Senator Kerry Becomes the Latest "Pumpkin Papers" Fan.

Apparently he likes us so much he's dyed his face orange! Thanks, Senator.

Are We Winning?

A French liberal believes we are. From David Ignatius in the Washington Post:

' "The principal goal of terrorism -- to seize power in Muslim countries through mobilization of populations galvanized by jihad's sheer audacity -- has not been realized," Kepel writes. In fact, bin Laden's followers are losing ground: The Taliban regime in Afghanistan has been toppled; the fence-sitting semi-Islamist regime in Saudi Arabia has taken sides more strongly with the West; Islamists in Sudan and Libya are in retreat; and the plight of the Palestinians has never been more dire. And Baghdad, the traditional seat of the Muslim caliphs, is under foreign occupation. Not what you would call a successful jihad.

Kepel argues that the insurgents' brutal tactics in Iraq -- the kidnappings and beheadings, and the car-bombing massacres of young Iraqi police recruits -- are increasingly alienating the Muslim masses. No sensible Muslim would want to live in Fallujah, which is now controlled by Taliban-style fanatics. Similarly, the Muslim masses can see that most of the dead from post-Sept. 11 al Qaeda bombings in Turkey and Morocco were fellow Muslims. '

Are the Terrorists Failing? by David Ignatius

Tony Blair Continues to Stand Tall

Tony Blair grows as a leader and continues to further cement his place in British history with each passing day. He also seems to have sworn off Clintonism and the 'third way' for good. Ignore the blaring headlines from the liberal media crowing about his 'apology' and read the speech he made today to the Labor Party conference:

"So the decisions I've been called on to make are stark.

When I hear people say: "I want the old Tony Blair back, the one who cares", I tell you something.

I don't think as a human being, as a family man, I've changed at all.

But I have changed as a leader.

I have come to realise that caring in politics isn't really about "caring".

It's about doing what you think is right and sticking to it.

So I do not minimise whatever differences some of you have with me over Iraq and the only healing can come from understanding that the decision, whether agreed with or not, was taken because I believe, genuinely, Britain's future security depends on it.

There has been no third way, this time.

Believe me, I've looked for it."

Say a prayer for Tony Blair. The world needs him.

Full text of Blair's speech

The Beheadings Go Beyond Simple Terror

In a fascinating article at National Review Online Michael Ledeen argues that the barbaric beheadings are additionally intended for recruitment. Ledeen also makes the case that enemies of the war are intentionally trying to mute the viciousness of the Islamic terrorists:

"The opponents of our campaign against the terror masters immediately recognized that it was crucial to cancel that message, to dilute it with nuance and deception, and the first step in their campaign was to stop broadcasting the images of 9/11. They justified it by saying they did not want to shock the American people, that the pictures were too horrible, that we needed to move on. In like manner, they now say that the beheadings should not be shown, because they too are too shocking, too upsetting to our sensitivities. Others say they should not be shown because in showing them we risk becoming indifferent to such acts, losing our sense of shock and our will to resist."

"Know Thine Enemy" by Michael Ledeen

Gallup and Washington Post / ABC polls out.

As expected the President's lead has diminished slightly but still looks to be solid. Thursday's debate appears to be Senator Kerry's last chance to gain traction.

Gallup
Washington Post/ABC

A Conflict of Faiths

In the early 1950's Whittaker Chambers recast what was thought to be a political conflict into a conflict of faith. At perhaps the darkest point in this battle Chambers joined the side which he believed would be the eventual losers - the side of the anti-Communists and the free world. Almost thirty years after his death as West and East Berliners danced upon the wall bisecting their city, somewhere Chambers enjoyed a relieved smile. Now it seems as if that fall was inevitable. But it was never inevitable. Brave men, doing what they knew to be right, unafraid of criticism by those with minds too small to comprehend the gravity of the times made it happen.

After a brief period in which our leaders pretended that the dangers of the world could be ignored and avoided we face a similar predicament today. Unfortunately few have the courage to step forward and state that our battle is not political but a battle of faiths that no political compromise will solve. At the Pumpkin Papers we suffer under no such delusion. The peoples of the world are involved in a global war between the forces of radical Islam and those who choose not to fall under its yoke. The battle is that simple. Yet the players their motives and their means, many of whom are left over from the previous war, are as deceptive, inscrutable and barbaric as those we previously faced.

The Pumpkin Papers will chronicle the minor skirmishes and the major battles of this war of faith and culture.