Mark Gager is an acquaintance of mine and a friend of the Rep. and Joan Needelman's.  Joanie got this from him - to me - to you.

Frank

Subject: It may be destiny Date:
Sat, 15 Sep 2001 03:03:08 -0400

Dear Friend. Once again recent events have kept me from sleeping. The following are some of my thoughts in explaining what brought the world to September 11, 2001

It may be destiny...

Is this the third world war? Is this the conflict prophesied by Nostradamus? Is Bin Laden the third of three "anti-Christs" as foreseen by Nostradamus? He named the first one as Napoleonus, the second as Hisler (ouch that is pretty close) and the third as a blue turbaned Muslim from "Greater Persia".

These are frightening questions. As of yet no one can say for sure. Or is this yet the continuation of a cultural struggle that has existed for over twenty-five hundred years. Let us take a glimpse at the past in order to understand the present..

In Biblical Times the Israelites fought the Philistines (the Latin version of Philistine is Palestine).

Five Hundred years before the birth of Christ the most powerful empire ever seen in the Middle East rose from Persia. The Persian Empire stretched from Bactria (modern day Afghanistan) to Egypt and northward into Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The Persians were desirous of conquering a collection of city-states to the west of Asia Minor. These people were fiercely independent and had strange ideas about humanism and individuality and expression of free thought. These people were the Greeks.

The Great Kings of Persia lead two unsuccessful campaigns against the Greeks. Both times the military and naval forces of the small city-states, Athens, Sparta, Corinth, Thebes, Amphipolous, Mycene and others were grossly outnumbered by the largest and most powerful army the world had yet seen. The Greeks maybe put 20,000 men up against 100,000 Persians. But the Greeks defeated the Persians.

And so began the great hatred of the Middle East for the West and of the West for the East.

A century later Alexander the Great destroyed the Persian Empire and the Middle East was occupied by the Greeks. It could have been a Golden Age but Alexander's untimely death resulted in the collapse of his empire, and the Parthians (from Persia) conquered a new Empire that ranged from Afghanistan to Iraq.

At the same time the Roman Empire which building upon concepts created in Greece became Western Civilization's great empire. The two empires, the Middle Eastern and the Western began to fight inconclusive wars for centuries.

As the Western Roman Empire fell in 476 AD the Eastern Roman Empire (ironically a Greek speaking empire) flourished but still engaged in war with the new Persian Empire. The Parthians being overthrown by their Persian subjects in 226 AD.

The Persians in 600-642 AD tried to destroy the Eastern Roman Empire (now known as the Byzantine Empire). East and West engaged in a devastating war but a military genius the Emperor Heraclius took the Byzantines to victory. Persia was defeated.

Unfortunately as that war ended the Arabs swelled out of Arabia with the cause of spreading Islam. The Arab leader Mohammed united the Arabian peninsula. He claimed to be the last of the great prophets. Islam accepts the Old and New testaments but claims that the Koran is the final book of the word of God. The Muslims believe that Christianity was sent to correct the errors of Judaism, and now Islam is the correct the errors of Christianity. Although religion has always been used for political purposes and to justify many wars, Islam actually advocates the use of violence to spread the word of the Prophet.

The Byzantines who were Greek Orthodox Christians believe that the Muslims are trying to put their false prophet upon the throne of Jesus Christ.

Using chiefly cavalry the Arabs are well suited for desert warfare in the Middle East. Persia was engulfed and converted to Islam. The Byzantines lost Syria, Egypt, Israel and North Africa. Islam seemed invincible.

For five hundred years the Byzantines (Western Civilization) fought one wave of Islamic invaders after the next. Toward the beginning of the eleventh century the Byzantines went over to the offensive. It looked as if the Christians would actually be able to wage a successful religious war against the Muslims. Then a tactical error in the year 1071 AD in eastern Asia Minor (Turkey) saw the annihilation of a Byzantine army of 100,000 men. The Turks then occupied Asia Minor, which became Turkish.

The Greek Byzantines asked the Pope to send Mercenaries to enlarge their army so they rebuild their undermanned army. What they got was the Crusades. The Crusaders plundered their way across Europe and the Middle East fight Christians and Muslims. It was not a bright spot in the history of Western Civilization. Muslims were slaughtered by the thousands. And so began the concept of Jihad (holy war) to rid the Middle East of Christians.

1099 Crusaders conquer what is now Israel. They commit horrible atrocities to Arabs, Turks and Jews.

Mid 1100's the Second Crusade is sent. A military failure. It's a great story involving Eleanor of Acquitaine but not the purpose of this editorial.

End of the 1100's the great Muslim leader Saladin starts a Jihad to drive Christian armies from the Middle east. He is a great leader and nearly successful until Richard the Lionheart, a military genius, arrives and thwarts his plans. Although Richard never conquered Jerusalem he left Christians in control of the coastline of Israel and Lebanon.

