The co-ordinated attacks in Paris last Friday which killed 129 innocent people were an aggressive act of war by the Islamic State.
I believe we need to demonstrate the composure required in this situation to acknowledge that we are dealing with a very serious entity here, an infantile state with a growing desire to flex its talons. We need to show that composure to realise that we are not dealing with pop up terrorists, or brain washed religious bigots who are too foolish to recognise their own mortality.
We need to be sure that our actions are not based on an emotional reaction right now. We need to ensure that we don’t shut our eyes to the geopolitical landscape, as this will prevent us from figuring out a solution to the issues which face the Middle East, issues which have a direct impact on Europe and are now beginning to cost European lives. We need to ensure we don’t form biases which will only hurt our culture and our principles of free thought and freedom of expression.
We need to make peace with those who wish to make peace, we need to negotiate with those who share equal or comparable principles with us, but we also need to protect those who need our help, to acknowledge that we can’t negotiate with a foreign state which suppresses basic human rights, a state which has declared war on Europe. Now we must act in a way which will result in the destruction of that institution, an institution which I believe would surpass the evils of any fascist regime we’ve seen in the past should it continue to grow any stronger.
Now indeed is the time for war. We must tear down this state of evil which threatens the free world, but in its place we must be prepared to build, we must be prepared to mend, we must learn to understand the reasons behind the rise in radicalism and build new foundations which will create global stability, global equality and a season of peace on this green earth.