Total War...

Ref (a), Wretchard. "Testimony Before Congress", Belmont Club
Ref (b), Wretchard. "Testimony Before Congress 2", Belmont Club
Ref (c), Dr. Demarche. "So Happy Together", Daily Demarche
Ref (d), Thomas Friedman, "Hama Rules", New York Times

Wretchard ties together recent events in Syria, Iraq, Iran, North Korea, and the Philippines to demonstrate the walk-up toward Total War...

Regretfully, there is a chance that the 'Sunni Jihad' movement has enough fanatic adherents to their cause to determine the direction of their civilization. And this movement is not tolerant of other intrinsic, and viable, belief structures. We cannot play at defending our basic social structure and mores like this. Fanatics do not listen to alternative viewpoints - they kill them...

If, or when, the conflict is escalated we will know it by the consistent use of 'Hama Rules'. We have already seen beheadings, conflagration, assassinations, executions, and indiscriminate terror. We have already seen Total War waged on our society – on our symbols of freedom, strength, and capitalism. We have already witnessed Hama Rules in action.

President Bush chose to use our shining city on a hill, a moderate and targeted use of force, the freezing of jihadi assets, and a diplomatic attempt to isolate the enemy to preclude the advent of Total War… If President Bush is not successful at de-legitimizing the use of Hama Rules in the Islamic culture than we are in Total War – whether we want to be or not.

In Total War there is a winner and there is a loser...