Intellect and Will: Rarely Do the Twain Meet

Confronted by all the hatred and stupidity evident in both our world and our country, I try to view it all from an eternal or more comprehensive perspective. It’s remarkable and disturbing that so many human beings seem to have lost or, at best, misplaced their humanity. We — at least some of us — believe that God, by creating us in His image and likeness, imbued us with both intellect and will, gifts that define our humanity and separate us from other earthly creatures. Sadly, far too many of us do not apply either of these gifts very well, or focus only on one and ignore the other. 

Leadership, of course, demands the effective, coordinated application of both intellect and will. A leader with a keen intellect, who strives to understand the situation facing him, but lacks the courage to make a meaningful decision and apply his will correctly is essentially powerless. Fundamentally he knows what he should do but fears doing it. As you might expect, the results are usually catastrophic. I fear that our president and those who surround him have succumbed to this failing whenever the real interests of our nation are at stake. Instead they focus the administration’s will on a collection of “woke” sideshows that seem only to undermine our culture and its moral and spiritual roots. I trust they will soon come to recognize the nature of the challenges facing them and develop the will to act courageously and decisively in the defense of our civilization. I won’t hold my breath, though. Ideologues rarely change their core beliefs unless they undergo a radical conversion. St. Paul is among the most obvious examples. Actively involved in the murder and imprisonment of first-generation Christians, he didn’t change; God changed him. As Christians we must pray for a global metanoia, a Pauline-like conversion through which God will change the hearts and minds of those striving to destroy His Church and suppress His holy Word.

But the willful leader who lacks understanding can be equally, perhaps more, dangerous. By failing to use his intellect and grasp the reality of the situation, including its moral aspects, he is motivated only by ignorance and emotion. This most often leads to very destructive results. For example, the terrorist, blinded and consumed by the ideology that motivates him, applies his will amorally and, focused solely on the attainment of the ideological goal, leaves his intellect far behind. This is why negotiation with committed and thoroughly indoctrinated terrorists is inevitably fruitless. Driven by their ideology, they are unmoved by arguments based on truth and morality. The only truth is their truth; all else are signs of weakness. They will take advantage of the weaknesses of others and use them to achieve their ideological ends. At one point in our diplomatic history, we refused to negotiate with terrorists because it was immoral and inevitably led to a degradation of the current situation. Now we not only negotiate with the demonic, but also allow it to dictate the terms. As I have said elsewhere, the willful, especially those captivated by evil, respect only power and the willingness to apply it.

Do I side with the Israelis in the current conflict? Yes, indeed — not because they are perfect, because they’re not. Like every nation, including our own, they have done some very stupid and immoral things. But they at least struggle to do what is right. All those Americans protesting in our streets and on our campuses in support of Hamas are too ignorant or too filled with hate to understand the idiotic slogans they chant. What to do with them? Because as a nation we respect free speech, about all we can do is shame them, make them understand that actions and words have consequences that might affect their current or future lives, and inundate them with the truth. And if Israel destroys Hamas, support for this specific terrorist group will likely fade away quickly. And most importantly pray for our ally Israel.

Overcoming Hatred and Evil

"There will be peace in the Middle East only when the Arabs love their children more than they hate Israel.” ~ Golda Meir

Have you been listening to the ongoing controversy about the attack on the Gaza hospital? If you haven't, you must be stranded on a desert island awaiting rescue. Apparently, according to Hamas (a collection of rapists, torturers, and murderers of women and children), as well as every Islamic nation, and most Western media, Israeli aircraft bombed a Gaza hospital and killed hundreds of patients and medical personnel. Did the mainstream media question this assertion by Hamas, an organization whose leaders cannot open their mouths without lying? Did they tell us they were investigating these claims to see if they were true? No, they simply accepted them as true. But then Israel stated it has extremely convincing evidence that the catastrophe at the hospital resulted from an errant missile fired by Islamist terrorists supporting Hamas. Our own intelligence agencies have confirmed the same. And, believe me, anyone who knows anything about the effects of bombing know full well the damage was not the result of a bomb dropped by an aircraft. This has been generally ignored by all the usual suspects who, as expected, accept the word of baby killers and rapists over the that of the Israeli government and our intelligence agencies. One underlying belief that motivates all those accusing Israel, or just blindly accepting the Hamas lies, is what we like to call anti-Semitism, which I will translate into the far more descriptive, “hatred of Jews,” especially those who live in Israel.

