First Interview for Stealth Attack
Dr. Ray PritchardDr. Ray Pritchard is the president of Keep Believing Ministries, in Internet-based ministry serving Christians in 225 countries. He is the author of 29 books, including Stealth Attack, Fire and Rain, Credo, The ABCs of Christmas, The Healing Power of Forgiveness, An Anchor for the Soul and Why Did This Happen to Me? Ray and Marlene, his wife of 39 years, have three sons-Josh, Mark and Nick, two daughters-in-law--Leah and Vanessa, and four grandchildren grandsons: Knox, Eli, Penny and Violet. His hobbies include biking, surfing the Internet, and anything related to the Civil War.
- 2007 Apr 04
The book develops the concept of "asymmetric spiritual warfare," in which a weaker power uses unconventional tactics to counter the overwhelming conventional military superiority of an adversary. It's how smaller forces maneuver against more powerful foes. It's how tiny terror cells successfully operate against vastly superior forces. We have seen a clear example in the Iranian hostage crisis. No one doubts that Great Britain has overwhelming military superiority against Iran. But the Iranians were able to capture 15 sailors, hold them for 13 days, keep Great Britain at bay, make their case in the court of world opinion, and then this morning Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced to the world that Iran is releasing the 15 sailors as a gift to the people of Great Britain even though they had the right to put them on trial, and they are doing it in honor of the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday.
Who wins in this scenario? In a sense, it's a win-win situation because no blood was shed, no war was declared, and the hostages will soon be safely home. But the Iranians out-maneuvered Great Britain because they had the upper hand at every step in the process. Betting that the British ultimately weren't going to go to war over this, they held the hostages, got videotaped "confessions" from them, and then released them in a gesture that makes them appear magnanimous.