World War III Has Begun

World War III has begun! Groups of radical Muslim fundamentalists-those who resort to terrorism and other illegal acts-have declared that war. Dramatic evidence for the existence of this war can be seen in the many terrorists' acts and in the declaration of war statements issued by various terrorist leaders. By far the best evidence for the war is the attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, on September 11, 2001. Those are, however, only the most recent attacks. In this article, I will mention many other acts of terrorist warfare. Because all of these acts were followed by statements that the United States would not tolerate such acts and that the terrorists responsible for those acts would be identified, caught and brought to justice (most of these vows came to naught), the question once again is: Will the United States and the rest of the world go back to "business as usual" until the flames of World War III burn so broadly and so brightly that even presently "dozing" politicians and citizens will see those flames and realize their significance?

This small number of Muslim fundamentalists are waging World War III against the entire non-Muslim world and against those Muslim countries, Muslim groups and Muslim individuals who do not support the radicals' "Holy Warrior" belief that it is every Muslim's duty to help conquer the world to make it wholly Muslim. (This Holy Warrior belief is contrary to basic Islamic beliefs.) United States' casualties in this war already number in the thousands.

They include the many thousands killed in the most recent World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks; the 17 sailors who died when the U. S. S. Cole was blown up in the port of Aden, Yemen, on August 12, 2000; the Americans who were killed when the U. S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya were bombed on August 7, 1998; the 19 American service personnel who were killed in the bombing of Khobal Towers, in Dhahran, Saudi, Arabia, on June 23, 1996; the five Americans who died in a bombing in November, 1995, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; the six who died in the February 26, 1993, bombing of the World Trade Center; the 18 U. S. servicemen who were killed in a fierce firefight (military gun battle) in Somalia, on October 3, 1993; the many U. S. citizens who were on PanAM flight 103 when it was bombed out of the air on December 21, 1988, and crashed in the town of Locherbie, Scotland; the elderly American who was brutally murdered during the Achille Lauro cruise ship high-jacking on October 7, 1985; the 69 people who died in the April, 1983, bombing of the U. S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon; the 263 United States Marines who died in the October 23, 1983, bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon; and too many more to detail here. In addition to the American dead, are thousands of American wounded and the many dead and wounded from other countries.

This multitude of casualties is but the tip of the vast iceberg of casualties to come as this war continues, whether it is finally undertaken by the United States and other nations or whether it is once again ignored after the anger of the World Trade Center attack wanes.

In 1979, Iran came under control of Muslim extremists bent on world conquest. The people of Iran were ready for a revolution. They had had more than enough of the Shah and his brutal dictatorship, a dictatorship that was kept in place with U. S. support and which included the murder and imprisonment of thousands of Iranians. Shortly after the Ayatollah Khomeini and his radical followers came to power in Iran in 1979, so-called students stormed the United States embassy and took 62 Americans "hostage." They were held until January 20, 1981, the day Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as President of the United States, at which time they were dramatically released about the time Reagan was making his inaugural address.

Another striking example of success for the Muslim fundamentalist movement was the capture of most of Afghanistan by the Taliban forces. Their success is especially troubling because of the strategically important position Afghanistan occupies in that part of the world. Afghanistan shares sizable borders with Pakistan (97% Muslim), Tajikistan (85% Muslim), Turkmenistan (87% Muslim) and Uzbekistan (88% Muslim). Afghanistan is geographically close to Azerbaijan (87% Muslim), Kazakhstan (47% Muslim) and Kyrgyzstan (70% Muslim). Extremist control of these countries would enhance war prospects for the zealots throughout Asia, Europe and the rest of the world.

The success of the Muslim fundamentalists in Afghanistan, in large part, was because of direct aid from several Muslim countries with extremist factions and from wealthy, private extremists such as Osama bin Laden. As the fundamentalists continue to control most of Afghanistan, the zealots throughout the Muslim world will be able to funnel aid to extremist factions in all of the countries that share borders with Afghanistan and to radical groups in those countries that are geographically close to Afghanistan. Success in these criminal endeavors will attract ever-greater numbers to the radical causes and ranks.