Of course, our president, while declaring his full support for Israel, just can’t bring himself to mention the nasty elephant in the room: the terrorist Islamic Republic of Iran. Addressing the states that support Hamas and hate Israel, which presumably includes Iran, he tells them all not to do anything rash by saying, “Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.” What exactly does that mean? If our enemies don’t know, they will logically assume we don’t either. The president’s words are certainly no real threat to those who plan to do Israel and us real harm. How much more effective it would be if President Biden simply told them bluntly that by joining in this conflict, they might well precipitate World War III. To prevent this we would be forced to attack them in their homelands, destroying their military and industrial infrastructures. It would seem, however, the administration will continue to deal with our enemies as if they were rational beings. But that is not the case. Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and too many others are zealots who have no problem sacrificing their own people for their quasi-religious cause. Life and death mean little to those driven solely by their hateful ideology. These are not easy people to deal with, but one thing we know: they respect power only when believe it will be used against them.

The next few months should be very interesting. Sadly, Hamas is run and staffed by vicious people so there’s little chance they will change without God’s help. This is true also of Hezbollah, Iran, and far too many others blinded by sheer hatred. Continued peace for Israel will likely require a lengthy and challenging effort to destroy the war-making capability of Hamas and remove it from power in Gaza. There is much our nation can do to lessen the threat to Israel, and the greater threat to Western civilization. I’m just not very confident our current political leadership has the courage and the will to do what must be done. We pray for peace, but for continuing peace. Pray, too, for the conversion of all who despise the Lord and His people. After all, with God, all things are possible.

 

Hamas, Intelligence Failures, and Iran

I suppose we can safely say that Israel experienced an intelligence failure of massive proportions when the nation was caught by complete surprise early Saturday morning. Ironically and sadly, the attack came on the holy day of Simchat Torah, which means “joy of Torah.” It is the day Jews celebrate the completion of the annual reading of the Torah as it begins anew. This year there was certainly no sense of joy. And I suspect the absence of joy is especially present among those actively involved in the Israeli intelligence community. How could they have missed the signs? Are Hamas and its Iranian allies and funders that good at hiding their preparations? Apparently, they are.

A year or so ago I read a report on the efficacy of Israeli technology used to protect it from attacks by its enemies. The report addressed the high quality of this technology, how it could ensure Israel would be safe from any attempts to invade. Judging from what happened Saturday morning the technology was grossly deficient. Of course, another possibility is that the Israelis were so confident in their technology that they ignored the need for human eyes and ears. I wouldn't be surprised if this were a problem within most intelligence agencies, where human intelligence resources have largely been replaced by technology. The problem with technology is that it has limitations, and these limitations can be tested, so the technology can be overcome or simply avoided. Of course, technology is probably cheaper than human agents and far more reliable, at least from the perspective of the geeks who have the ear of their bosses.  

It would seem the Hamas terrorists took advantage of this. Their brutal early morning attack on the Sabbath was amazingly low-tech. Smashing through border walls and rushing into southern Israel in Toyota pick-ups and flying in via paragliders, they took out the police stations and small military installations along the border, killing everyone they encountered. They crashed through the doors of civilian homes and brutally killed men, women, and children. Pregnant women were slaughtered, and their unborn infants torn from their bodies and thrown down beside them. Many of the women were raped in front of their families and then paraded through the streets. Infants were decapitated. Elderly Israelis, even Holocaust survivors, were also murdered or taken hostage. Indeed, Hamas terrorists intentionally targeted a music festival and killed nearly 300 mostly young people. Many others attending the festival were taken hostage. What has happened to them is unknown, but we can be certain they are not being treated well. Pray for them.

