“Freindly Fire Zone”

No one who lived through the Great Depression called it the Great Depression. That designation wouldn't come until years later.

In the same vein, I wonder if we are living in the middle of the Last Crusade. My gut tells me we are. And that means the West must once again draw swords.

It begins in Europe.

Too long has the continent played patsy, rolling over backwards to accommodate the very people who seek its destruction. Wide-open borders, political correctness, fear of being labeled and negative birthrates have produced a dying Europe. While the majority still believes in Western values, they remain silent; the only sound heard is radical Islam trying to snuff out the last remnants of European identity. The mosques are full, and the churches are empty. Is hope lost?

Diminished, yes. Lost? Not just yet.

You may remember the flap two years ago when a Danish newspaper published cartoons that depicted the prophet Muhammad - cartoons that some Muslims deemed offensive. While most Muslims simply ignored the row, the extremists rioted in Denmark and around the world, Danish embassies were stormed, and lives were lost. Some Muslims even issued a death warrant on the cartoonist and issued a fatwa against the papers that printed the cartoons.

The situation has not improved, as it was recently revealed that there was yet another alleged plot by Muslim terrorists to kill the Danish cartoonist.

In a show of support for both the cartoonist and free speech, our colleagues in 15 Danish newspapers just re-printed all of the cartoons. Take a wild guess what happened after that.

Muslims rioted. What a surprise.

This latest transgression against the West has been going on for over a week, with rioters spreading out from Copenhagen to other Danish cities. Hundreds of cars and trucks have been torched, police have been attacked, and a school was set ablaze.

Will this finally be the wake up call for Europe? Will it have the courage to declare its own fatwa against the Muslim infidels who overtly threaten its stability and existence? We can only hope.

Europe needs a good proctologist to find its head. Only a complete repudiation of all things politically correct can be an enema for its soul. It needs new leaders to exhibit uncommon valor in defending what is good, right and just about Western civilization. Above all, its people must start having children again. To paraphrase Dickens, if this last concept is not understood, nothing good will come of this.

How does Europe achieve these goals? With conviction. Bold leadership is needed to start the ball rolling on the second point. On the first, the solution is simple but not easy. Muslim infidels - those extremists who disparage true Islam and disrespect the very prophet they purport to follow - must be met with a zero-tolerance wall of fire. Non-citizens who are apprehended rioting should be deported immediately, never to return. There should be stiff penalties for all others engaging in violence and subversive activities against Western freedoms. Intimidation and threats must be dealt with in a manner ten-fold harsher than the offense. Unfortunately, the only code these people recognize is brute force coupled with an unwavering resoluteness.

Up until this point, the extremists have exploited Europe's weakness of trying to be all things to all people. The irony is that the only ones being served by this policy is the enemy.

Today's Europeans will be judged on whether they had the intestinal fortitude to resurrect themselves, rising up from the abyss to take back what is morally and rightfully theirs. The barbarians are at the gate, and the time to fight is now.

Since the victors always write history, who will be writing the epilogue of today's battle?

My first reaction was to ask Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, where he bought his happy pills. After all, this is the man who just called for Islamic Shariah law to be implemented in England. I assume, since all Muslims simply adore British citizens and their Western culture, that this was Archbishop Williams' way of continuing the Golden Age of World Peace in which we find ourselves.

Hey, appeased terrorists and their sympathizers make the best neighbors.

After reading more of Arhbishop Williams' comments this week, however, it's obvious that it's not medication talking. It's much more dangerous. It's a man in a significant position of power - he leads over 80 million in the Anglican Church - who naïvely advocates positions that place Britain, as well as his own flock, in physical and spiritual jeopardy.