In typical American fashion, the electorate careens toward November 2008 when it will elect its new president—a president who will set America’s course for the 21st Century. Will we end the century as a super power and the cradle of freedom, or as a third world nation, or as the Islamic Republic of America?

 

The news media, the remaining candidates, and a major portion of our citizens ignore the real issues that will determine how we end the century: Militant Islam; spread of nuclear weapons—portending regional nuclear wars; loss of domestic heavy industry and associated jobs; lack of a well thought out energy policy; and the out of control government "Bureaucracy.” All of which are the result of not having a clearly defined domestic and foreign policy—clearly defined national objectives, and leaders who put America first.

 

Some Americans fail to recognize our enemies both foreign and domestic, placing us all at risk. We allow this to continue at our peril.

 

Islam: the fastest growing religion in the world, poses a threat to Western civilization. While the news medial trumpets Islam as a "peaceful religion,” few know much about Islam’s core teachings. Muhammad single handily founded Islam in twenty-two years. Sharia (Islamic) law is based upon the Qur’an, Hadith, and Sunnah, not the five pillars of Islam.

 

Muslims believe Muhammad received revelations from the one God, Allah, delivered by the angel Gabriel. Muhammad recited Gabriel’s messages, but did not record them on parchment or hides. Listeners either recorded Muhammad’s recitations, or memorized them. Twenty years after Muhammad’s death in 632 C.E., the third caliph (successor to the Prophet), Uthman, assembled all "remembers” and written records (fragments) of Muhammad’s recitations. Uthman’s scribes compiled 114 documents, then burned all the fragments at Uthman’s orders. Uthman then ordered the 114 documents to be assembled into a book of recitations, with the longest first descending to the shortest last. Thus, the book became the Qur’an and the documents, its Suras. The Qur’an’s Suras are not in chronological order, a fact that allows clerics to extract passages to suit their needs. Muhammad’s first recitation is the 96th Surah. Every word in the Qur’an was recited by Muhammad, and Allah has said through Gabriel and his Prophet that no letter can be changed by man. Reforming Islam presents a challenge.

 

What are Hadith and Sunnah? The Hadith, which means traditions, are accounts of Muhammad’s actions, words and deeds. There are hundreds of thousands of Hadiths. Scholars began to collect them approximately 200 hundred years after the Prophet’s death. When several Hadiths agreed they became a Sunnah, an authenticated Hadith. Islam is all about Muhammad, and his last words are reported to be: I have been ordered to fight until all men say there is no God but Allah.

 

Members of the armed forces, elected officials, and appointed judges and government officials take an oath to uphold the Constitution and protect the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. Today many appear not to understand their oath, or have chosen to ignore it. In either case they place the nation in jeopardy, their reasons being unimportant. A Congress that allows its members to make statements that give aid and comfort to our enemies is a disgrace. We have domestic enemies, enemies who wish to replace or modify our Constitution. If we continue to elect enemies of our Constitution we are doomed.

 

The "Bureaucracy” is in fact a shadow government, unelected and unresponsive to elected officials who disagree with its purposes and self interest. Liberals have effectively taken control of the Bureaucracy during the past sixty years. John Bolton’s book, Surrender Is Not an Option, documents numerous examples in the State Department. He demonstrates that the state department bureaucracy ignores directions from the president and the secretary of state when they disagree with the administration’s policy. At times it seems that the bureaucracy has not bothered to learn what the president’s policy is. Bureaucrats can’t be fired, something the "out side of the beltway” presidential candidates must understand. The approved method of getting rid of a problem government employee is to promote him or her into a different job. The president does not have the power to restructure that a CEO has in industry. This has to change, which means amending the Civil Service Act.

 

Bolton’s book also shines a light into the United Nations and confirms views my characters express in Behold, an Ashen Horse. Bolton demonstrates that the UN is a hole in New York City into which the U.S. pores billion and billions of dollars. The sooner we withdraw from the UN, and tell them to leave, the better.

 

Iran and Pakistan. Both are Islamic Republics in name and Iran is one in deeds. Pakistan, willingly or unwillingly, provides a safe haven for the Taliban and al Qaeda. It is the only Islamic nuclear power with a stock pile of nuclear warheads and delivery systems. It is also the home of Mister "Bombs are Us” Q. E. Kahn. So far Pakistan’s government has kept control of the nuclear warheads, but not its nuclear weapons technology. February 18th elections will provide extremists the opportunity to topple Pakistan’s government and seize the country, creating a nuclear armed clone of Iran. If this happens, what will we do? Allow Islamic terrorists to gain possession of nuclear warheads and delivery systems? India and Israel will have a dog in this fight. Russia and China also have reasons to worry.

 

Iran has all the elements of the nuclear fuel cycle necessary to produce highly enriched uranium and plutonium, fissile materials, the fuel for atomic bombs. The intelligence community issued a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) for Iran that stated with "high confidence” that Iran has ceased nuclear warhead development in 2003, claiming all intelligence agencies agreed. Israel, among others disagreed. This is an example of the "Bureaucracy” in action. The estimate failed to consider that Iran may have perfected implosion technology and now only requires fissile material to produce atomic bombs. Shame on President Bush for allowing the NIE to be released.

 

Everyone has a theory about the loss of American jobs. The real question is, can America support itself in the event of a conventional world war? Will we be able to produce the weapons required to fight if foreign parts are cut off? Today the answer is no, we cannot, and thus we no longer truly free.

 

America buys more than it produces and sells, thus the negative balance of trade. We spend our dollars on foreign goods and the seller then lends us our spent dollars so that we can buy more of the sellers’ products. A business following this formula fails. A government doing the same faces economic collapse. Energy dependency on foreign oil is part of this cycle. We have allowed hyperactive "environmentalists” to dictate the policy of the U.S. by preventing construction of nuclear power plants, construction of oil refineries (we import 17% or our gasoline), and drilling for oil in Alaska and off the coast. Soon Floridians will be able to visit Cuban-Chinese oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Then there is the of Global Warming farce and "carbon footprints.” Both provide a target rich environment for entrepreneur and scam artists to make a quick buck off of gullible Americans. It is a created crisis that provides a reason for more taxes and new bureaucracy.

 

America does not have clear cut objectives. Is it our duty to spread democracy? I think not. It is our duty to do what is in the best interest of the U.S., and that is what the current presidential and Congressional candidates should be addressing. In Behold, an Ashen Horse the president’s clear cut objective is to do what is best for America. He prefers to be respected rather than loved by other nations. He leads the world by example and deeds, not by rhetoric. America needs to go back to the basics that made it great, while carrying a big stick and speaking softly.

 

Political correctness and multiculturalism are contrary to America’s founding principals. If America is to end the 21st Century as a great, powerful nation, the bastion of freedom, we must force those who aspire to lead us to address the crucial issues discussed above. Americans must chose wisely in November and elect a president and Congress that will serve America’s long term interests.

 

A lady asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”

 

He answered, "A Republic, if you [we] can keep it.”

 

Can we?