The brutality and sadism of the terrorists wasn’t isolated; it was intentional and carried out wherever Hamas attacked. They took videos of these barbarous atrocities and then posted them on social media for the world to see. Hamas terrorists are obviously proud of their savagery and enjoyed every moment of it. This tells us a lot about Islamist terrorists in general and specifically about organizations such as Hamas, Isis, Hezbollah, and the nations that support them. To assume Iran had no role in the planning, arming, and training of the terrorists who attacked Israel is the height of naïveté. At the very least the United States should reinstate full sanctions against Iran and refreeze the six billion dollars being held in Qatar. Most Iranians do not support their government. It would be wise for us to encourage and actively support those Iranians who hope to overthrow this brutal, theocratic regime. After all, our nation had its genesis in a revolution, a war of independence in which we claimed God had endowed us “with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” As the world’s primary supporter of terrorism, Iran is a serious threat. We should do all in our power to ensure a change in that hateful regime.

In case you don’t realize it, we are in a war. It is a war between good and evil, a war between civilization and barbarism, a war between those who cherish life and those who celebrate death. I have absolutely no problem waging and winning a just war.

A Few Observations

Every day I read things that disturb, perplex, amaze, outrage, and occasionally even delight me. Most often I just set these news bits aside with the idea of maybe addressing them in the future. But this week I decided to hold onto some of them and actually jotted down a few notes. Here goes…

Pray for Israel. The surprise attack on Israel by over a thousand Hamas terrorists is among the most brutal of recent times. Hamas is a Sunni Islamic terrorist group, a collection of sadists that governs the Gaza Strip. They seized control of Gaza after a landslide win in the 2006 election. Since then Hamas has done very little for the people, since it is focused primarily on doing all in its power to kill Jews and eradicate Israel. This is Hamas’ goal, and those who think otherwise are fooling themselves. Since Hamas uses Palestinian civilians as human shields, and stashes weapons and munitions in hospitals, schools, and civilian neighborhoods, we can safely ignore its purported love for the people of Gaza. Although I labeled Hamas as sadists, that’s likely an understatement. What Hamas has done in recent days simply confirms its vicious ways. Hamas terrorists not only targeted civilians but were purposely brutal, dragging women and children from their homes, raping and killing them, then emptying their weapons’ magazines into the faces of the dead. They slaughtered nearly 300 people, all civilians, who were attending a music festival, which ironically was dedicated to peace. They also took hostages, more than a hundred, including many women and children. Reportedly they have imprisoned them in the elaborate system of tunnels beneath much of Gaza. Today they threatened to begin executing hostages if Israel continues to carry out its response to the Hamas attack.

Israel really has no option but to destroy Hamas. At the moment the Biden administration has offered its full support to Israel, declaring it has a right to defend itself. I suspect that will change within a few weeks once the global anti-Israel hive begins to call for an immediate ceasefire. The weak, epitomized by the Biden administration, fear using their power, so they might as well not have it. Perceived weakness always enables terror and violence. Unfortunately, groups like Hamas respect only one thing: power, and a willingness to apply it. My concern is that this attack by Hamas is just the beginning. I expect, in the months, and perhaps only the weeks, to come, we will experience similar attacks throughout the world. Our enemies are not stupid and will take advantage of our political confusion and impotent leadership. Keep your eye on Iran, North Korea, China, Russia, and even the minor players like Nicaragua, Cuba, Syria, Venezuela, and so many others. We are entering very dangerous times.

Pray for Israel, good people. They just might need divine power to withstand the future that awaits them. 

