Time to play hard ball with bad guys

If the experts can use the term "so called" on the war on terror, then I can infer they are "so-called" security analysts and jump in the fray with my report.

At the risk of sounding simplistic, here is my fundamentally rethought "Simplified Rehwaldt Report" for the world to see:

To heck with arguing over rhetoric, which is the ammunition of propagandists - i.e. "war on terror" vs."counterterrorism" - and focus planning on behavior and actions.

To heck with using any religious terms (i.e. Islamist) when talking or writing about rogue militants and gunmen.

To heck with not caring (so commonplace) about what a person or group does to human beings when they kill or rape them.

No more interfering in any way with anybody in any country who respects and doesn't take advantage of their people.

"The Solution" for the world, which I believe is at the tipping point, is to engage the bullies of the world in the way they understand and appreciate. Those who use the following rationales (excuses) that give them abusive power over others:

• Any religious organization (authority), old or new, that justifies killing people.

• Any cultural belief (law), old or new, that justifies killing people.

• Any ethnic practice (reason), old or new, that justifies killing people. Period! One can parse this all they want, but one gets the drift.

The use of fear through a combination of propaganda and gunpowder to manipulate free thinking of the world's citizens.

In other words, the use of guns, bombs and bullets to get what they want (instead of words) automatically gets them a death sentence from the rest of the world.

After careful planning, this will be followed by a warning to the innocents to get out of the way or die with them. It will be universal agreement that collateral damage falls squarely on the dead shoulders of the aggressors.

A high price, but I believe even many of the dead innocents are willing to pay to rid the world of this scourge. Similar to a worldwide revolt, this approach is radical but the answer to all those who say, "But what can we do?" or "That is a very difficult and complicated problem!"

Keeping in mind that this is built on the premise that we are not at war with any country or religion, but with the people who use guns, bombs and machetes to get what they want. If they are smart, they will give in ... if not, they will be dead.

I believe the leaders (and would-be leaders) in this world must understand this and be able to deal with this "disease" accordingly. They cannot be swayed by propaganda and they must understand the importance of "saving face" in this world.

Those who don't "get this" will respond in ways that will harm innocents that needn't be when they learn the hard way about saving their own "face."

Richard "Dick" Rehwaldt

Algonquin