Thankfully I stumbled upon an interesting Livejournal post today concerning “Fighting the war against radical Islam.”

The poster writes:

“McCain must present a strategy to defeat the threat of radical Islam” says Brent Bozell, in an op ed in today’s Washington Post, here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/07/AR2008030702845.html?hpid=opinionsbox1, encapsulating ably the conservative viewpoint of this election, and of the military challenges that face a new administration. The problem is that it cannot be done.

Never, in the entirety of recorded human history, has any strategy, particularly any military strategy, defeated an idea.

Let’s think about that again. Never in recorded human history. Did Julian the Apostate, with all the might of the Roman Empire at his disposal, defeat radical Christianity? Did the Moghul Empire succeed in erasing Hinduism from India? Looking at more modern examples, did Austria declaring war on France stamp out the French Revolution? Did even the final victory of the Coalition and the Restoration of the Bourbon monarchy succeed in ending the idea of Republican government in Europe? Did the Soviet Union succeed in pacifying Afghanistan? For that matter, did Communism succeed in Eastern Europe and the Third World?

Ideas cannot be eradicated by a national power strategy, and certainly cannot be eradicated by military power. People simply don’t work that way.

She feels that there is no way to defeat ideas, and explains why here.