It is interesting to note and probably not altogether coincidental that the main figure in resistance to the Taliban in Afghanistan, Commander Ahmad Shah Masoud, was assassinated by two suicide bombers, posing as journalists, just days before the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. What effect Masoud's death will have on the civil war in Afghanistan cannot be assessed at this early date. It is fair to say that such a successful opponent to the Taliban will enhance the Taliban chances of ending that conflict, thus strengthening their ability to export civil war and terrorist activities in the rest of the world.

Aid has already been given to the Muslim fundamentalist side of the civil war in Tajikistan. If that former Soviet Republic falls to the extremist faction, that will increase the odds that other former Soviet Republics with large Muslim population majorities will fall victim to the Muslim radicals. Muslim foment in several of the former Soviet Republics may have been a factor-not necessarily a key factor-in the breakup of the Soviet Union. The continued successes of the Chechnya rebellion-in spite of major Russian military efforts-are due in no small part to the financial and war materiel support of Muslim radicals from outside Chechnya, among other sources of support.

The bombing of American military quarters in Saudi Arabia, in 1995 and 1996, offers dramatic proof that the moderate leaders of that nation cannot entirely control the radical fundamentalists. Saudi Arabia, presently the fulcrum of our influence on oil suppliers in the Middle East, is in the throes of a behind-the-scenes, years-long leadership struggle. This struggle may erupt into civil war when the present leadership factions can no longer keep the various radical, fundamentalist factions from open confrontation.

The revolution in Iran weakened the position of the United States as a force for stability in the Middle East. If Saudi Arabia falls into the hands of those Islamic fundamentalists who are bent on world conquest, U. S. influence in the Middle East will become negligible. Think what effect that would have on world oil supplies and prices. The cause of moderate Muslims throughout the world-because Saudi Arabia is the lynchpin of the moderate Muslims-would also be dealt a serious blow.

Now that world leaders and their constituents are aware of the threat to world peace that is inherent with these Muslim zealots, that awareness must be turned into long-term, effective action. The brief displays of outrage and of half-measures must be set aside. In their place, protracted war must be waged-a war that succeeds in stamping out the actual and potential threats to world peace and prosperity. History is filled with dramatic examples of what happens when what are, at first, small radical movements are allowed to grow. "True" Communists were always a small minority in the Soviet Union and the Eastern Block countries. The Nazi party started out as an insignificant group of disaffected radicals. In both cases, leadership that used any means to gain power was pivotal to the eventual success of those minorities. Hitler's Mein Kampf gave ample warning of what was to come, to anyone who read the book and took it seriously. These historical parallels are sobering. The message to responsible people of all religious, political and economic persuasions is clear: This Muslim zealot threat must be recognized for what it is. Now! If it is not, World War III could grow beyond the tragic and deadly proportions of World War I and World War II.

One mystery of the Muslim fundamentalists' (the Taliban faction's) success in Afghanistan is how little prepared for that success the United States government and the U.S. media seemed to be. Whether leaders in other key world countries and their media were unaware of the implications of the Taliban success, or are even now adequately concerned, is not clear. The Russian government is aware and has sounded serious, but ineffective, alarms, as well it should given the internal strife that exists in its borders and the unrest in most of the former Soviet States.

To accomplish their aims, the Muslim fundamentalists will use any means. They have committed religious, political, economic and social crimes beyond counting. The Iranian fundamentalist leadership has as much as admitted its role in the Beirut bombing that killed 263 U.S. Marines, in 1983, and a second attack that killed 58 French military personnel. There is evidence of Iran's complicity in the bombing of the U. S. Embassy in Beirut where several high-ranking CIA officials were among the 69 people who died. Iranian officials have also as much as admitted complicity in the Achille Lauro liner highjacking, though they have done so indirectly. The list of support and involvement by many national and local Islamic leaders is a long one.

The Iranian leadership responsible for some of the terrorist acts listed above were, by-and-large, the same people the Reagan administration dealt with in the "arms for hostages" debacle that came to be known as "Irangate." Is this merely ironic? Or, is it something far more insidious? When will the U. S. leaders (especially in the CIA) learn that disasters follow on the footsteps of dealings with dictatorships, with terrorist regimes, and with terrorist groups?

