Addressing the threat of Islamic jihad, former U.S. senator Rick Santorum spoke in Griffith Film Theater Wednesday night to a crowd of around 200 people.
"I'm here because I want to win the war," he said.
At the speech, which was followed by a question-and-answer session, Santorum, a Pennsylvania Republican, discussed the need for Americans to support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and to better define who is the enemy.
Duke Conservative Union President David Bitner, a sophomore, said he was pleased with the event that DCU organized.
"I was particularly impressed that so many people attended the event, especially in the week before finals when so many people are busy," he said.
Santorum served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1991 to 1995 and the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2007. In the 2006 U.S. Senate elections, Democrat Bob Casey defeated Santorum by a margin of 59 percent to 41 percent of the vote-the largest margin of defeat for an incumbent in a Senate race since 1980.
After losing the election, Santorum joined the law firm Eckert Seamans Cherin and Mellott, LLC and also took a position at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a Washington D.C.-based conservative think tank.
"Maybe [Islamic jihad] is a gathering storm that is a little shower, but the consequences of this could make World War II seem like a walk in the park," Santorum said. "The American people need to be informed. This is why I travel around college campuses and am part of a think tank."
During his speech-which did not draw the protesters or outspoken critics who attended "A Conversation with Karl Rove" Monday-Santorum said both opponents and proponents of the fight against jihadis are the cause of the problem of America's lack of support for the war.
"The commitment of the American people to see this war through, rather than our military seeing it through, is key to victory," he said. "The question is whether we'll have the support of the American people."
Referring to the talk given by former deputy White House chief of staff Rove Monday, Santorum said though he was not at the speech, Rove probably called America's fight in the Middle East the "War on Terror" or "The fight against terrorists."
Santorum said America, however, is not fighting a war on terror because if it were, the country would be fighting terrorists in other countries like Colombia as well.
Calling for a change in stance by the opponents of the war, Santorum said the American left has every reason to support the military force, but it continues to undermine the war effort.
"Look at the recent case in Saudi Arabia of the woman being raped," he said. "I was horrified when I read this. She will receive 200 lashes for being in a car with a man other than her husband. Why don't feminists, why doesn't the left react to this?"
During the question-and-answer session following the speech, one student, who said he is a Muslim, asked Santorum how can the military justify having a presence in the Middle East when Osama bin Laden has said the principle reason for jihad is the American presence.
In response, Santorum said he did not believe this is accurate.
"The principle reason is [Bin Laden's] theological belief that they have the spiritual obligation to spread Shariah [Muslim law] to the world," he said.
Along with calling for more American support for the fight against jihad, Santorum said Americans need to be able to define the enemy. He discussed the history of Islam, its different sects and emphasized that he is not against all Muslims, only those who subscribe to violent jihad.
"Why won't the American public support this effort? They don't know who America is fighting against," he said. "While on the other side, they know who we are, through CNN and Hollywood-a good understanding, a scary understanding."
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