Opinion:

We are all combatants

Another U.S. citizen has been murdered by our enemies. Again, the method was decapitation in feeble attempt by our enemies to discourage us through horror, playing upon our empathy.

Instead of adding my voice to the chorus expressing justified outrage over the actions of our enemies, I will ask some questions:

After September 11, 2001, who did not understand that all U.S. citizens are now on the front lines in this war, a war we did not start but will finish?

Why is this death perceived as worse than the deaths of any of those fighting for us in the world anywhere?

The death of Paul Johnson is a tragedy for his family, but it is no greater a tragedy than the death of our troops in Iraq, Afghanistan, or elsewhere. We are ALL combatants in this war. This was declared by our enemies on September 11, 2001, and has been made clear in the repeated atrocities perpetrated by our enemies since that day.

To defeat our enemies we cannot allow ourselves to show outrage at every atrocity they commit. We should mourn the victims of these crimes, but we must mourn in private to avoid giving our enemies the satisfaction of knowing they have achieved their goal of hurting us.

If we are to be labeled "cowboys" by the rest of the world, then let us be Gary Cooper or John Wayne. They did not moan or cry out when their enemies assailed; instead with quiet, grim determination they silently bore the burden and took the actions necessary to defeat and eliminate their enemies.

This is our task. Stop making every atrocity an occasion for public outcry. Accept that we are at war, that we are all targets, and that casualties are a part of war. We know our enemies wish to destroy us and will bring Hell on Earth to defeat us, continued discussion of our outrage ad nauseum is a waste of energy and only aids our enemies. We must mourn our dead, but in private. We should show our grim determination and continue with the tasks of killing those who assail us and destroying the philosophy of hate that they use to gain recruits and support. As has been written elsewhere, Wahabism Delenda Est, Wahabism must be destroyed. We should not take joy in the killing and destruction, because regardless of justification death is not an occasion for celebration, otherwise we resemble those we despise, those who celebrated at the deaths of Americans on September 11, 2001. We must win without losing who we are, but we should also realize we are all combatants and must behave accordingly to deny our enemies emotional victories.