The Occasional Observer

In what is a truly encouraging sign for the upcoming Presidential cycle, it seems that at least one candidate will be willing to buck the P.C. police and call our enemy by name. That candidate is Gov. Mitt Romney. Check out some of the quotes from this article from ABC News:

"They are terrorists, yes, but more directly they are Jihadists," the White House hopeful told ABC News. "That has broad implications."

Romney believes Jihadists are just a "very narrow and very extreme sector" of Islam. But given that there are more than one billion Muslims in the world, he warns hat "a small percentage of a very large number is still a large number."

"It's important for as many of us as possible to understand the nature of those who are our enemies in this war," Romney told ABC News. "They are Jihadists -- an extreme and tiny slice of the world of Islam. They will be defeated by military might and by the forces of modernity and moderation within the world of Islam."

If we can't have a serious converstaion about the nature of our enemy at this point, we may truly be lost. We must be able to realize that Jihadism as an ideology is real, dangerous, and needs to be confronted--primarily through intelligence agencies, covert ops, law enforcement, and direct diplomacy with the sovereign states that control the territory where Jihadist organizations exist. We must also be willing to use trade policy and international organizations to encourage moderate Muslims to seek cooperation with law-abiding Western nations, and not succumb to leaders who preach only war. And both our friends and our enemies need to know that we have the resolve and the ability to confront them militarily, if absolutely necessary. If all the other tools at our disposal are used properly, it shouldn't be.