A Lesson From History

In his 1960 polemic, The Conscience of a Conservative, Senator Barry Goldwater wrote about the Soviet menace. The Conscience, which is mandatory reading for any YAFer, is worth re-reading regularly. The book is a review of some very fundamental principles - in fact, principles that Republicans in Congress should review and embrace today. But eonough of this digression, and back to the original point…

Senator Goldwater wrote a chapter titled The Soviet Menace, and addressed the basis of the struggle between freedom and communism. As I read the Senator’s poignant observations of a now historic war, I was struck by how much it applies to our current war with radical Islamic jihadists.

Of the Soviet threat, Senator Goldwater wrote, “…we have come full circle and our national existence is once again threatened as it was in the early days of the Republic. Though we are still strong physically, we are in clear and imminent danger of being overwhelmed by alien forces. We are confronted by a revolutionary world movement that possesses not only the will to dominate absolutely every square mile of the globe, but increasingly the capacity to do so: a military power that rivals our own, political warfare and propaganda skills that are superior to ours, an international fifth column that operates conspiratorially in the heart of our defenses, an ideology that imbues its adherents with a sense of historical mission; and all of these resources controlled by a ruthless despotism that brooks no deviation from the revolutionary course. This threat, moreover, is growing day by day. And it has now reached a point where American leaders, both political and intellectual, are searching desperately for means of “appeasing” or “accommodating” the Soviet Union s the price of national survival…” (emphasis added)

“The temptation is strong to blame the deterioration of America’s fortunes on the Soviet Union’s acquisition of nuclear weapons. But this is self-delusion…”

“The real cause of the deterioration can be simply stated. Our enemies have understood the nature of the conflict and we have not. They are determined to win the conflict and we are not.” (emphasis added)

Substitute the Soviet Union for the “Global Jihadists” and the words, written Barry Goldwater 45 years ago, ring true today. And while apparently the global jihadists do not possess nuclear weapons, it is likely that Iran will be develop that technology soon.