Muslim terrorists have opened up a new front on their global war on civilization. With the coordinated attacks in France, Islamist extremists have exposed the weakness inherent in all of Western culture, our most precious and yet most vulnerable asset, freedom.

The attacks of 9/11 were an American nightmare, a dream never meant to be brought into the consciousness of day. Our collective world shattered and was altered into a terrible new reality. We were no longer safe from the threat of global terrorism. It was a moment reminiscent of another attack that changed America forever, Pearl Harbor, a day that in the words of President Franklin Roosevelt “which will live in infamy.” It was a day that not only took the lives of thousands of Americans but woke a sleeping giant and filled it with a terrible resolve. A resolve to arise from the sweet slumber of innocence and awaken into a world of vengeance and self-protection.

That giant which is America has once again fallen into a slumber. She is in a fitful sleep borne of the exhaustion of wars fought in lands far away. But now she must awaken again for if she does not an entire way of life may be doomed, the very freedoms that set us apart from the savages of ISIS. The irony being that it is our freedoms that are also, in effect, the barriers to our protection and the protection of our freedom.

Freedom is a quality that we in America take for granted because we have enjoyed its embrace for centuries. It is freedom itself that is at the very core of this epic conflict with a vicious enemy borne from the womb of a religion corrupted, a faith corrupted by power hungry lunatics who thirst for the blood of anyone who disagrees with their vision of God. It is the ultimate perversion to use religion as an excuse for torture, murder, and the rape of civilization. Yet this is the reality. And as abhorrent as it may be, it must be faced with an iron resolve, a resolve that will call for violence.

There will be no negotiating with an enemy willing to blow themselves up as long as they can take people they believe to be “infidels” with them. There is no “diplomatic" solution. It is war in the truest sense.

As this war begins to fester within the continental United States there will be individual (lone wolf) and coordinated terrorist attacks in our cities. They may occur anywhere, subways, stadiums, sporting events, concerts, anywhere large groups of people congregate. When these attacks occur, America’s first responders, police, fire, and medical teams will be in the middle of a war. Because our military is constitutionally forbidden to deploy within our borders, our law enforcement officers will be forced to take on the responsibilities of combat.

Unfortunately, the combination of civil unrest over recent officer-involved shootings, apathetic political leadership, a terminal case of political correctness and a general misunderstanding of the realities of law enforcement have already placed law enforcement in a much more threatening environment. Even as the President emasculates our police by word and deed, the enemy prepares to launch its attacks, just as he did in France and Mali. ISIS made good on its promises to attack Europe and will do so again in the United States.

Our nation must prepare. This sleeping giant that has faced so many battles must once again defend our freedom and our way of life. There will be pain. There will be tragedy. There will be loss. If we are to succeed, there must be unity. Unity between the people of this nation and its police. The pettiness of political correctness must be exposed and discarded and social movements, which only serve to divide, must be cast aside and rejected. There is only one enemy now. If he prevails there will never be freedom again.