America, Alone

"America should proclaim the obvious: we do have a better government, religion, and culture than our enemies, and we should spread America’s influence around the world—for our own sake as well as theirs."

- from the inside flap of America Alone: The End of the World as We Know it by Mark Steyn

America today is a force for good in the world. But America's greatest strengths ensure that even here in a bastion of freedom unparalleled in world history, the subtle poison of liberalism leeches away our spirit.

Remember the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Fought near the Philippines in October 1944, the battle was the largest naval engagement in modern history. But the battle was notable for more than its size: Leyte Gulf witnessed the first use of kamikaze aircraft. The Battle of Leyte Gulf was actually four interrelated battles fought over successive days. Not all of those battles were won without great cost. The Battle of Sibuyan Sea witnessed the loss of the aircraft carrier USS Princeton. But the Battle of Surigao Strait was won with a brilliant trap by the Americans which enabled them to cross the T of the Japanese forces. By positioning its forces properly, the brave Americans could bring all of their firepower to bear on the enemy. Yet a miscommunication nearly cost the Allies the Battle off Cape Engano and the Battle off Samar. Only sheer fortitude (and more than a thousand aircraft) enabled the Americans to break the power of the Japanese at sea.

The lessons of Leyte Gulf are not as widely studied as the more popular Battle of the Bulge and D-Day Invasion. Yet in many ways, the Battle of Leyte Gulf more closely parallels our current conflict.

The world of today is a much different, much wider, wilder world than that of even just 30 years ago. We face a new global challenge - Islamofascism. Our enemy struck the first, furious blow. We fought back with righteous fury, but now that the quick victory over Saddam is past, our will falters. We need to recognize that the dangerous new tactics of our enemies require new tactics of our own to combat them, but also renewed resolve.

The new terrors of today and tomorrow will not stand and fight like the past horrors of Communism and Nazism. Yet like Imperial Japan, Islamofascism has its own figurehead. Only when the war of ideology has been decided in America's favor, can the battlefield of everyday life follow.

America must stand strong against its enemies today, even if it must stand a lonely vigil - America, alone.