While there seems to be a "real" movement in Iran towards a more moderate government, with an accompanying lessening of radical control and rhetoric, no one who fully understands the radicals' commitment to world conquest should feel complacent. The radicals are still a powerful force in Iran and will not stay behind the scenes indefinitely.

The 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the recent attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center buildings and damaged the Pentagon were the acts of Muslim terrorists. Whether the particular group tried and convicted for that the first bombing were directly financed by Iran is not entirely clear. It is too early to assign blame to those behind the most recent World Trade Center attack, but available evidence points to Islamic terrorists, probably the minions of Osama bin Laden, who, on August 20, 1998, issued a "fatwah," which is a Muslim religious ruling calling on Muslims around the world to attack American interests. Some leaders among the Taliban have issued similar calls.

The complexities of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and of the situations in at least a dozen African countries such as Morocco, Algeria and the Sudan, are beyond the bounds of this brief essay; however, there is ample evidence that Muslim extremists are deeply involved in terrorist activities in all of these countries; and, in many more. The role that Libya plays in supporting terrorism and terrorists seem beyond question. It is patently clear that the Muslim extremists operate on a worldwide basis. It is also clear that they have significant financial resources and personnel, including members who are willing to perpetrate suicide bombings; almost all of the attacks listed in this paper were suicide attacks. As many as nineteen fanatics may have given their lives to carry out the attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the thwarted attempt on a third target that resulted in the crash of a passenger jetliner in Pennsylvania.

While President George W. Bush's strong rhetoric following the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, is admirable, the difficulty of bringing those behind the attacks and those directly involved (other than those who committed suicide in the attacks) to justice should not be underestimated. Military incursions into countries that harbor terrorists or that give support to terrorists are not realistic options. Neither are full-scale invasions for many reasons, including religious, political, economic, and strategic reasons, among others.

The military buildup preceding the Gulf War took months. Billions of dollars were expended. And, while that war accomplished several key objectives: 1) the coalition which fought the war was built; 2) the supply and (in general) the pricing of oil was protected; 3) Kuwait was reclaimed; it did little, if anything, to lessen the dangers from terrorism. In fact, it added "fuel" to the terrorist cause. The Gulf War and its aftermath represent grave mistakes in several ways. Two of these are: 1) the suffering it inflicted-and continues to inflict, by way of embargoes and military strikes-on the civilian population in Iraq; 2) the fact that the war came to no logical, final conclusion: Saddam Hussein still rules the country with an iron fist and still supports those who bear almost any kind of ill-will toward the United States.

Terrorist cells are scattered across the globe: in 60 countries, including the United States, according to some estimates. While they may be concentrated in those 60 countries, their numbers-though small-are not subject to simple eradication. In addition, terrorism has many "faces," facets and agendas. Thus, World War III will be a protracted conflict, directed and carried out somewhat in the mode of programs and operations the terrorist, themselves, use. The danger in using those modes is the danger of "becoming like the enemy."

Not all Muslim fundamentalists are terrorists and not all Muslim terrorists are Islamic fundamentalists bent on a world conquest for Allah and Mohammed. Terrorists of every stripe, however, cooperate when their separate aims are served by such cooperation. The fact that Sunni Muslims, Shi'ite Muslims and other Muslim sects and sub-sects have deep and historically important differences does not mean that they will not band together against non-Muslims or against those Muslims who do not agree with the agendas of terrorism and war.

Conflict within and between both radical and conservative Muslims is one of the few bright aspects of this otherwise grim picture. A charismatic leader-one who could bring many of the factions together and weld them into a worldwide battle-force of concerted means and ends-has yet to emerge. Let us hope that the absence of such a leader continues.

The vast majority of Muslims and almost all of the Muslim clerics throughout the world are peaceful, freedom-loving people who lead tolerant, productive lives. These Muslims respect the religious, political and economic differences in the world community. They are far removed from the kind of religious, political and economic zealotry that is propelling the world conquest plans and terrorist acts of the violent minority. The fact that so few Muslims are involved in the movement and in the perpetration of these acts does not change the reality of the Muslim terrorist drive for world domination. Nor does it change this reality: World War III has begun!