David Hackworth

War is the ultimate reality-based horror show.

Our generals talk a good game about taking care of their grunts, and the majority of our Beltway politicians bay with moralistic fervor about how they, too, support the troops.

Because our homeland and very survival are once more at stake, the American people can’t afford to treat this new war against terrorism like they did Vietnam.

That’s what supporting the troops is really all about – making sure American grunts get the right stuff!

Modern American war is as easy to script as a B movie.

Fortunately, it’s still not too late to develop a comprehensive global strategy to eliminate our real enemy.

That’s because international Islamic religious fanatics have the same goal as the Axis fascists – the destruction of our way of life.

We citizens don’t need to know every detail of every military operation in this new kind of war. Nor should the media tell us and hence our enemy.

Fighting terrorism is not unlike fighting a deadly cancer. It can’t be treated just where it’s visible – every diseased cell in the body must be destroyed.

Grunts on the line, where the enemy wants them dead, still goof off – even knowing that by letting their guard down they might die.

Their plan is to return the entire world – not just the Middle East – to the days of the caliphate and either convert all of us so-called infidels into born-again Islamic believers or kill us.

In order to drill into young men the need to stay alert and stay alive, I used to punish offenders with my fists, boots and rifle butt, and with stockade time.

It’s human nature to start taking things for granted again when danger isn’t banging loudly on the door.

If a policy is wrongheaded, feckless and corrupt, I take it personally and consider it a moral obligation to sound off and not shut up until it’s fixed.

Our fumbling government’s response since Beirut – during both Republican and Democratic administrations – has been to cut and run, or to flat ignore this growing threat, apparently hoping it would go away.

The old saying that war is a racket has taken on an even more shameful meaning.

Writing with you is the only thing that keeps me alive.

Terrorism, too, must be excised wherever it exists, which will take years, and which can’t happen without the total commitment and the everyday involvement of the American people.

Of course, it’s imperative that we stabilize Iraq and quickly reduce our armed role there.