The Threat Revealed: Part 1

I have declared before my belief that the threat faced now by the United States and its allies is far greater than what most people realize. I will now try and explain why I think that is so. This is going to be a series of posts, written as I have time to write them.

The Threats We See

Al Qaeda is easily the most visible threat we face now. An Islamist Supremacist organization which aims to establish an Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East, it views America as its chief obstacle to achieving its aims. Its members have no compunctions about killing innocents, including children, and have shown evidence in the past of actually enjoying such killing. There is literally nothing they won’t do, no act of barbarism they won’t make, no limit to their savagery. What makes AQ truly dangerous however, is the fact that the organization is devoted as much to organizing and training as it is to terrorism itself. Al Qaeda literally means The Base in Arabic, and is meant to be a base for a vast structure of terror organizations that will spring up over the globe. This has already met with some success. The organization trains teachers, who then go back home to their respective nations where they train others in the ways of terrorism, and help set up their own cells. It is a virus, and one that nearly impossible to stamp out.

The North Koreans are another easily seen threat. Almost certainly in possession of nuclear weapons, they are a nation which has a history of reckless actions and crazy leadership. As long as North Korea remains the most isolated nation on earth, it will continue to pose a threat to South Korea and Japan, and the United States as well. Questions remain about the role China plays in all of this, and a real solution to the problem remains out of sight.

The Mad Mullahs of Iran are also on a quest for nuclear weapons, and barring drastic change in the nation, I see nothing to stop them. Given their history of hostility to America and Israel, a dangerous uncertainty lies ahead. How much do we trust the Mullahs to behave? How rational are they? What would they be willing to risk to destroy Israel and/or America? And what role does Russia play in this?

Those are the threats most easily seen right now. In the next installment, those threats less easily or less often noticed.