Save Democracy! For a few years now the political left has been screaming its latest mantra — Save Democracy! — at high volume. Their attacks are aimed at anyone who believes in and openly defends what I’ll call American traditionalism. If you believe the U.S. Constitution is the greatest secular document every written, or at least humanity’s greatest political accomplishment, you are certainly an American traditionalist, and you will be attacked as a destroyer of democracy. After all, the Constitution is conspicuously anti-democratic because it purposely rejects democracy as a form of government, preferring instead a constitutional representative republic. In truth the founders abhorred pure democracy, for them a system that guaranteed a tyrannical majority would inevitably persecute a nation’s minorities. A constitutional system not only protects the rights and freedoms of the people from their elected government, but also protects the people from themselves. Of course, there’s an irony here. As the left screams its mantra, it simultaneously promotes policies designed to curb the basic freedoms of Americans. If you disagree with their far-left policies, you should be denied the freedom to state your case publicly. If your religious faith fails to promote gay marriage, or so-called transgenderism, or abortion, the legal system must be distorted so it can prosecute you. In a way, then, I suppose next year’s elections just might be a way to save the republic from the left’s skewed version of democracy. Otherwise, as my son said to me the other day, “It’s all over.” That might be an exaggeration, but then again, maybe not.

May Their Tribe Decrease. I suppose here, at the start, I need to explain myself and share a few pieces of my own psyche before I launch into criticism of others. I reveal this, not to impress, but in a spirit of true humility. First, I am not an ambitious man. Indeed, I can never remember being ambitious in a worldly, material, or competitive sense. I was blessed with intelligence, a desire to learn, and have always enjoyed a sense of satisfaction due to accomplishment. I was, therefore, able to achieve a reasonable amount of success at most of what life offered me. And for me that was enough. I had no desire to achieve human greatness; my object was far more confined and limited to the happiness that comes from family and friendships and the joys of daily life. Like the rest of humanity, I am a sinner, but one who struggles to get better at this business of living the Christian life. 

This being said, I trust the comments that follow don’t appear conspiratorial, or irrational, or simply petty. Now that I think about it, though, I don’t really care. So here goes: I don’t trust politicians — not just some politicians, but all of them, without exception. That being said, let me define my terms. To me, a politician is someone who spends the bulk of his adult life in or seeking elected office. This includes those who, having failed to get re-elected, gravitate either to appointed government positions, or to politically oriented jobs in so-called think tanks or foundations, or as temporary executives in the well-paying “military-industrial complex” where they remain positioned for another run at elected office. I suppose it boils down to my distrust of those possessed of unbridled ambition, the “professional” politicians. I find it amazing that so many, when they finally leave what they like to call “public service,” retire as multi-millionaires. Driven by greed and unwilling to sacrifice their personal ambition, these are the politicians who care more about their own re-election than the good of the people. The professional politician will never support term limits.

Our first politicians, the nation’s Founding Fathers, were citizen legislators. They were farmers, lawyers, judges, clergymen, teachers, merchants and traders, men who truly sacrificed to serve their fellow citizens. For example, of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, five were captured by the British and imprisoned and tortured. Nine signers fought in the War for Independence and either died of their wounds or from the hardships suffered. The sons of two signers joined the Continental Army and lost their lives in the war. The sons of two others were captured by the British and imprisoned. The homes of at least a dozen signers were pillaged and destroyed. Many, far too many, died impoverished. The founders were men who knowingly and publicly called for independence, fully aware of the dire consequences they would face. I wonder how many of today’s lifelong politicians would do the same. 

My advice: never vote for anyone who’s spent more than 10 years in political office.

G. K. Chesterton on Islam

I thought my tiny but select group of readers might find these comments by the great G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) of interest:

“…but out of the desert, from the dry places and the dreadful suns, come the cruel children of the lonely God; the real Unitarians who with scimitar in hand have laid waste the world. For it is not well for God to be alone.” -- from Chesterton's wonderful book, Orthodoxy, a book every human being should read. It was written 108 years ago, in 1908.

“There is in Islam a paradox which is perhaps a permanent menace. The great creed born in the desert creates a kind of ecstasy out of the very emptiness of its own land, and even, one may say, out of the emptiness of its own theology. It affirms, with no little sublimity, something that is not merely the singleness but rather the solitude of God. There is the same extreme simplification in the solitary figure of the Prophet; and yet this isolation perpetually reacts into its own opposite. A void is made in the heart of Islam which has to be filled up again and again by a mere repetition of the revolution that founded it. There are no sacraments; the only thing that can happen is a sort of apocalypse, as unique as the end of the world; so the apocalypse can only be repeated and the world end again and again. There are no priests; and yet this equality can only breed a multitude of lawless prophets almost as numerous as priests. The very dogma that there is only one Mahomet produces an endless procession of Mahomets. Of these the mightiest in modern times were the man whose name was Ahmed, and whose more famous title was the Mahdi; and his more ferocious successor Abdullahi, who was generally known as the Khalifa. These great fanatics, or great creators of fanaticism, succeeded in making a militarism almost as famous and formidable as that of the Turkish Empire on whose frontiers it hovered, and in spreading a reign of terror such as can seldom be organised except by civilisation…” -- from Chesterton's brief book, really a eulogy, on Lord Kitchener (1917).

“When people talk as if the Crusades were nothing more than an aggressive raid against Islam, they seem to forget in the strangest way that Islam itself was only an aggressive raid against the old and ordered civilization in these parts. I do not say it in mere hostility to the religion of Mahomet; I am fully conscious of many values and virtues in it; but certainly it was Islam that was the invasion and Christendom that was the thing invaded." -- from Chesterton's book, The New Jerusalem (1920)

The above comments make one wonder what Chesterton would have thought of Islam today, particularly those expressions of Islam that manifest themselves as ISIS, al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, et al.

Fogging the Looking Glass

I grew up in the fifties and the early sixties. It was actually quite a wonderful time to come of age, and I've always felt a bit sorry for those only a few years younger who had to navigate their way as adolescents through the turmoil and the stupidity of the late sixties and the decade that followed.

From 1962 to 1967 I was a student at Georgetown University for one year and then at the Naval Academy for four more. After graduation I spent almost 18 months as a student Navy pilot in Pensacola. Dear Diane and I were married in late 1968 and I was then assigned to my first squadron in San Diego which I joined in 1969.

It was a busy time. Still in our twenties, we considered ourselves adults and lived adult lives. We were not the spoiled, rebellious children who despised their country while living off the largesse of working parents. Although my involvement in the war in Vietnam was minimal and certainly nothing heroic, I willingly flew into harm's way because it was my duty to do so and because I believed we had an obligation to defend an ally from the predations of totalitarian, atheistic communism. I considered our military involvement in Vietnam to be honorable -- and still do -- but I also believe it was a war foolishly waged by incompetent politicians of both parties who believed they were military strategists and by generals and admirals who acted like politicians. I blame them all for the deaths of so many friends. Throughout it all, or perhaps because of it all, I kept my faith.

It's that faith that keeps me going today by helping me place all the world's happenings in perspective. Even in the midst of rapid societal decline, I find myself laughing at the insanity that so many take so very seriously. For example, every so often I encounter odd stories in the news, particularly stories about religion, that amaze me. I realize I shouldn't be amazed since the world has become very odd indeed, but I can't help myself. I suppose my amazement stems from my upbringing in what can only be described as a fairly stable family environment at a time when it was normal to have faith, when virtue was prized, and when most people accepted that sin was real.

Here's a sampling of some recent stories that caught my eye:

Jesus Mentally Ill? The Church of England continues to surprise. It seems they prepared a suggested sermon for Anglican clerics who want to address mental illness and the stigma sometimes associated with it. The proposed sermon names John the Baptist, St.Francis of Assisi, St. Paul, and even Jesus as people who may well have suffered from mental illness. This just confirms what so many in our society now believe: Christians are obviously crazy. Read more here, if you can stomach it.

