Rick Santorum has been praised and castigated for his passionate arguments for social conservatism and for what some feel is harsh rhetoric, but in his recent visit to the University of Georgia the former Republican Senator from Pennsylvania was more a teacher than a firebrand. In his lecture, titled “The Gathering Storm of the 21st Century: America’s War against Islamic Fascism,” Mr. Santorum outlined the historical and cultural underpinnings of Islamic fascism. In Churchillian fashion, he argued that the Global War on Terror is actually a struggle for the defense of Western civilization against the imminent danger posed by radical Islamic terrorism.

Mr. Santorum directed criticism at both the left and the right. He chided President Bush and some Republicans for failing to educate the American public on the enemy we face. To demonstrate his point he posed questions about Islam to the audience, including the one that seems to vex so many of our leaders: what is the difference between the Sunni and the Shia? Few could answer convincingly. He also scolded liberals for not taking the threat seriously enough. “If you think about what are the pillars of the American left—feminism, homosexual rights, civil rights, separation of church and state, reason over faith in the public square, pacifism, abortion on demand—can you think of any group of people on the face of the earth that are, point-for-point, one hundred eighty degrees from the American left, any more than the jihadists?” he said.

Mr. Santorum illustrated the importance of proper terminology with an analogy to World War II. Saying that we are in a war on terror is “like [President Franklin Roosevelt] getting on the radio and saying we’re going to ‘war on kamikaze’.” It is crucial to understand that terror is just a tactic and that we are at war with an ideology and must face up to it. Thus, the United States must engage in a war of ideas in the Muslim world. Mr. Santorum suggested pressuring Islamic leaders to condemn the theology—not just the actions—of jihadists who twist Islam to justify their barbaric acts.

The United States’ reluctance to fully engage the threat we face is normal. Mr. Santorum pointed out that it took around two years for Americans to realize the threat of Nazi Germany and fully commit to the war effort. For students were sitting at the University of Georgia in 1940 while London was being bombed, and they had not yet woken up to the enemy so far away. Are we as students presently repeating that complacency? The Georgia GuardDawg asked Mr. Santorum a few questions after his lecture the disturbing nature of the current threat.

The Georgia GuardDawg: Why do you think liberals are unwilling to identify the enemy? For example, riots by Danish Islamic youth were referred to as “youths rioting,” and liberals refuse to use the phrase “Islamic fascists.” Why is terminology so important? 

Rick Santorum: Well, I think I said you can’t win the war of ideas unless you are open about what ideas are in play. You can’t have a debate about the threat of jihadists unless you understand that they are jihadists and what the jihadists believe. And America can’t come to grips with, “why are we going through all this?” I mean, I think they understand that we are at war with these radical Islamists, but as you saw in that room most people don’t know anything about these people, they don’t know what their goals are…. [People think,] “How can they do that, they can’t defeat us.  I mean, come on, this is not real.”  Unless we lay out, well, sure it’s real. Terrorism as a tactic here in the United States could be incredibly effective against us. Terrorism against our telecommunications system, terrorism against our energy facilities—we are a very open and free country—against our financial networks. There’s all sorts of things that that the enemy can do to really have an impact on America. You saw what 9/11 did. It sent us into a, you know, stock market crash and a double-dip recession almost. So, I mean, you’re talking about real consequences and unfortunately if we don’t talk about it in stark terms people aren’t going to get it.

GD: What do you think of the surge in Iraq?

Mr. Santorum: I’m not a military guy. I served on the Armed Services Committee for eight years. I have been for more aggressively prosecuting the war from the very beginning of the problems we are seeing. But, you know, I am one of these guys who served on the committee, but when it came to military planning, I tended to defer to guys whose job it is to do the military planning. Turns out they didn’t do a very good job in many respects. But, as a Congressman and a Senator, that’s just a little above my pay grade, but it’s something I’ve certainly learned from as a result of what happened here.

GD: What do you think some of the most positive indicators coming out of Iraq are?

Mr. Santorum: Obviously, cooperation.  I mean I talked to a friend of mine former staffer of mine who just came back last month.  He was over there for two terms.  He said the amazing difference in cooperation they are getting from the people on the ground.  They have a better sense who the bad guys are. There are still problems, Sunni-Shia problems, but they realize that the radical elements have to go.  That’s probably the best thing.

GD: Do you think either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama understand the threat of radical Islam?

Mr. Santorum: No. I think Hillary may have some basic understanding that she has willfully suppressed. I think that Obama comes at these issues from such a different perspective that he is unable in many respects to see the problems that are there. I think when you hear Obama talk about change, you have to understand he talks about the scale of change we need. I think that absolutely central to that is this concept that America is deeply flawed. And it’s very European, that Western civilization is an embarrassment and that we need radical, socialist and relativist and materialist doctrine to repair this problem of traditional America. And when you see it that way then you don’t see Islam as the problem, you see America as the problem. You see traditional America, conservative values, traditional values, capitalism—you see that as the problem. And these other things are sort of a sideshow.