1204 a very dark year for the Byzantines. The Fourth Crusade sacks the capital of the Byzantine Empire rather then attacking the Muslims. Long story here but due to Venetian treachery to protect their trading rights in the eastern Mediterranean the crusade is diverted to Constantinople the Byzantine capital. Byzantine Empire so weakened that it is never again able to resist the next wave of Turkish invasions.

1453 Byzantine Empire falls to Turks, the Muslim Turkish armies sweep over the Middle East and into Europe conquering the Balkans. Surprise, this started the problem we are now having in Bosnia, Serbia and former Yugoslavia. Turkey is now a superpower. The Sultan is also Caliph, a religious leader of the Muslim world. The Turks drive their armies deep into Europe and almost capture Vienna in the late 1600's and again in the early 1700's.

Fortunately the Austrians and Germans with help from Poland drive the Turks back. Turkey declines as a power as European Nations rise as the world powers. The Middle East hates this and resents European power and incursions into their world.

1798 Napoleon conquers Egypt. Britain invades region and eventually occupies Egypt.

WWI Turkey defeated as it is allied to Germany. Britain and France occupy the entire Middle East. The Islamic world resents this colonization.

WWII Germany and Italy invade Middle East and encourage Islam to rise against Britain. Britain crushes revolts in Iraq and with its new "allay" the Soviet Union, occupies Iran.

1948 Britain withdraws from Israel and the new nation fights the Arabs in a series of wars. Although Russia and later France support Israel it is the United States which ultimately becomes the chief ally of Israel. Tensions between the Palestinian people and Israel escalate.

1956 Suez Crisis. Britain and France attack Egypt to regain the Suez Canal. Russia backs Egypt and US does not support its allies. Britain and France humiliated in eyes of Islamic World.

1967 Israel conquers Golan Heights from Syria, left bank from Jordan and Gaza and Sinai from Egypt. US backs Israel, Arab world humiliated. 1973 Yom Kippur War where Arabs attack Israel, they are defeated again.

1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis. US humiliated by Iran.

1979 Russia invades Afghanistan, sheer imperialism. Afghanistan ultimately wins.

So, what has happened here? The two superpowers were defeated and humiliated by the Islamic World. Why should they fear us? The only country to consistently defeat them is Israel.

The Gulf War, yes we win but Saddam Hussein remains in power and the Clinton Administration spends more time apologizing for his indiscretions and aberrant behavior than holding Iraq accountable for UN inspections of biological, chemical and nuclear war production. So, do they have these weapons or not? The US could have forced Iraq to comply but it did not.

In the meantime during the Afghan/Soviet conflict the US trains Bin Laden and other terrorists while also training numerous Arabic students in our flight and technical schools.

So, here we are, days after the greatest attack by a foreign power on US soil. There is no doubt that there will be war. There is no doubt that we will win. But at what cost and for how long will this war last. It is a Jihad for them and must become a Crusade for us.

While I have tried to be objective in my analysis I am clearly biased in favor of the West. But my point is that this is the latest in a cultural struggle between two divergent cultures. I could analyze their belief systems but it comes down to this. We are a democracy that encourages creativity, freedom of thought and expression, artistic endeavor and individuality. We are a religious and spiritual nation and our Constitution respects and stays out of all religions. You are free to believe in God or not.

The world of extremist Muslim countries is a Theocracy. That is Government ruled by an extremely intolerant religion. Democracy, freedom, individuality, music, ideas and any religion but Islam are suppressed. It is a primitive and paranoid culture that wants to live in the Medieval World when the Islamic and Turkish empires were powerful.

So, since the Persians attacked the Greeks the struggle between these two cultures goes on. They cannot defeat us in convention war so they resort to terror. They kill women, children and unarmed civilians. They live on hate and they pervert Islam into a fanatical justification for anger, hatred, cowardice and murder.

We cannot reason with them. They will not abide by treaties or keep promises. We can only destroy them in order to win. It is a horrible conclusion, but this cultural struggle has finally come to a head. It may be preordained, or it may be coincidence, but one thing is clear, the only solution is all out war.

For as Marcus Aurelius said "The barbarians must know what it is to make war upon Rome". And the Islamic world needs to know what it is to make war upon America.

Millions may have to die, but to restrain from vanquishing this ancient and deadly enemy is to be held hostage by amoral evil barbarians thus living in fear. We have faced deadly foes before and now we do so again. We are more powerful than they are but they fight with fanaticism.

I do not know if God takes sides in war. I tend to believe God does not. But I do believe that God looks into the hearts and souls of people and that decides their ultimate fate in the hereafter.

In either event God Bless the United States and Western Civilization.