There's this story told by Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt about this time the Taliban came to visit Donald Trump during his first term. The Taliban leaders were sitting with Trump, who told them that he plans to withdraw from Afghanistan, but that if the Taliban attempts to take advantage of the situation or complicate things in any way, he'd glass them. Trump then took a single photo out of his jacket and handed it to the Taliban leader, then left the room.
The photo was a picture of the Taliban leader's house.
(Wow: Texas Rep. Wesley Hunt Tells Insane Story of Trump Threatening Taliban Leaders to Their Faces)
There are people who would consider this "dangerous" or "irresponsible" of Trump because, from their view, he's tempting a combative people to be combative and possibly drawing us into more conflict. However, what they don't understand is that Trump was speaking a language that the people in this culture understand.
Deadly strength is far more likely to get terrorists not to terrorize, and Trump had been demonstrating America's strength during his handling of ISIS. They knew he wasn't joking around when he told them he'd be more than willing to send them to Allah with the full might of America's arsenal. There would be nothing they could do. The American media wouldn't save them. They would all die like dogs.
And so the Taliban kept quiet and did nothing... until Joe Biden arrived on the scene and proved he was not the pillar of strength that his predecessor was.
Fast-forward to now, and Trump is back in office. The weakness of Biden and his administration didn't just cause the Taliban to surge back into power, it also encouraged other terrorist groups to make their move. As you know, Hamas conducted their invasion of Israel on October 7, 2022, and whoever they didn't kill or rape, they kidnapped.
Some hostages still haven't been returned yet, and that needs to be remedied immediately. As Teri Christoph reported on Monday, Hamas has been slow-rolling the hostage release, and Trump has had enough of the games. He issued a very dire warning to Hamas.
“I’d say they ought to be returned by 12 o’clock on Saturday. And if they’re not returned — all of them, not in dribs and drabs, not two and one and three and four and two – by Saturday at 12 o’clock," said Trump. "And after that, I would say, all hell is going to break out.”
(READ: 'All Hell is Going to Break Out': Trump Puts Hamas on Notice in Fiery Oval Office Remarks)
🚨 PRESIDENT TRUMP: "If all of the hostages are not returned by Saturday at 12 o'clock, I would say cancel it and all bets are off... All of them. Not in drips and drabs." pic.twitter.com/MozJATMKRy
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 10, 2025
There are different types of leaders and different types of cultures that they lead. Too many in America are so enveloped in Western culture and sentiment that it's hard to wrap one's head around the idea that human beings can be so uncivilized as to be incapable of reason and sympathy.
But the brutal truth is that Western culture is a developed style of civilization that came from learning from the past, eras of enlightenment, considerations about the human condition, and the guidance of Jesus of Nazareth, whom Western civilization largely bases its outlook on. Even if you aren't Christian, Judeo-Christian values form the bedrock of Western civilization, and thus compassion and justice come stock.
This is not something that many countries in the Middle-East and North Africa share with us. They don't value humanity like we do, or concern itself with justice and fairness. Liberty is seen as grave sin, and the worship of anything but their god even more so. While we, as a culture, are disgusted by the idea of genocide, they consider it a service to their deity. For them, drawing blood against the weak and innocent is a virtue, because the weak and innocent are the stones they walk on to conquest.
Their language is power, so when someone attempts to negotiate in good faith, they see it as an opportunity to exploit weakness.
When Trump tells them they have a limited time to do what he says before he starts showering them with fire and brimstone, they see it as a serious danger to themselves. For all their talk about sacrificing for Allah, extremists are still human with self-preservation instincts. They may say they're willing to die in the name of Islam, but they'd rather not.
It's incredible that many people haven't seen this pattern yet. Western culture gets so lost in its own compassion and sense of justice that it morphs itself into perverse forms of what it should be, and too many throw open the doors to their enemy, thinking that with a little kindness and brotherhood, our cultures will meld and form a glorious, diverse civilization.
But Western culture and extreme Islamic culture are oil and water. There is no mixing. There is only domination. The question is, who will be the dominator.
Trump has made the answer to that question clear, and as a result, the world will be safer. Any world leader that doesn't take after Trump is weak, stupid, or complicit. There is no in between.
