A Vietnam veteran told me some of the horrors of his service tour. One memory involved the children in Vietnam. My friend said it was common for young boys nine or ten years old to learn a few words of English and befriend the American soldiers.

He said those same boys might walk into the middle of a huddle of soldiers after gaining their trust and drop a grenade.

Using children as instruments of war is nothing new, especially for communists. During the Sandinista conflict in Nicaragua, the average age of soldiers was 14. Most were enlisted against their will, others fought to gain respect or just to get something to eat.

But there are very few stories in history of armies killing their own children. Presumably, armies fight to preserve the future of their civilization and children are that future.

On November 18, a group of American soldiers were handing out toys and sports equipment to children in a Baghdad neighborhood. Our troops have been doing this sort of thing for years in Iraq in an effort to show the children and adults that our intentions are to bless the Iraqi people, not harm them.

An Al Qaeda suicide bomber chose this event to detonate his explosive vest. He purposely killed Iraqi children (three died and seven were wounded). He also killed three American soldiers and himself.

A new line has been crossed. The Muslim holy war has been killing other Muslim adults in Iraq since the war began. These insurgents, as our military calls them, are mostly suicidal fighters from other countries; primarily Libya and Saudi Arabia. But the war has now expanded to include the murder of innocent children.

What will it take to convince Americans of the inherent evil of Islam? This religion is so horrid it now condones the sacrifice of its own children to advance a so called Holy War. Meanwhile, Muslims in America continue a successful campaign of propaganda to convince an eagerly naïve public that theirs is a “religion of peace.”

Here in Oklahoma, that PR campaign included the distribution of complimentary copies of the Koran to Oklahoma legislators. Many wisely refused to accept. Those legislators who now possess a shiny new copy of the Koran should turn to Book 8 verses 56-61 and read these chilling words: Surely, the worst of beasts in the sight of ALLAH are the disbelievers, who will not believe. So, if thou overcomest them in war, then thereby strike fear in those that are behind them, that they may be mindful. And make ready…whereby you may frighten the enemy of ALLAH,

The 20th century was the bloodiest century in the history of the world. Communists murdered well over 100 million people in Russia, China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Cuba and elsewhere. Even secular political prognosticators are now wakening to the reality of radical Islam.

What will the history books record of the 21st century? That largely depends on the will of the United States at the dawn of this century.

Pastor Steven G. Dyer