Letter: U.S. can’t turn other cheek on Islamists

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2006 | 6:57 a.m.

The Las Vegas Sun's Nov. 28 editorial, "War a failure by any name," illustrates your head-in-the-sand view of the Iraq situation. Your political differences with President Bush overshadow your judgment about how to face the Islamist threat.

The war ended when we deposed Saddam Hussein, and that was no failure.

Since then we have attempted to establish law and order. The term "civil war," conjuring images of army against army, does not apply. Opposing us and the Iraqi people are kidnappers, torturers and murderers who disregard and disdain human life. They do not restrain themselves with notions of individual rights, nor will they if they gain control of the country. Thousands of innocents will be murdered.

This enemy hates our belief in the rights, freedom and value of the individual. He believes only in Allah and total submission to those who claim to represent him on Earth. He makes no distinction between civilians and combatants. He sees only Muslims and those he labels nonbelievers, and his prescription for nonbelievers is death. Is it moral to let this mentality and its consequences flourish?

We should exert all of our intellect and effort to defeat this enemy and his philosophy. We will need the stomach for it. But we should not delude ourselves that the problem will go away if we leave Iraq to the murderers. This is not the time to bury our heads in the sand. This is the time for clear thinking, moral clarity and putting political animosities aside.

Richard D. McCord, Henderson