As al Qaeda associate Abu Musab al-Zarqawi beheaded American Nicholas Berg in Iraq, he asked, "Is it not time for you [Muslims] to take the path of jihad and carry the sword of the Prophet of prophets? The Prophet, the most merciful, ordered [his army] to strike the necks of some prisoners in [the battle of] Badr and to kill them... And he set a good example for us."
 As for you, Bush, dog of the Christians, anticipate what will harm you... And you will only get shroud after shroud and coffin after coffin slaughtered in this manner." Chief Palestinian Authority cleric Mufti Sheikh Ikrimeh Sabri said in an interview; "We tell them, in as much as you love life, the Muslim loves death and martyrdom. There is a great difference between he who loves the hereafter and he who loves this world. The Muslim loves death and strives for martyrdom."
 Hezbollah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah revealed in an interview after the recent prisoner swap between Israel and his group: "We have discovered how to hit the Jews where they are the most vulnerable. The Jews love life, so that is what we shall take away from them. We are going to win, because they love life and we love death."
 Tunisian intellectual Al-Afif Al-Akhdar says; "Why do expressions of tolerance, moderation, rationalism, compromise, and negotiation horrify us Muslims, but when we hear fervent cries for vengeance, we all dance the war dance? Why do other people love life, while we love death and violence, slaughter and suicide, and even call it heroism and martyrdom?"
 The love of death is, to the Western mind, the most incomprehensible thing about our enemy.
 The president made reference to the concept in a recent speech in which he said: "On a tape claiming responsibility for the atrocities in Madrid, a man is heard to say, 'We choose death, while you choose life.'... It is a mindset that rejoices in suicide, incites murder, and celebrates every death we mourn. And we who stand on the other side of the line must be equally clear and certain of our convictions." President Bush summarized what it will take to defeat an enemy who loves death, even if it fell on mainly deaf ears. "We who stand on the other side of the line must be equally clear and certain of our convictions."
 Therein lays America's Achilles Heel. America's greatest strength is also its biggest vulnerability. The enemy is coming through crystal-clear; his intention is to kill us for no reason other than we are not Muslims. And he is not just prepared to die to do it, but looks forward to it as an 'opportunity'.
 On the other hand, America's 'convictions' are nowhere nearly so clear. Polls say America remains committed to staying the course in Iraq, but by lesser margins. Anyone reading America's major newspapers or watching the network news broadcasts would question America's convictions about anything. America's goal was to free Iraqis from the brutality of Saddam, but night after night, new pictures of American soldiers humiliating Iraqi prisoners, like a constant drip from a leaky faucet, continue to show up, two by two, on the nightly news. For every story of a positive development in Iraq brought about with American assistance, there are ten stories about Iraqi resistance, American brutality, or the frightening collapse of order in Fallujah and Najaf.
 There are more than 7,000 cities in Iraq. Of them, there are four or five trouble spots. Tikrit, Fallujah, parts of Baghdad, Najaf and the ubiquitous 'Sunni Triangle' come to mind.
 There are other cities that are somewhat less than joyful at being under US occupation, but in the main, there are about 6,995 or so cities where Iraqis are NOT uprising, and are actually working in concert with the coalition while rebuilding their country. The enemy knows that. His only hope of victory is to keep that information from the American public and convince America that all Iraq opposes them and that Iraq will become another Vietnam.
 That is a goal shared by the enemies of the Bush administration, as well. It is a conundrum that the only way for Bush's political enemies to achieve political victory is to join forces with the enemy in the propaganda war. The enemy's only effective weapon against America is propaganda. Violence is simply propaganda taken to the next level, history establishes that.
 I've spent considerable time and prayer examining that conundrum. The enemy is committed to the path of jihad, following his god into battle, not against a political enemy, but against a spiritual enemy. That this war is spiritually-based is undeniable. The jihadists attack any manifestation of Judaism or Christianity as the target of choice. Secondary targets, whether secular European, or even Muslim targets like those in Saudi Arabia, are designated based on the impact they will have on either Israel or America.
 Osama bin-Laden declared war on ‘Crusader Christian America' -- and he meant exactly what he said. If the jihadists conquered all of Europe, that wouldn't end the war for the jihadists. They'd just use it as a weapon to conquer America and destroy Israel -- the only real targets of the jihadists. Just before al Zarqawi cut off Nick Berg's head, he identified the real enemy: "Bush, dog of the Christians."
 Now we come to those in America who have chosen to ally themselves with the jihadists in the propaganda war; the politicians, the news media executives, the liberal media establishment in general, and even those states that sent the politicians to Washington in the first place. In the spiritual war now ongoing, what god do they follow? There is no question that Christianity has historically had a positive effect on American life. They owe their freedoms to its influence in America's foundation, as well as America's development right up to World War Two.
 It would seem logical, then, to at least give Christianity the benefit of the doubt. When was the last time you saw a positive portrayal of Christianity in the mainstream press?
 Or any of the Anybody But Bush political spectrum standing up for Christian values? What god do they follow? Is there evidence that they have a special hatred for the God of the Bible, Jesus Christ, and the tenets of Scripture? (Think Kerry, Kennedy, Pelosi, Daschle, Jennings, Brokaw, Rather, CNN, the NY Times Michael Moore and his crowd, Al Gore, Al Franken and Air America. Where are they on issues like abortion, euthanasia, public prayer, etc?)
 Now, how many gods are there? Scripture tells us there are two. There is the God of Creation, the Creator God of Scripture, the same God worshipped by Christians and Jews. Christians call Him 'Father' or 'Lord' and Jews call Him 'Adonai' and 'Lord' -- both call Him by His revealed Name, 'Jehovah'. "And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the Name of God Almighty, but by My Name JEHOVAH was I not known to them." (Exodus 6:3)
 The other god identified in Scripture is "the god of this world" that Scripture says "hath blinded the minds of them which believe not." (2nd Corinthians 4:4) Scripture says that, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12) Scripture says that the 'god of this world' is "the prince of the power of the air" further identifying him as "the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:"
 Pulling it all together, a picture begins to emerge of the spiritual battlefield. On one side are those who follow the god of this world, and on the other, those who follow the God of Creation.
 There are no borders in the asymmetrical, spiritual war of the last days. And not all of our enemies follow Islam, but they follow the same god. "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Proverbs 8:36 says that "all they that hate Me love death."