Im afraid theres a war coming, a very serious, perhaps cataclysmic regional war, he said. It will be presumably over, at least in part, the future existence of the state of Israel. It may involve all of its neighbors, as they have in the past, attacking Israel to try, as they say, to drive the Jews into the sea. It may involve the use of nuclear weapons, Gaffney predicted. But whatever form it takes and whenever it occurs, it is unlikely to be contained to that region, and we must do everything we can to prevent freedoms enemies from thinking they have an opportunity to engage in that kind of warfare. That means standing absolutely, unmistakably as one with Israel and doing everything to prevent Iran getting its hands on nuclear weapons.
Gaffney, who now heads up the nonprofit Center for Security Policy in Washington, D.C., was speaking on the day that the moderate Islamist party Ennahda claimed victory at the ballot box in Tunisia and the day after Libyas new rulers declared that country will be run on Islamic principles and under Sharia law. Gaffney does not believe Ennahda is really a moderating force. I dont believe there is such a thing as a moderate Islamist party, he said. The challenge with Islamists is that they seek to impose what they call Sharia on everybody, Muslim and non-Muslim alike.
They may, as a matter of tactical expediency, choose to do so in incremental ways, often nonviolently, at least initially. The problem is that, because ultimately they must according to Sharia, according to what they believe is Gods will make everyone feel subdued in order to achieve their God-mandated direction, they will not remain moderate. They will not be satisfied with anything less than the ultimate supremacy of Sharia and they certainly will not resist the use of violence when it becomes expedient to get their way.
Gaffney, who writes a regular column for Newsmax, foresees a rising tide of Islamist governments growing throughout Middle East and North Africa and spreading even further. Were witnessing not just the violent kind of jihad that these Islamists believe God compels them to engage in, but also, where they must for tactical reasons, a more stealthy kind, or civilizational jihad as the Muslim Brotherhood calls it. Were witnessing that playing out, not only in places in the Middle East but also in Europe, in Australia, in Canada and here in the United States as well, he said. The spread of Sharia, which Gaffney said often is referred to as Communism with a god, is the most urgent and grievous challenge we face as a free people.
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