In 1944, prior to the Allied invasion of France, a pivotal point in the Second World War, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton gave a memorable speech to rouse the troops on the eve of that fateful landing.
“Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser,” Patton boomed. “Americans play to win all the time. I wouldn’t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost, and laughed. That’s why Americans have never lost and will never lose a war.”
This was the spirit that made the United States exceptional and created a unipolar superpower, ensuring the free world had a leader who would stand by those fighting evil, repression and oppression.
Unfortunately, in recent years, this fighting spirit, the spirit of victory, has been dissipating.
Abandoning Afghanistan to the extremist and totalitarian Taliban gave a massive shot in the arm to Islamic extremists.
The most recent and standout moment was the hurried and painful withdrawal from Afghanistan, leaving that country to the very forces whom the U.S. dispatched 20 years earlier.
Abandoning Afghanistan to the extremist and totalitarian Taliban gave a massive shot in the arm to Islamic extremists.
Enemies of the West in general and the U.S. in particular took note and felt emboldened, celebrating the retreat while firing up their wildest imaginations.
The invasion of Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7 and the gruesome massacre did not happen in a vacuum.
The subsequent war of self-defense by Israel does not just pit the Jewish state against the genocidal terrorists of Hamas. It is a war between radical Islamism on one side and the West and regional moderates on the other.
The war that began on Oct. 7 was not just a war against Israel. It was a war on America. True to form, the terrorist-supporting ayatollahs in Tehran continue to refer to Israel as the “Little Satan” and the U.S. as the “Big Satan.”
They see Israel as a steppingstone in its battle against the U.S. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, regularly declares that “America is the number one enemy of our nation.”
The war that began on Oct. 7 was not just a war against Israel. It was a war on America. True to form, the terrorist-supporting ayatollahs in Tehran continue to refer to Israel as the “Little Satan” and the U.S. as the “Big Satan.”
This war is far more important than the mere defeat of Hamas. It is about delivering a large blow to the rapidly ascendant Islamists who believe they are on their way to ultimate victory.
If Israel is not allowed to win, then Iran wins, and America and the West lose.
In the early days of the war, the U.S. declared to allies and enemies alike that it is a strong and determined ally.
President Biden famously declared after the massacre that his “message to any state or any other hostile actor thinking about attacking Israel remains the same as it was a week ago: Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.”
Unfortunately, these words were not taken as seriously as was hoped, with Israel subsequently being attacked by Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Iraq, all led by Iran. At the same time, American citizens, troops and assets have also been murderously targeted in the region.
Iran sees cracks in American fortitude, and the abstention on a recent U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire not connected to the release of over 100 hostages and without a condemnation of Hamas sent exactly the wrong kind of signal.
Hamas understood the gesture as one of weakness and immediately hardened its position in hostage negotiations to a maximalist and impossible position, sensing that the U.S. was abandoning its ally, providing it with hope of survival and thus victory, despite the Islamist terror organization being on its last legs.
With a pivotal moment in this war on the horizon, this can and should change.
The U.S. can once again fully and unequivocally back Israel in its war.
Iran and its proxies see the war against Israel as a test case. They want to see if the U.S. is in global retreat and does not have the will or capability to defend its interests.
The U.S. should not do so merely because of its long-standing relationship with Israel, but to regain its own prestige and, more importantly, its deterrence against those who wish it harm.
Iran and its proxies see the war against Israel as a test case. They want to see if the U.S. is in global retreat and does not have the will or capability to defend its interests.
A defeat for Israel will confirm this hope and put the U.S. and its citizens at greater risk on the international stage.
This is why it is so vital for America to regain the spirit of Gen. Patton.
The United States must once again see itself as a winner and defend its allies and its interests in the face of an unrelenting enemy who has its sights firmly on defeating it.
America, choose victory.