President as Crucified Lord and Savior? These two stories absolutely floored me. I realize that those who like the president are somewhat prone to hyperbole, but one can take such rhetorical emphasis to the extreme and beyond. Perhaps the more disturbing of the two stories relates to a painting, "The Truth", by Boston artist Michael D'Antuono and currently on display at Bunker Hill Community College Art Gallery. The painting depicts President Obama standing in front of his presidential seal with his arms outstretched and wearing a crown of thorns. See below...

 You can read more about this remarkable piece of art here.

The second and similar story is almost as disturbing and relates to actor Jamie Foxx, who at the Soul Train Music Awards made a rather curious and blasphemous statement when he said, "First of all, give an honor to God and our lord and savior Barack Obama..." You can read more about it here. I've included a video below...

The Holy Family as an Alternative Lifestyle. MSNBC offers its audience a steady stream of surprising commentary. On the Saturday after Thanksgiving MSNBC weekend anchor Melissa Harris-Perry, in an attempt to provide examples of alternative family lifestyles that should be cherished by our society, used the Holy Family as an example when she stated that “even Jesus was born to an un-wed mom and raised by a doting stepfather.” Wow!

You can check out her comments by viewing the video here.

Islamists Just Love Killing Jews. Hamas...you know, that's the terrorist organization that the Gaza Palestinians voted into power a few years ago. (Way to go, Palestinians!!) Hamas is the same peace-loving group that began the recent conflict by launching hundreds of deadly rockets into Israel because...well, just because they wanted to kill as many Jews as possible.They're also the same terrorist organization that the new Muslim Brotherhood dominated government of Egypt supports 100%. Now, just in case you think I exaggerate, here's what their official TV station had to say on the subject of Israel and its Jewish citizens:

“Bless [Hamas'] Al-Qassam men, guardians of Palestine. Oh pride of Salah Shahada, oh wisdom of Immad [Aqel] (Hamas leaders killed by Israel), [Oh] the explosives of [Yahya] Ayyash, (Hamas bomb maker killed by Israel), Martyrdom, [oh] lovers of the trigger: Killing the occupiers is worship that Allah made into law. (Arabic text: “Killing Jews is worship that draws us close to Allah”). Arise, oh determined men. The color of [the Martyr's] blood protects the land. Oh masked one wearing a keffiyeh (Arab head scarf), terrifying the Jews…call out in Zionism’s face: ‘Muhammad’s army has begun to return.’”

Don't you just love it? Killing Jews becomes an act of worship. And you wonder why so many Muslim leaders were avid allies of Hitler's Nazi Germany during World War Two. See the video below:

I think that's enough for today. Any more and I might have to scream. My neighbors wouldn't understand.

Oh, yes, Dear Diane and I leave soon for a brief vacation -- visiting friends and a Caribbean cruise. I've already packed the books I intend to read while sitting in my deck chair.

Pax et bonum.

Irish and Islamist Terrorism

Not long ago a friend, speaking of what he called the "tensions in the Middle East", told me that eventually the Israelis and Palestinians would follow the example of the Irish and come to a "reasonable solution" that would no doubt lead to lasting peace. I thought this was more than little Pollyannish and suggested that the two conflicts were not at all alike. He, however, countered that there was little difference between the IRA and Islamist groups such as Hamas or Hezbollah or the Muslim Brotherhood or even al-Qaeda. "We just need to get them all together with the Israelis," he argued, "apply some serious diplomacy, and they will come to see that violence never leads to success." When I said that World War II was a rather obvious example of the successful application of violence, he got personal and said, "That's the sort of warlike talk I'd expect from you." (He knows I am a retired naval officer.) At this point I concluded there was little reason to continue our argument.

Sadly this all occurred before I read the following article by Clifford May, or my (rhetorical) weapons would have been considerably more effective. May is president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a policy institute focusing on national security. The article appeared this week on National Review Online. I intend to share it with my friend, who I am certain does not read this blog or NRO.

