Richard P. Robison
What is truly at stake in America’s War on Terror? Why has the United States moved powerfully into the Mideast? Why does the President never talk about Middle East oil? What are the dangerous realities behind Islamic-born terror? THE MIDDLE EAST WAR PROCESS answers these questions and others, defining what is at stake in the War on Terror, and the War in Iraq.
THE MIDDLE EAST WAR PROCESS is an in-depth look into the future of America and the Middle East. A devastating, deadly challenge was delivered on September 11, 2001, originating from the Middle East, and President Bush moved aggressively to pick up the gauntlet. Radical, expansionist Islam is rising to challenge the spread of freedom and representative government in the world. America has finally gone to war against these modern Assassins, as well as the tyrants who support them. Compromise with the radicals and despots is not possible. Victory over terrorism and tyranny is America’s only choice today due to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction technology among a growing list of enemies. Anything less guarantees future attacks against America on American soil and likely far more devastating than 9/11. Next time we may count the dead in tens, maybe even hundreds, of thousands.
The challenge is not determining whether we should fight fundamentalist, radical Islam. We have fought and will continue to do so. The challenge is nurturing a peace process, grounded in freedom, out of what has become an age-old Middle East process for war.
THE MIDDLE EAST WAR PROCESS originates from the experiences of Richard P. Robison over a quarter century. Working for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the Iran-Iraq War, and later during the Gulf War, Mr. Robison served in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Egypt, and Washington, D.C. During the Gulf War he assisted the Central Intelligence Agency’s Gulf War Task Force.
Following the Gulf War, Mr. Robison resigned the government, returning to the Persian Gulf a private citizen, assisting U.S. companies to rebuild. He is a regular and popular speaker at conventions, talk shows, universities, for the U.S. Military, and for both private and government organizations. He is a partner in the Troy Eagle Group, helping rebuild Iraq, working and traveling in the Middle East regularly.
In the early 1980s, Mr. Robison received a Master’s degree in the Arabic language and Middle East area studies and attended the American University In Cairo, Egypt.
Freedom or Tyranny: Truly it is Our Choice
It is not possible to win the War on Terror without solid cooperation from the greater Islamic community. Too many terrorist groups are given safehaven, funding, and moral support from otherwise “neutral” Muslim peoples. These Muslims are the great silent majority, sometimes called the Moderates. The war is for the hearts and minds of precisely these people, well over a billion souls, and living in nearly every land.
Terrorist cells require a safe environment to gather strength, build camaraderie, brain-wash, train, and inspire their fighters. Furthermore, safe haven allows terrorists time to collect funds and purchase weapons, set up websites and communication (commo) networks, form alliances, recruit operatives and access agents, as well as send out “soft-target” spotters and assessors. Terrorists need to know their environment will not be compromised, providing them a secure place in which to retreat following a mission.
Terrorism is BIG business with hundreds of millions of dollars poured into these deadly groups every year, many of them state-sponsored and benefiting from state protection. Syria and Iran are two such sponsor-nations.
Obviously terrorism is designed to terrorize. In most instances, the locals fear the fanatics and assassins far more than we do. In these Muslim countries the “terrorist next door” knows where you live. These fanatics are more than willing to torture and kill any Muslim “local yokel” foolish enough to get in their way, or betray them.
Muslims everywhere understand on which side their pita is buttered. The moderates know to keep their heads down and their mouths shut. This has been a MAJOR hurdle for America in the War on Terror. The moderate Muslims, the “silent majority,” make up 90-plus percent of the Islamic World. And simply put, they are flat-out scared to death.
More importantly, they are unsure of America’s commitment. Muslims have long memories. They remember that the Americans fled from Beirut in the 1980s when they took relatively minor casualties. They remember that America promised support to Iraqi Kurds and Shi’ites in 1991 if they would revolt against Saddam Hussein. Then the Americans pulled out leaving thousands to die, alone. Most importantly (to Osama bin Laden, anyway) Muslims remember how the Americans fled Somalia in 1993 after taking only a handful of casualties against terrorist forces. And now, justifiably, Muslims (and particularly Arabs) are uncertain whether America will meet its commitment and stay the course in Iraq.
Every day in the media they see negative, naysaying voices erupting from Washington, calling for “immediate withdrawal,” for “withdrawal timetables,” and for “impeaching Bush” over getting America into this “ill-advised war.” The drumbeat, from the American media, then amplified in the foreign press, is truly deafening to the Muslim moderates. Understandably, they tremble.
And, being the practical people they are, they wonder: Why should we come out in support of the American War on Terror when at any moment the Americans may abandon us to the certain brutalities of the terrorists and tyrants? Tell me why, Mr. American, should I risk the life of my family by supporting you, when without warning you may whip out the white flag and run for home your tail between your legs?
In essence this is why naysayers among us are doing damage to America. We can beat the terrorists, but not without the world’s moderate Muslims...
