Cut and Run?
I have often thought of the Jews in Germany and Eastern Europe during the early 1930's in connection with my survival in today's world. What did some Jews see and understand that prompted them to leave Germany? Did others not see it, did they doubt its existence, or did they choose to deny and ignore it?
What is there in today's world that I should be seeing in relation to radical Islam threats or other internal/external threats? This question is particularly pertinent to me at this time because of David Warren's column, Invasion of Egypt, Michael Ledenn's Wall Street Journal column,Iran and the Problem of EviI and the book I've just finished reading, Counterinsurgency Warfare by David Galula.
How can I determine whether the threat is real and requires planning for eventualities or whether it is only a misperception in the same vein as being invaded by aliens from outer space? I realize most of the population will not recognize the success of the radical Islam insurgency or other internal/external threats until it is far too late. I don't want to be part of that group. I want to be like the Jews who recognized reality and left Germany and the Eastern European countries. David Warren's enumeration of all the places around the world where radical Islam is experiencing success gives me a feeling of urgency.
Michael Ledden in his Wall Street Journal column, Iran and the Problem of Evil, gives voice to my question:
Above all, we have sought answers to several basic questions: Why did the West fail to see the coming of the catastrophe? Why were there so few efforts to thwart the fascist tide, and why did virtually all Western leaders, and so many Western intellectuals, treat the fascists as if they were normal political leaders, instead of the virulent revolutionaries they really were? Why did the main designated victims - the Jews - similarly fail to recognize the magnitude of their impending doom? Why was resistance so rare?
Part of his explanation:
The failure to understand what was happening took a well-known form: a systematic refusal to view our enemies' plan.
Another part of his explanation:
Clearly, the explanations we gave for our failure to act in the last century were wrong. The rise of messianic mass movements is not new, and there is very little we do not know about them. Nor is there any excuse for us to be surprised at the success of evil leaders, even in countries with long histories and great cultural and political accomplishments. We know all about that. So we need to ask the old questions again. Why are we failing to see the mounting power of evil enemies? Why do we treat them as if they were normal political phenomena, as Western leaders do when they embrace negotiations as the best course of action?
Most generally evil threats appear in benign clothing and surroundings, here and abroad.
3:12:41 PM 
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