<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 5.50.4611.1300" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>From the latest Voice symposium:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><B></B> </DIV> <DIV><B>Christopher Hitchens, </B><B><I>Vanity Fair </I></B><B>columnist and author of </B><B><I>The Trial of Henry Kissinger</I></B> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>The last time I was invited to contribute to a <I>Voice</I> symposium, I was asked to specify the highest and lowest cultural points of the last two decades. I replied that the lowest point was the fatwah against Salman Rushdie, with the capitulation by publishing houses and many pseudo-intellectuals to the supposed imperatives of religious feeling. The high point was the ultimately successful resistance to such blackmail. I'll take this opportunity to repeat myself: The struggle against theocratic fascism is one of the main struggles of our time; it started long before 11 September 2001; no compromise with such an enemy is either possible or desirable; and those who wish otherwise, or who stand aside, or who look for excuses, will still be treated with contempt (and as if they were "collateral damage") by a resourceful foe who cannot win and who, therefore, can as well as must be pitilessly defeated. Secular democracy is not a free gift; it will require volunteers to defend itself against all enemies foreign and domestic. No time like the present. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Doubtless our friend Hitch is now cleaning his weapons and preparing for the struggle ahead. Bomb Saudi Arabia! </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>DP</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>