The Mind of Jihad

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For retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Peters there can be no more diplomacy with jihadi regimes, there can only be action.

Peters, a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel, builds his argument from Laurent Murawiec’s new book The Mind of Jihad. In his book, Murawiec delves deep into the history, psychology, and ideology behind modern jihadis. He attempts to explain why “the most distinctive characteristic of jihadi terror is summed up by the oft-repeated phrase: ‘We love death more than you love life’ in its many variants.”

As explained by Muraweic during a recent Hudson Institute event, “Jihadists adopted the Bolshevik idea that terror is a system of rule and power . . . They’ve turned the Koran into a revolutionary book . . . [striking] fear in the heart of the enemy.”

“Because of a confluence of failings, [radical Muslims] have adopted an apocalyptic view of religion and joy of death,” said Lt. Col. Peters at the same event.

When people “regard death as a promotion” there can be no negotiating. When people actively seek not only their own deaths but the end of modern civilization, they must be stopped, argued Peters. “History has shown that extreme religious regimes have had to be put down.”

However, Peters believes that the United States is unwilling to take the necessary action to eliminate the threat of modern jihadis. “Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently said, ‘We can’t kill our way out,’ when referring to the War on Terror. He should have said, ‘We won’t kill our way out.’” Peters argues that only when America is willing to accept who its enemy is and how they think will we win the War on Terror.

Lance Nation is an intern at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia.