On the Eve of ... What?

Tonight our President will address the nation on his plans to contain and destroy the Islamic State (IS) or also known as ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria).  Perhaps it is no coincidence that this speech comes on the eve of 9/11 - one of the darkest days in our recent past; a day in which we witnessed the boldness and determined face of terrorists committed to a radical ideology that has no respect for life, only for principles.  Over three thousand Americans died that day and a nation that had assumed that the war on terror was "somewhere over there" was rudely awakened to the reality that terror respects no boundaries.  Al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, was focused on the destruction of the twin evils of Zionism (Israel) and Western civilization, best represented by the United States.  And so he led his followers to perpetrate acts of horrific destruction around the world, culminating in the attacks on the World Trade Center towers and Pentagon on September 11, 2001. 


But, as many analysts have written, ISIS is a greater threat than was Al-Qaeda.  Yes, ISIS has a documented history of systematic and horrific violence.  The brutality with which they have attacked Christians in Iraq is well documented.  The pictures of captured Syrian soldiers being marched into the desert and executed are difficult to view.  And the recent beheadings of two American journalists repulsed many in the civilized world, as well they should.  Here is what I find so incredibly sad.  Those images of Christians in and around Mosul being literally butchered by the ISIS soldiers caused little uproar among many in the world; they certainly did not grab the heart of our governmental leaders.  It took the ghastly beheadings of those two American journalists to final awaken our leaders to the imminent threat that ISIS continues to be.  But the greatest threat from ISIS is not what it seeks to destroy, but what it seeks to create - a new world order based upon the radical interpretations of Islam.  The leaders of ISIS envision a world - a caliphate - that is under the rule of radical Islamic law.  They are seeking to recapture those days when the Islamic Caliphate ruled with strength, especially in the Middle East and reaching into Europe. 


Last week Maajid Nawaz, a former radical leader in Egypt who once believed in building an Islamic Caliphate through terrorism, was interviewed on the Fox News Channel's "The Kelly File."  Mr. Nawaz said, "There is absolutely no justification for what they've done.  We must not only condemn ISIS' tactical beheading of innocent people, including journalists from across the world and in particular Sotloff today, but we must go further than that because mere condemnation is not enough.  We've got to actively work to undermine not just them as an organization, but to undermine the ideology, the poisonous ideology that they are based upon.  Calling them psychopaths does kind of let them off too easily.  They bear 100 percent responsibility for their actions.  They subscribe to a dogma that they justify in their own minds what they're doing.  They think somehow they're serving a higher, noble cause and it's that cause, it's that narrative, it's that ideological world view that we need to undermine.  We need to actively work to undermine it on a civil society level so that it becomes unattractive and as unappealing as Soviet Communism has become today."  As the interview closed, Mr. Nawaz compared ISIS and Nazi Germany, stating that we are seeing that same evil now in a different form. 


On September 4, former CIA operative Bob Baer told CNN's Jake Tapper that ISIS is in the United States and capable of carrying out an attack.  He told Mr. Tapper, "The people who collect tactical intelligence on the ground, day-to-day, and this isn't Washington, but people collecting this stuff say they're here, they're capable of striking.  They don't know what their plans and intentions are.  But it's a definite concern.  The people who do this for a living are very alarmed."  Of special concern is that ISIS terrorists could easily enter the United States through our porous southern border. 


It will be interesting to see how President Obama will describe ISIS this evening - will he dare to use the term "radical Islamic terrorists" - a term he has not used in the past?  Will he share with us how a coalition is being formed?  Will he share how his administration is actively courting real help from Middle Eastern Islamic states: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, just to name a couple?  Friends, this war with ISIS cannot be seen as another attempt by the West to thwart an advance of Islam.  The world needs to see that Muslims band together to destroy a group that has radicalized Islam and used it to accomplish terroristic purposes.  The President does not need to give us more "red-lines" that become meaningless.  The President does not need to give us vitriolic rhetoric, for words have little meaning unless they are supported by actions.  The President does need to give the American people a clearly stated action plan for the destruction of ISIS.  Polls show that the American people are willing to support some type of military campaign against ISIS.  But they want clarity and bi-partisan support.  The time for political grandstanding is over. 


Political intrigue continues to plague Israel and its neighbors.  Saturday evening, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas spoke to journalists in Cairo, warning that the unity deal he and his party Fatah reached with Hamas in April, was on the brink of collapse.  Abbas said, "I don't trust Hamas much because they change their words all the time.  There must be a united Palestinian Authority."  He then accused Hamas of smuggling arms into the West Bank, not for the purposes of fighting Israel, but to hold a coup against the Palestinian Authority.  Abbas stated, "Hamas has been trying to cause the Palestinian Authority to fail since the day it was formed."  Abbas then went on to state that while he is in New York to attend the opening week of the United Nations, he will present a plan to have the United Nations set a timeline demanding Israel withdraw from the those territories captured in 1967.  (Friends, the United Nations begins its fall session this coming week.  Look for lots of barbs to be thrown at Israel during the various speeches by world leaders.  It could be a very interesting week).


We are living in a world that is caught in the grips of fear.  Many parents are not sending their children to school tomorrow because of 9/11 and the threat of another attack.  Many employees are staying home from work tomorrow for fear that their building might be attacked.  There is a fear that the world is coming to an end.  There is a fear that the world will just continue as it has in the past.  Recently I have been drawn to those words of Jesus to His disciples: "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).  Friends, isn't that reassuring - Jesus has overcome the world!  He is in complete control!  Nothing happens without His permission!  As  believers we are in the safest place in the world - we are in the hands of Jesus, and nothing can snatch us away.  So, friends, rest secure in the arms of Jesus.  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  Pray for wisdom for world leaders as they seek to prevent another holocaust, not just of Jews, but of all those who oppose radical Islam.  And, as you pray, share the love of Christ with those in your neighborhood and in your workplace.  Tell them that the only real hope we can have is found in Jesus.  And keep listening for the trumpet to sound.  Amen!