"Read All About It In The Idler
"24 February 2002
The Death of Daniel Pearl: A New Stage in the Islamist War Against America and the Jews
By John LeBoutillier
Remarks by the President on Confirmation of the Death of Daniel Pearl
St. Regis Hotel, Beijing, People's Republic of China, 7:21 A.M. (Local)
PRESIDENT BUSH: Laura and I, and the American people, are deeply saddened to learn about the loss of Daniel Pearl's life. And we're really sad for his wife and his parents, and his friends and colleagues, who have been clinging to hope for weeks that he be found alive. We are especially sad for his unborn child, who will now know his father only through the memory of others.
All Americans are sad and angry to learn of the murder. All around the world, American journalists and humanitarian aid workers and diplomats and others do important work in places that are sometimes dangerous. Those who would threaten Americans, those who would engage in criminal, barbaric acts, need to know that these crimes only hurt their cause and only deepen the resolve of the United States of America to rid to world of these agents of terror.
May God bless Daniel Pearl.
END 7:23 A.M. (Local)
The death of Danny Pearl is the single biggest development in the War on Terror since 9-11.
It signals a new stage of this certain-to-be long conflict with fundamentalist Islam. We need to recognize the enemy. It is a strain of thought that happily kills - and almost wants to be killed itself.
"We know your weakness."
These chilling words were spoken 21 years ago by the North Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand when he was asked about US POW's still being held alive in Southeast Asia, long after the war had ended.
"Your wives and mothers and daughters," he continued, "want their men home."
In other words, capturing and holding Americans is a very powerful weapon to use against the United States precisely because we value life above all else.
The Islamic fundamentalists who captured Danny Pearl are slightly different from Hanoi.
These enemies of America executed Pearl on videotape to send a strong message: the next time they kidnap someone we will know for certain they will kill him or her. Thus we are backed into a corner. Either we give in or that American is as good as dead.
Back in the 1980's when Iran-backed Hezbollah kidnapped Terry Anderson and several others, they ultimately set them free. Only Colonel Higgins and CIA Station Chief Buckley were tortured and then executed.
Now, 15 years later, our enemies are going to play an even tougher and rougher game.
We can be assured that another high profile kidnapping will come - and soon. And we can also be certain that the shadowy kidnappers - who may be 'fronting' for a government - will have a specific demand.
For example, what if they seize a Big Name media personality and release videotapes demanding that we let all the detainees free from Guantanimo or else?
What will the President do then?
In the past the standard line has always been, "We will not negotiate with terrorists."
But just this week the Bush Administration leaked out a new policy: we will under certain circumstances pay for the return of hostages.
Well, if we will pay money, how about trading lives for lives?
Will we do it?
Ronald Reagan traded deadly missiles to Iran for the freedom of our hostages, even while his administration claimed to never "negotiate with terrorists."
Israel has traded captured terrorists for Israeli soldiers. Once they traded 1100 terrorists for just 3 Israeli POW's.
A multi-pronged approach is required to fight this new threat:
1) All religious schools, the madrassas, that teach this brand of thinking must be closed at once.
If local governments won't do it, then we need to go into those countries and treat them the exactly the same way as terrorist training camps. That is what they are. They are training the 'minds' of up-and-coming terrorists.
2) All governments who refuse to clean out this cancer of thought from their nations are our enemies.
Period.
3) Pakistan's ISI, the Inter Services Agency, is decidedly not our ally nor friend.
CIA director George Tenet should, at last, lose his job over his ill-conceived decision to "work with" ISI, who helped create the Taliban in the first place.
4) Prepare for a long, long war.
5) We not only have to kill our enemies before they kill more of us, but we have to win the war of ideas in the Muslim world.
We can win that war because we have the best nation and system ever. But we need to teach people the
truth about what we do and what we stand for.
6) We need to tell Red China to totally cut off illicit support of Iran and Iraq. Moscow, too, better stop military alliances with Baghdad and Tehran.
And we have to have teeth with these warnings, including trade cutbacks.
Finally, we Americans had better prepare for more horrible acts, including major kidnappings, that will exploit our "weakness" -- our love for each and every human life.