I was a child growing up during the war when our county in the southeastern corner of England, only 21 miles from France, became known as “bomb alley.” The first German raid on London took place around 4:00 p.m. on September 7, 1940. The German Luftwaffe made a blitzkrieg attack, sending 348 bombers escorted by 617 fighters over the Channel from France. London’s docks and streets were bombed for 57 days and a third of the capital was destroyed.

Russia is now extending its military far beyond its eastern borders—and it seeks to dictate the U.S.’s response. On September 30, a Russian general delivered a message to the U.S. Embassy in Bagdad: “The Russia military would begin air strikes in neighboring Syria within the hour—and the American military should clear the area immediately” (Military Times, October 5, 2015).

“The brutal Islamic State (ISIS) terror group published a threatening video in Hebrew on Friday morning, intended for the Israeli public… the ISIS terrorist warns that ‘the true war hasn’t yet started, what you’ve experienced until now is a child’s war compared to what will happen soon. We promise you that not a single Jew will be left in the entire country... we are getting closer to you from every place…” (Israel National News, October 23, 2015).

“9,000 people a day have been crossing into Greece. And on Sunday alone, the government of Slovenia—a country of two million—said 15,000 people arrived at their border. Without agreeing concrete steps soon... Prime Minister Miro Cerar [of Slovenia] said Europe ‘will start to fall apart’. It’s already splintering” (BBC, October 26, 2015). In the shadow of this crisis, right-wing groups are pushing against immigration.