There are 1.8 billion Muslim followers of Islam. We have 8-plus million Muslim Americans in this country

Question: How can we fight an ideological war with weapons? How can we ever end this war? The Jihadist ideology that is talked about is an ideology. How can we ever win this thing if it isn’t addressed ideologically?

There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world today. Of course not all of them are radicals. The majority of them are peaceful people. The radicals are estimated to be between 15 and 25 percent, according to all intelligence services around the world. That leaves 75 percent of them peaceful people.

But when you look at the 15 to 25 percent of the Muslim population, you are looking at 180 million to 300 million people dedicated to the destruction of Western civilization. That is as big as the United States. So, why should we worry about the radical 15 to 25 percent? Because it is the radicals that kill. Because it is the radicals that behead and massacre.

When you look at throughout history, when you look at all the lessons. Most Germans were peaceful, yet the Nazis drove the agenda and the results: 60 million people died. Almost 14 million in concentration camps. Six million were Jews. The peaceful majority were irrelevant.

When you look at Russia, most Russians were peaceful as well, yet the Russians were able to kill 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant.

When you look at China, for example, most Chinese were peaceful as well, yet the Chinese were able to kill 70 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. When you look at Japan, prior to World War II, most Japanese were peaceful as well, yet Japan was able to butcher its way across Southeast Asia, killing 12 million people. Mostly killed with bayonets and shovels. The peaceful majority were irrelevant.

On Sept. 11, 2001, in the United States, there were 2.3 million Arab Muslims living in the United States. It took 19 hijackers, 19 radicals, to bring America down to its knees, destroy the World Trade Center, attack the Pentagon and kill almost 3,000 Americans that day.

The peaceful majority were irrelevant. It is time to take political correctness and throw it in the garbage where it belongs.

Richard Lancaster is a Westfield resident.