Thoughts On The Causes And Effects Of 911

Today is the fifth anniversary of the attack on the United States that launched us into World War IV. I say World War IV, because World War III was the Cold War, which we kind of won. I know there is the appearance that the Soviet Union collapsed from within. However, Communism is starting to show its ugly head again in that country. It never really went away. It's still there to form alliances with Cuba, Venezuela, China, our esteemed pseudo-intellectual faculty taking up valuable space on our college campuses, the leadership in our own Democratic party, and all the useful idiots that think that we can negotiate peace with the barbarians that want to destroy each and every one of us down to the last woman and child in this country. So, even though we won the Cold War, we didn't really...

What caused 911 in the first place was our lack of resolve to stand up for our own interests. This is not a partisan issue as both political parties would have you believe. Shame on them. Both are to blame. It is this lack of resolved that causes the world to perceive us as a "paper tiger," and therefore unworthy of any respect. They spit in our face because they can get away with it.

We can start the trail to 911 back to the Truman Administration getting us involved in a UN sponsored fiasco in Korea, which we fought to a stalement losing 50,000 American troops in the process. What happened to the iron resolve that brought us victory during World War II?

After that, you had the Kennedy Administration's Bay Of Pigs screw up and the beginning of the Vietnam war. The Johnson Administration's failure to allow the military to prosecute the Vietnam war to a victory was an outrage. The world saw this as another example of America's lack of resolve.

The Nixon Administration, succumbing to pressure from a public that had been well indoctrinated by the Communist Far Left's antiwar (and anti-America) position, pulled us out of Vietnam in disgrace. North Vietnam subsequently overran South Vietnam murdering at least a million innocent civilians. In Cambodia, Pol Pot murdered two million of his own people. The unified Vietnam is now a Communist country. So much for another example of American commitment and resolve.

In addition, during the period of 1970 to 1975, several US diplomats were kidnapped and murdered in Sudan and Lebanon by Islamic terrorists. Neither Presidents Nixon or Ford did anything in retaliation. Why not?

In 1979 Iranian students, one of whom is now that country's president, stormed the US Embassy in Tehran kidnapping 52 hostages, which they held for 444 days. President Carter did nothing for five months. He finally authorized a rescue operation that completely failed. It resembled a Keystone Kops comedy bit. Here was another example for the world to see America's strength and resolve.

In 1981 as Ronald Reagan was sworn in as President Of The United States, the hostages were finally released. The captors weren't sure what Reagan would do. He was perceived as a hawk, and they were afraid of military retaliation. Reagan, however, proved to be just as weak on terror as his predecessors. The American embassy in Beirut, Lebanon was bombed in April, 1983. Reagan did nothing. In October 1983, the American barracks at the Beirut airport was blown up killing 241 Marines. Tentative plans for retaliation were discussed, but were nixed, because there was concern that military action would damage our relations in the Arab world, causing a potential problem with our oil supply. Reagan also did nothing when the American embassy in Kuwait was bombed in December, 1983. Nor did he do anything when the CIA Station Chief, William Buckley was kidnapped and murdered by Hizbullah terrorists in Beirut. Reagan also made arms for hostages deals that blew up in our face, and in September, 1984, the US Embassy Annex near Beirut was bombed again by Hizbullah terrorists. Again, Reagan did nothing.

Let's look at other instances in which we should have responded with military force, but didn't: December, 1984, the hijacking of a Kuwait Airlines jet, in which two Americans, employees of the US Agency For International Development were murdered; June, 1985, the hijacking of TWA flight 847 in which a US Navy member was shot and his body thrown onto the runway; October, 1985, the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship, Achille Lauro, in which an elderly disabled American named Leon Klinghoffer, was shot and thrown overboard in his wheelchair; December, 1985, bombings at the airports in Vienna and Rome, which killed Americans; April, 1986, bombing of a disco in Berlin that was a hangout for US military personnel; and December 1988, Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland which killed 270 people.

George H. W. Bush became the president a month later in January, 1989. Like Reagan, he also did nothing about Pan Am 103 solidifying the perception in the Muslim world that America was weak and cowardly. We regularly refused to take any action when our interests were attacked.

Things did change a little in 1990. Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait attempting as a first step of seizing control of all the oil fields in the Middle East. Bush Sr. formed a coalition to drive Saddam out of Kuwait. However, caving in to the Left's hysteria about thousands of Americans coming home in body bags, Bush let Saddam escape back to Baghdad rather than coming after him and toppling his regime. Here was another example of American weakness for all the world to see.

Bill Clinton became president in January, 1993. In February a truck bomb exploded in the parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York. Fortunately, only six people died. The Muslim terrorists responsible were captured, tried, convicted and sent to prison. They should have been executed. Clinton's policy was to treat acts of terrorism as criminal activity rather than acts of war. In April, 1993, there was an assassination attempt on Former President Bush during a visit to Kuwait by Iraqi Intelligence agents. The Clinton Administration groveled for over two months in order to win UN and "international community" approval for military action, ending with a token action of sending a couple of cruise missiles into Baghdad where they hit empty buildings in the middle of the night. Over the next several years, there were many Islamic terrorist acts in Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Yemen, and Israel, in which Americans were murdered and/or kidnapped. Clinton did nothing. In June, 1996, the Khobar Towers military barracks in Saudi Arabia was bombed by an Islamic terrorist truck bomb killing 19 US Airmen and injuring 240 others. Clinton did nothing. In August, 1998 the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed killing over 200 people. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility. Clinton did nothing. In October, 2000 the USS Cole was bombed by suicide bombers in an inflatable boat as it was refueling in Yemen. Clinton did nothing. US troops were tortured, murdered, and dragged through the street in Somalia. Clinton did nothing.

