Winning the War that was Spawned on 9-11

Ten years ago we as a nation were viciously and savagely attacked by radical Islamic terrorists. Our nation went to war on two fronts in two countries to retaliate and to, ostensibly keep that group of people from attacking us again. So far we have had no attack on the same level as what happened 10 years ago, but nor have we eliminated the enemy that did this to us.
We still have radical Islam and it is still threatening us and causing us to feel the need to give up our freedoms for a little bit of safety. This is not winning!
This is in fact losing.
We have not won the war against radical Islam, and let me tell you why. We have not, nor will we in the future win this war against radical Islam because our government is ill-equipped to wage this war. We are also fighting this war on the wrong fronts, with the wrong weapons, with the wrong tactics and the wrong strategies.
We have fought this war for nearly ten years and have made no progress toward winning it because we are not addressing the enemy that caused this. The enemy that allowed for and facilitated these attacks on 9-11-01 is radical Islam, but we make the mistake of thinking that radical Islam is a person, or a group of people. We are not fighting a flesh and blood enemy. Radical Islam is an ideology! And an ideology will not be defeated on a battle field with armies, guns and bombs. An ideology must be fought and won in the hearts and minds of people.
I fully honor and applaud all of our brave military who at the request and command of our government have fought this ill-advised war that we have waged these last ten years. They have done their duty admirably, heroically and professionally. Those who have been injured and those who have been lost in this struggle are to be praised, cared for, remembered and honored to the best of our nations capacity to do so. The families of those we have lost are to be thanked, loved and hugged. We need to be able to cry with them and walk with them in their loss, and let them know we will never forget their sacrifice.
Please do not think that I am at all forgetting the sacrifices of these men and women. I spent 21 years on active duty in our military, and my son just returned last month from an eleven month tour in Afghanistan. This is not a call for passivity in the face of violence. No on the contrary it is a call to go on the offensive. But it is shameful that we have had to suffer these losses in such a fools-errand.
No, our government is not equipped or qualified to fight this war. To change the ideology of radical Islam, a traditional war will not do. A war like this will merely multiply the enemy. Martyrs will be made and new ones will rise where the old ones have fallen.
The weapon in this battle is plain and simple. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The only weapon that will change the radical Islamic ideology is the preaching of the gospel of love and peace through the shed blood of Christ on the cross to those who are deceived by this system of hate. We fought a war against Naziism and totalitarianism, and we killed millions in the process. And yet both still exist today. We fought a cold war against communism in the 20th century and seemed to have won, but millions died in the process and we still have communism. I fact there are many in our own country who are pushing for its full establishment within our own borders. We have proven time and time again, that our government is not equipped to wage or win wars of these magnitudes. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ can address these hateful ideologies and win this war.
The west has been fighting Islam for 1400 years. And there has been no appreciable gain in the struggle. How about a new tactic. Change the minds of radical Islamic adherents, change the hearts of hate to hearts of love and peace.
We have given war a chance…let’s give the peace of God a chance. This is not radical leftist disarmament. This is radical Chris-likeness and truth. Think about it.