Citizen Warrior: A Conversation About Terrorism In Iraq

MOST OF THE PEOPLE I know think the Iraq war shouldn't have happened, that it was all about oil, and that the U.S. should pull its troops out as soon as possible. When someone expresses these opinions, my first response is, "What do you think we ought to do about Islamic terrorists?" Surprisingly, most people seem taken aback by the question, like they weren't expecting it.

Nobody has yet given me a good answer. Not once. Almost as if they've never thought about it. This question has proven to be a great opening to a conversation. I've used it many times, and so far it has always turned out good.

I say, "I think going to war in Iraq was a good idea. Let me tell you why."

Most people are all ears by this time, usually surprised I would say that, and curious about what I'll say next. I'm not shouting, I'm not a fanatic. People who know me recognize I am a calm, reasonable person, so when I say something like that, they're curious.

I explain that I have gone on a study-binge for many years, trying to find some kind of understanding about terrorism, and here's what I found: Most terrorists are Islamic, and they're not following some convoluted version of Islam. They have not "hijacked" the religion.

On the contrary, the majority of Muslims, the peaceful ones, have altered and modified and selectively ignored parts of the Koran to twist and distort Islam into a religion of peace. The book itself calls for unrelenting war against non-Muslims until the whole world is Islamic — until every person has submitted, by force if necessary, to Islam, and until every government on earth follows Shari'a law.

I explain that I didn't know this when I started. And another thing I have realized is that there is a civil war raging within the religion of Islam.

For most people, when I say this, it is the first they've heard of it.

It says very clearly in the Koran what true believers must do. Most Muslims ignore the violent parts and focus on the peaceful, tolerant parts, ignoring the passages that occur later in the same book that very clearly nullify the peaceful passages.

To those that take the whole book as the word of Allah (as it says in the book they must do), the moderate Muslims are "apostates" (rejectors of the faith) and the sentence for such a crime is death.

A democracy with free speech and women's rights is an abomination to these true believers. And when more modern, moderate Muslims try to create a democracy, the fanatics do everything they can to stop it. This is an all-out, desperate war, not just in Iraq, but all over the world. To the true believers, an Islamic country that tries to convert to democracy is sliding backwards. Muslims conquered much of the Middle East, and even part of Spain. But up until recently, they have been slowly losing ground, and the true believers can't stand it. They want to fight and die for the cause.

Fighting against infidels and apostates is a religious act of worship, and they are proud and happy to do it. They want to win at all costs.

Now back to Iraq. What would happen if the U.S. pulled out? Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia (Islamic countries trying to follow the Koran to the letter) would continue to send money, weapons, and men to fight against the new democracy in Iraq until it becomes a Muslim country. The Islamic empire would grow. Their power would increase. And they would turn their attention and focus their resources on helping their brothers in Europe and America continue to fight the infidels until the whole world submits to Islam. We would then have a much bigger problem requiring a much more bloody solution.

Islamic fundamentalists cannot live in peace with others. There is no negotiating with them. They don't want anything from us other than submission to Shari'a law. You can't negotiate with someone who doesn't want anything from you. And they are relentless. Their religion consumes them. They won't be finding better things to do. They are completely dedicated to it, and they will recruit and enlist more and more people to their cause if we just let them be.

Now, I ask the person I'm talking to, "What do you think we ought to do about this problem? Ignoring it will not make it go away. Appeasing Islamic fundamentalists will not stop them. This is a real problem and we must do something about it."

I explain that I think helping the more modern Muslims create democracies is one of the sanest responses to this problem I've ever seen. It is the most practical long-term solution I've ever heard of. Yes, it is bloody. Yes, it is costly. But it was already bloody and costly and only getting worse. Look at the timeline of attacks on the West, starting about 35 years ago (a good source for this is the book Why Terrorism Works). The attacks have grown progressively more frequent and more violent over time.

And I put it to them: With this new insight into what the real war is about fresh in their minds, I ask them, "What alternatives do we have? What better solution has someone come up with?"

After this, I can see that the person I'm talking to sees things in a new way, and has plenty to think about, and has no real answers to the question, so I leave it at that.

One of the "benefits" of seeing it this way is that suddenly the crazy, mixed up, chaotic mess suddenly seems clear and makes sense. For the first time, it is understandable.

I don't press for them to concede I am right, or that I've "won the argument." I go out of my way to avoid doing that. I let them go on their way thinking that was an interesting conversation and they have new things to think about.

The new perspective I have just laid out for them will make sense of what was previously confusing. It clarifies the issue so much that they will never be able to see the war in Iraq or the war on terror the same way again.

Hopefully, many of them slowly form conclusions on their own about what the real problem is, and what must be done.

I'm not using myself as a perfect example. I have made plenty of mistakes trying to talk to people about terrorism, but I've tried to learn from those mistakes, and I'm sharing with you what has worked.

I hope you will take the time and share here (in the comments below) what you've tried and what has worked for you. This is the most important thing we can do to defeat terrorism: Have conversations with people we know, and gently educate them on the scope of the problem and the nature of the possible solutions.

And at least as important as educating them is not turning them off to good solutions by being abrasive. It is better to be understated and say less than to be overly outspoken and force them to close their minds to you and anyone with a similar point of view they might hear after you. This is a delicate business and if we intend to win, citizens in democratic countries will have to use all the skill we have in each of those conversations, and to try to develop more skill as we go along.