Lesson 1 for 2007: Radical Islam, What It Is and What We Need to Do About It

The longer we hide from this worldwide phenomenon and fail to educate ourselves to its global presence and the human suffering and death it produces, the greater the ultimate threat radical Islam poses to the United States and our democratic way of life.

Victor Davis Hanson writes an excellent over-view that should be must reading for every faithful American. Read the whole thing and then read it again.

Besides being awash in money from oil profits in the Middle East, many terrorist groups feel strong because they sense weakness of the West's moral resolve. Hanson writes:

" They sense a new hesitation in the West. We appear to them paralyzed over oil prices and supplies and fears of terrorism. And so they have also waged a brilliant propaganda war, adopting the role of victims of Western colonialism, imperialism and racism. In turn, much of the world seems to tolerate their ruthlessness in stifling freedom, oppressing women and killing nonbelievers."

In other words, terrorists think we've become wimps in the West , too nice and politically correct to do what it really takes to defeat them, and are playing on that assumption with a vengeance. To the extent they are right, our way of life is in mortal jeopardy.

But Hanson offers hope of our redemption with a number of tough-love, often politically incorrect measures the West can and must take to continue to turn the tide in our and freedom's favor.

Whether we like it or not, not to choose is to choose. There's absolutely no turning back from this fight now.