal.
