SEPTEMBER 10TH THINKING

You may have heard President Bush (and many conservative commentators) describe John Kerry's worldview (and that of his allies and supporters) as "September 10th thinking". Many Americans may not quite understand what that phrase means in such a way as to verbalize it, but I think many understand it in an almost non-verbal, emotional way. It describes a way of thinking about our world and America's place in it that changed radically on September 11, 2001. This is the new dividing line in American politics.

The division begins with acceptance of the radical nature of that day. "September 10th thinkers" by definition do not accept that the world changed on that day. Their view of terrorism (which is the conventional wisdom in Europe) is that it is a criminal enterprise, to be dealt with through laws, courts, police, intelligence, and international diplomatic cooperation. They believe that by strengthening international institutions like the UN, the World Court and so on, the civilized people of the earth can deal with the terrorists and reduce their activities to some sort of minimal, acceptable, yes "nuisance" level.

On the other hand, "September 11th thinkers" believe that we face a potentially powerful, existential threat. We believe that the actions of the 9/11 hijackers opened a bold, horrifying new front in a war they have been waging for at least 20 years. The terrorists are not criminals in the traditional sense. They are not out to make money, or satisfy a lust for violence. They are inherently political in that they share an ideology...a view of the world that envisions a re-creations of the Islamic Caliphate of the Middle Ages. Because they have an ideology, they have political goals and objectives. Therefore, they cannot be dealt with the way one deals with criminals. They won't rat each other out for reduced sentences. They won't enter the witness protection program. In fact, they won't respond easily to interrogation under any circumstances. These men see themselves as warriors for God. They will do ANYTHING to achieve their goals.

These two views are, of course, completely incompatible. This is the reason why polling shows the people in the two camps don't even interpret the same facts in a similar fashion. Each sees a very different world through their very different colored glasses. In my heart, I wish the "September 10th thinkers" were right. It would be much easier to believe that the world hasn't fundamentally changed, that there is no existential threat to our lives, our societies, and the lives and futures of our children and grandchildren. But I believe that threat exists. If we fail to deal with it now it will only continue to grow and become more virulent. Using modern communications technology and highlighting the weakness and decadence of America and the West our enemies will recruit tens of thousands of followers. Eventually, corrupt Arab governments will fall and we will be faced with an Islamist sword poised to sever our economic carotid artery (yes, oil). Before that even happens we may be faced with the specter of fanatic Islamist in possession of nuclear weapons.

If we are right, the stakes have never been higher.