Dublin — In 1978, I was a young foreign correspondent assigned to cover “the Troubles,” the conflict in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Catholics, between those loyal to the British Crown and those determined to make Ireland a united and independent nation. There were “paramilitaries” on both sides. Terrorism — bombings, assassinations, and other forms of violence targeting civilians for political ends — was among the principal weapons employed.

But in at least one way, terrorism was different then: Although I sometimes worried that I might end up on the wrong Belfast street at the wrong time, I was confident that no one saw me as a target. Journalists were neutrals. “Loyalists” and “Republicans” alike were eager to tell me their stories, and have me retell those stories to distant audiences. Without fear, I would sit down with hard men and ask tough questions.

At some point over the years since, new technologies and ideologies brought changes that became obvious when the Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Pearl took his notebook and pen to a 2002 meeting with terrorists in Karachi. They had a different approach to shaping the narrative — one that would entail beheading Pearl on camera and posting the video on the Internet.

The Troubles wracked Northern Ireland for almost 30 years. More than 1,500 people were killed. In those days, that was a serious number. But early in the new century, nearly twice as many innocent people would be killed on a single day in New York, Pennsylvania, and Arlington, Va. Meanwhile, in Syria over the past year, a conflict with ethno-religious-political undercurrents has taken some 20,000 lives. Perceiving this as an inflationary trend does not inspire optimism.

Queen Elizabeth & Martin McGuinness, former IRA commande

George Will, the venerable columnist, once cited Northern Ireland as one of the world’s two “intractable” conflicts. The other was what was then known as the Arab–Israeli conflict, today more usually called the Palestinian–Israeli conflict, though in reality it is now Islamist regimes and movements that are most seriously waging what they call a jihad against Israel.

Will was wrong about Ireland. The Troubles ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Two Northern Irish politicians, John Hume and David Trimble, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize — a rare occasion on which the awards were actually deserved.

Today, Northern Ireland remains British. But a good road connects the Republic in the south with the United Kingdom in the north, and no border guards or checkpoints impede travel between the two. Former terrorists, reformed if not repentant, serve in Northern Ireland’s government. Rightly or wrongly, Queen Elizabeth II shook hands with one earlier this year.

On a brief return to Northern Ireland this week, it was apparent that there are still tensions, still segregated neighborhoods, still pubs where Protestants and Catholics do not mix. But the Troubles ended when most people on both sides accepted the idea of an imperfect peace, when they came to see compromise as preferable to more killing and dying, and when they tired of the poverty and degradation that chronic carnage brings in its wake.

Should that give us hope that peace in the Middle East also is possible and perhaps even imminent? Absolutely not.

At its worst, the IRA never sought the destruction of Britain and never vowed to wipe Protestants off the Irish map. The most extreme Protestant paramilitaries did not argue that southern Catholics had no right to self-determination.

These days, it is fashionably multicultural and politically correct to assign blame in roughly equal measure to Israelis and Palestinians. It also is patently false. Time and again, Israelis have demonstrated their willingness to compromise in order to achieve an imperfect peace with their neighbors, not least those in Gaza and the West Bank.

Hamas, by contrast, is openly committed to Israel’s annihilation, attacking those who would settle for less as traitors and apostates. Fatah’s spokesmen, at least in Arabic, express solidarity with Hamas on that score. Meanwhile, Iran’s rulers, Hezbollah, and the Muslim Brotherhood all continue to insist that they will never accept Israel, that they will not allow even the tiniest swath of the Middle East to be ruled by non-Muslims, least of all the despised Jews, who, it is charged with bewildering inconsistency, defied the Prophet Mohammed in ancient Arabia and have no roots in the region.

“There are fascist forces in this world,” David Trimble said in his 1998 Nobel Lecture. “The first step to their defeat is to define them.” In Ireland, enough people took that step, and what Trimble has termed “a sort of peace” has been the admirable result. In the Middle East, too many are still unwilling or unable to take that first step, and so no other steps can follow.

Here's a link to Clifford May's original article on NRO: Letter from Ireland

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