A Generational War

A quote from LGF from wrenchwench:

The American people need to prepare for a long-duration war against radical Muslims who are set to fight for 50 to 100 years to create an Islamist state in the region, a top Pentagon strategist in the war on terror says.

Which reminds me of this

I tried to relax. “What do you want to talk about?” I said.

“The Century War,” said the Time Traveler.

I blinked and tried to remember some history. “You mean the Hundred Year War? Fifteenth Century? Fourteenth? Sometime around there. Between . . . France and England? Henry V? Kenneth Branagh? Or was it . . .”

“I mean the Century War with Islam,” interrupted the Time Traveler. “Your future. Everyone’s.” He was no longer smiling. Without asking, or offering to pour me any, he stood, refilled his Scotch glass, and sat again. He said, “It was important to me to come back to this time early on in the struggle. Even if only to remind myself of how unspeakably blind you all were.”

“You mean the War on Terrorism,” I said.

“I mean the Long War with Islam,” he said. “The Century War. And it’s not over yet where I come from. Not close to being over.”

The first one is news, the second one is fiction that preceded the news by eight months.

I love that Dan Simmons story and I’ve linked to it repeatedly. And I will continue to link to it, because I think he has illustrated a problem – a mindset – that endangers us all and written about it in a way that may just show a few people the light.

Here’s a clip from the Washington Times article linked above:

Air Force Brig. Gen. Mark O. Schissler said in an interview that the current strategy for fighting Islamists includes both military and ideological components that make it similar to the 40-year Cold War against communism.
“We’re in a generational war. You can try and fight the enemy where they are and where they’re attacking you, or prevent them and defend your own homeland,” said Gen. Schissler, deputy director for the war on terrorism within the strategic plans office of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff.
“But that’s not enough to stop it. We’ve got to break the chain, and that’s … the ideology. We really need to show the errors in Islamist extremist thinking.”
Gen. Schissler said he is concerned that Washington politics is weakening the will of the nation.
“I don’t care about the politics. I care about people understanding the facts of what’s our enemy is thinking about, what’s our strategy to defeat them, and for [Americans] to understand that it will take a long fight, mostly because our enemy is committed to the long fight,” he said. “They’re absolutely committed to the 50-, 100-year plan.”
“One of my concerns is how to maintain the American will, the public will over that duration,” he said.

He’s right to be concerned.