Global War On Terror/War Against Islamofascism

Senator Rick Santorum, outgoing junior senator from Pennsylvania, shares his very accurate, but incredibly depressing thoughts on the battle in Iraq and the Iraq Study Group. Santorum, with ruthless insight, shares his views on the newly minted SecDef, Robert Gates:

If America were not at war, I would have deferred to the president’s judgment in his choice for secretary of Defense. Gates is a competent and experienced nominee. But we are at war, and we need exceptional leadership and insight. Gates unfortunately shares the view of the Iraq Study Group that we cannot win the battle in Iraq; at this point, our best option is to withdraw slowly and to negotiate with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He then goes on to plot the only course for victory:

The Iraq Study Group and Secretary Gates see clearly the problems in Iraq and the contributions Iran makes to these problems. They do not think we can win in Iraq because they do not think that we can win in Iran; or, at least, they do not think that we must win in Iran. We must confront Iran to win in Iraq, and, more than that, we must confront Iran if we are to defeat Islamic fascism all over the world [ed.-emphasis mine].The president’s nomination of Gates, and the Senate’s passive and overwhelming support of him, shows that our leaders have not understood the peril we are in and are not prepared to win the war that is being waged against us.

Unfortunately, the situation in the Congress is not any better.

The Democrats of course would never confront Iran because they attribute their wins in November to America’s growing dissatisfaction with Iraq. If continued instability in Iraq works to their political benefit, why would they change the subject to Iran, particularly when they have no solution to propose and have always been skeptical that military force will do anything to stop Islamic terrorism?

Many Republicans understand the problems that Iran is causing in Iraq, but they have no wish to be portrayed as warmongers by the media and the Democratic party. If Americans have had enough with Iraq, it would be only too easy to characterize any confrontation with Iran as the United States becoming hopelessly and dangerously entangled in a region whose ills defy remedy.

Santorum, like this writer, sees the battle in Iraq as only part of the larger war against radical islamofascism. To paraphrase Santorum, none of the decision makers in Washington, including the President, are willing to confront Iran, as the defacto leader of radical Islam. This is an incredibly dangerous course to chart because the road to victory against Islamofascism runs right thru Tehran. And, to ignore this, is to ignore the very heart of the entire issue. And finally, Santorum issues this scalding indictment:

The Gates nomination and confirmation show that our leaders do not understand the true dimensions of the war. So long as they do not understand this, how can we ever expect to win?