Fundamentally this war in which we are engaged is nothing less than a war for the survival of the United States of America, its Constitution, and its liberties. People fail to understand this critical fact. Do those who are actively seeking to obstruct the war effort really believe that, after the next attack, the American people will turn to a confused liberal opposition? As was stated in a recent article in Harper’s Magazine (hardly a right-leaning publication) if the present policies fail, the people will instead seek out a stronger and even more confident hand.

Imagine this near future: the nuclear destruction of Washington, DC has destroyed most of the government- including the President, the Vice President, the Supreme Court, the Joint Chiefs, and most of the Cabinet and Congress. The new President is some mid-level Cabinet official- perhaps the Secretary of Energy. The first Smallpox cases begin to be reported shortly thereafter. What comes next?

First: the new President will have no choice but to, for the time being, declare a nation-wide state of Martial Law. However, much of the regular army is otherwise occupied and a notable percentage of the National Guard and Reserves fail to report for duty, electing to remain with their families. In smaller towns order is often maintained by the Police along with citizens forming ad hoc militia groups: their rule is brutal, but mostly effectual. The available trained forces are, for the time being, required to enforce quarantines and assist in the distribution of Smallpox vaccine.

The Cities will descend into chaos, at least at first, with public services being overwhelmed. While many huddle at home, various armed groups will take to the streets. Some will set out to resist the Federal declaration of Martial Law; others will set out to assist in enforcing it, while still others will go looking for Moslems to kill. In the initial chaos of a massive biological attack, Mosques across the nation will be burned and thousands (and perhaps tens of thousands) of Moslems will die in pogroms unlike anything ever seen in American history.

In the short-term there will be little that the President can do to stem the chaos. Without Congress, they are essentially powerless. A major pivot point can be found here. Just who is this President? How do they feel about the nature of the law, how comfortable are they with ordering operations in which many could die, and are they willing to grossly violate the law to save the nation?

If they aren’t: there’s a very strong possibility that, in the absence of a Congress, they might be overthrown by the military. How could President Donna Shalala deal with such chaos? She couldn’t. My expectation would be that, in such a situation, a more suitable individual might be found and installed through some quasi-legal means. For example, the outgoing President could (at gunpoint even) appoint the selected individual as the Secretary of State- making a recess appointment. The President could then be forced to resign.

However it happens, the nation will end up with a strong leader shortly after such an attack. The circumstances will demand it, with any leader who displays weakness being somehow disposed of.

In the end, I think, the nation would survive: but with a terrible cost. Not only would millions be dead from the attacks, but the nation would have little choice but to, for a few years at least, turn itself into nothing less than a garrison state. People might think I am suggesting the absurd when I say that terrorists need to be interned: but after the next attack anyone suspected of supporting them in any form will be, that is if they are not first lynched by an angry mob. I say that we should raise military spending to 5% or 7.5%- and am mocked. After the next attack it will hit the levels of the Second World War.

The America that responds after the next attack will care little about civilian casualties. Destruction will be rained down upon the terrorists and their supporters. I would not blame this country if, after the next attack, we were to turn the War on Terrorism into an actual War on Islam. After all, if ten million of our own were killed by Islamist fanatics, and tens of millions more forever scarred, all of that blood would call out for more blood. The response to an attack with weapons of mass destruction will resemble Armageddon. Millions will die.

That is why there cannot be another attack. We must stop it: and we know how. We need to keep killing the terrorists, we need to conquer their sponsor nations, and we need to arrest and execute the terrorists and terrorist-supporters operating within our own borders. Those operating under the security offered by our more liberal allies need to be assassinated. More resources need to be poured into defense and homeland security.

We can stop the next attack: but only if we grasp the mathematics of the situation. Terror will not stop until the terrorists are dead. If the terror does not stop there will be inevitably be an attack with weapons of mass destruction.

Either the obstruction and opposition stops, and we work together to exterminate the terrorists, or surely many of us shall die together, vaporized by a light brighter than a thousand suns.