This liberal agrees with Newt

My political DNA leans left, so when I agree with former Speaker Newt Gingrich, I have to pinch myself.  More about that later.

I have been a serious student of politics since 1972.  That’s when I worked on Capitol Hill for Rep. Don Edwards (D-Calif.).  In his day, Edwards was a charter member of the Magnificent Seven.  In 1965, he and six House colleagues were the first to vote against appropriations (i.e., funding) for the Vietnam War.

{mosads}Being a bona fide baby boomer, war has been a topic that’s occupied much of my adult life.  The terrorist attacks that have happened in the U.S. and around the world are no exception.  Before I go on, let me be clear:  This political liberal favors diplomacy over deploying troops; however, sometimes you have to admit words can only take you so far. 

I’m no stranger when it comes to words.  Since the terrorist attacks on 9/11, I have written about two dozen letters and commentaries about war and peace.  Here are a few:

–  A month after planes flew into the World Trade Center twin towers and the Pentagon, I wrote this in Time Magazine:  I would not have gone to Vietnam if drafted.  Our national interests were not at stake then.  But, would I fight now?  You bet.

–  In 2003, Los Angeles Times columnist Dana Parsons wrote this about a question I posed:  Denny Freidenrich says the question came to him in the shower.  He owns a consulting business, but he began wondering if he was also a soldier.  A soldier, that is, in the war on terrorism declared by President Bush.

More specifically, Freidenrich wondered whether his wife and three kids would collect life insurance were he to die, for example, from smallpox spread by a bioterrorist attack.  In past conventional wars, the families of soldiers killed in battle didn’t collect traditional life insurance.

Should it be any different, Freidenrich wondered, in a war on terror?

–  In 2015, The Hill ran my Congress Blog, “Yes the Viet Cong and ISIS are similar.”  Here’s an excerpt:  Talk about deja vu all over again.  The names Viet Cong and ISIS may be different, but their military tactics are similar.  Ditto America’s response to both. 

The U.S. failed in Southeast Asia in the 1960s and 1970s.  I hate to ask, especially so close to Memorial Day, but what makes anyone think today’s plan in Iraq is going to end any differently than it did in Vietnam?

–  Four months ago, the Long Beach Press-Telegram published my commentary, “Toxic spill points up terrorism danger.”  I introduced my topic by saying, Last September, The Hill published my blog titled “ISIS could hit political, entertainment hubs in U.S.”  Here’s what I said about the terrorists attacking America:

“Dirty bombs probably would be (their) weapon of choice. However, there is another scenario to consider.  What if the Colorado River is poisoned? It carries water across seven states to 40 million people daily.  If ISIS could pull that off, it would be an international, geopolitical game-changer.

“Imagine the panic that would set in if just 5 percent — 2 million — of the people in California, where I live, all of a sudden became violently ill or worse?  Local physicians, hospitals and morgues would be quickly overwhelmed by the sick and the dead.”

Which brings me to Newt.  During a recent appearance on “The Sean Hannity Show,” he said, “The danger from Islamic supremacists grows every year.  We are at risk of losing an American city.  What happened in California is an act of war on America.  We have to drop the notion these are random terrorist attacks.” 

At first, I dismissed Gingrich’s comments; but, the more I thought about what he said, the more I agreed.  I think we have just about come to the end of the diplomacy road with terrorists.  The idea of sitting down to negotiate a ceasefire seems virtually impossible.  If this is true, then where do we go from here? 

I’m at a loss for words right now, but I still can add and subtract.  There are 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide.  The vast majority of whom are peaceful.  If only 1 percent truly are radicalized, then we are up against 16 million men, women and children who will stop at nothing to destroy us. 

Those are hard words to swallow, especially for this left-leaning, sixty-something father of three.  I want my kids to live a long, prosperous and happy life; unfortunately, our enemies don’t.  If he still was alive, I wonder what my old boss, Mr. Edwards, would say?

Freidenrich writes from Laguna Beach, California.  A lifelong Democrat, he helped raise more than $1 million for Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign in 2008.