George W. Bush became President in January 2001. Osama bin Laden figured that with America's history of not defending itself, he could bring this country to its knees with a major terrorist attack. The plans for 911, which began under the ever watchful eye of the Clinton Administration, were put into place.

There are certain world events that happen that we will never forget. My first one was the day that President Kennedy was assassinated. Then there was the landing on the moon by the Apollo astronauts. 911, however stands out among them all. For me, there was a personal connection to the events that day. I had an aunt that was on the first plane that went into the World Trade Center. I didn't know it at the time. I was in my office checking email, when our audio engineer stuck his head in and said, "Did you see what happened? Some plane went out of control and hit the World Trade Center. It's on TV." I went down to the day room at the Band Squadron and there were several people glued to the television listening to the commentary from the news casters. No one had put two and two together yet. Then we saw the second plan hit the WTC. One of the other guys there gasped, "That was no accident." We sat there in disbelief, and then we heard a loud boom which shook the building. It was the plane hitting the Pentagon. We ran outside and saw the smoke. From where the band building is on Bolling Air Force Base, there are buildings that block the view of the Pentagon, but the Pentagon is very close to the end of the runway at Reagan National Airport. I thought that something had happened at the airport. We ran back inside and a minute or two later, one of the guys that works in the orderly room on the second floor came running downstairs yelling, "Everyone into the Concert Band studio. NOW!" Our commanding officer walked into the room looking ashen. He went up to the podium at the front of the room and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have just received word from the Wing Commander that we are now at real world THREATCON DELTA. This is not a drill. We are under attack. Emergency management plans are being drawn up now. We will need to secure the building. Only one door will be used to enter and leave the building, and we will have a guard posted at that door 24 hours a day. There will be no parking within 100 feet of any building. All cars must be moved to lots that the Security Police have designated. Move your cars now and come back for further briefings."

Assignments were made for security details, and then we were allowed to leave the base, but were told that until further notice we were on 24 hour telephone standby. It took me four hours to leave the base, and another two hours to get home. My wife was working at her office near Capitol Hill. Normally, she rode Metro to work. However, after the attack, Metro stopped running. She walked from her office to Catholic University, and someone there gave her a ride home. I called my mother and told her that I was OK. She was concerned. About an hour later, she called me back very upset. She had just received the news that my Aunt Thelma, her sister-in-law, had perished when her plane had hit the WTC. She was en route from Boston to Los Angeles to visit her sister.

What concerns me about this country right now, is this: Have we have lost our resolve in this war against Islamofascism? For a short while, we were a united country. I can remember a couple of nights after 911 going up to Lasick's Restaurant, which was my favorite "watering hole." Every one of the dyed in the wool liberals sitting at the bar, who I would discuss politics with from time to time, were all saying the same thing: " I hate to admit it, but thank God George Bush is the president instead of Al Gore. Maybe something will get done about these terrorists once and for all." My how things have changed.

On the fifth anniversary of that horrible day, what we see is a country that has been successfully divided by a Marxist Left that is Hell bent on destroying America, as well as an administration that has not pursued this war in as if our intention is to win it, nor successfully communicated the reality of what we are up against to the American people. The administration needed to, and still needs to, steel American resolve in order to support a war that is going to take years and years before Islamofascism is eradicated. They have failed to do this, and have tried to prosecute a war on the cheap. I'm sure that a lot of it has to do with the fact that we as a country have become so soft that we don't even know what we stand for anymore. As long as the world perceives this softness and weakness, we won't garner any respect from many of the other nations in the world. In addition, just like we were during the years prior to World War II, we are not vigilant to the realities of the dangers developing around us. During the Clinton Administration, we let our guard down and dismantled our Intelligence agencies, as well as stripping the military down to the bare bones. We need to renew our efforts to stamp out Islamofascism with a vengeance. We should have been doing it all along. Rather than asking Congress for authorization to use force in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bush should have asked Congress for a formal declaration of war, and then prosecuted a war in the Middle East the same way we prosecuted World War II.

First and formost, we need to secure our borders. Many Islamofascists are sneaking across with other illegal aliens posing as Hispanics. However, many of them get identified when they can't speak Spanish when they are apprehended. I just found out about a trick that the Border Patrol is using to identify potential terrorists among the arrested illegals. Since many of them are now learning Spanish in order to fool our Border Patrol, the agents are offering them pulled pork sandwiches for food. Muslims won't even come in contact with pork. It's an easy way to flush them out. Also, President Bush needs to start articulating our commitment to combating the forces that are out to destroy the Western World. He also needs to call a spade a spade and expose and condemn the Marxist Left for what they are. He seems to be afraid to lock horns with Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Henry Waxman, Charlie Rangel, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, Al Gore and their disgusting ilk, and show the American people their advance at all cost commitment to International Socialism. Having America suffer a humiliating defeat is part of their plan to gain Totalitarian control over this country. This is his biggest downfall. He doesn't communicate what needs to be communicated. Therefore, the Left walks all over him. This is another perception of American weakness on the part of the international community.

Both the Democrats and the Republicans have screwed up big time over the years, and continue to screw things up big time. It's all about votes and money from lobbyists for their political campaigns. Isn't it time, on this anniversary of the worst attack on American soil that they put the partisan bullshit aside and decide that we have to work together to eliminate from this earth the forces that are committed to destroying the Western World? Maybe that is asking too much.