In the Words of Our Enemies
by Jed Babbin

It’s often better to find out what someone actually said than to read somebody else’s interpretation of it. Currently the editor of Human Events and former deputy undersecretary of defense in President George H.W. Bush's administration, Jed Babbin does us all a favor by bringing together a collage of statements by Muslim terrorists, Kim Jong-il, Castro, Hugo Chavez, Vladimir Putin, and others to form a chilling picture of hatred of America. Words of Our Enemies recounts the warning signs before 9/11 and argues for greater vigilance toward future threats. Most of the book allows America’s enemies to speak for themselves in interviews, articles and speeches, and their words damn them.

Take Osama bin Laden’s statements before September 11, 2001:

  • "To kill Americans and their allies—civilians and military—is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it."
  • "It is far better for anyone to kill a single American soldier than to squander his effort on other activities."
  • "We do not have to differentiate between military or civilian. As far as we are concerned, they are all targets."

We didn’t listen, and we paid for it with 3,000 American deaths. Sermons from Saudi clerics still spew hatred and intolerance:

  • "There can be neither an agreement nor a meeting point between the people of Islam and the Jewish and Christian people."
  • "Crimes [against the Muslims] will be stopped only by Jihad."
  • "Muslims must educate their children to Jihad."

Babbin quotes the words of many other dictators who hate America. Iran's Ahmadinejad said, "We will soon experience a world without the United States and Zionism and will breathe in the brilliant time of Islamic sovereignty over today's world." General Zhu Chenghu, a Professor at China's National Defense University, threatened: "The Americans will have to be prepared that hundreds of cities will be destroyed by the Chinese." Castro warned, "The people and the governments of Cuba and Iran can bring the United States to its knees."

Kim Jong-il and Hugo Chavez comprise the insane contingent of our emerging enemies. Kim Jong-il uses heavy-handed Communist rhetoric, decrying every aspect of capitalism, and Chavez, a "Castro on steroids," rails against the United States as a "fascist," "genocidal," "imperialistic hegemony" and says "Let's finish off the U.S. empire." We can’t laugh them off as comic book characters because Kim Jong-il is building nuclear weapons and Chavez is using Venezuela’s oil to maneuver into a position of greater power.

"If man has a ‘natural’ state," writes Babbin, "it is not a state of grace but a state of war." So how do we avoid war in the future? Babbin concludes that, due to the huge amount of information now available to most of us via Internet and 24/7 news coverage, we can stay informed of our enemies’ words and actions and let our representatives know what action to take.

What’s the best way to improve our country? "It is not enough for us to defend American soil or to maintain a thriving economy. It will all be in vain if we fail to nurture and refresh America’s soul. That is only possible through individual belief demonstrated through action."

(Regnery Publishing, Inc., 2007, 274 pp, $24.95)