Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Watcha Gonna Do When They Come for You?

www.stolinsky.com ^ | 09-03-11 | stolinsky

[stolinsky]

 

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The tenth anniversary of 9/11 is upon us. Rather than ruminating on pious platitudes or reporting the trite remarks of gaseous politicians, I thought it might be appropriate to update some prior columns that attempt to shed light on the subject. This is this second.

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Bad Boys, Bad Boys,

Whatcha Gonna Do When They Come for You?

David C. Stolinsky
Sept. 3, 2011

Let me begin by expressing profound gratitude for the courage and professionalism of our first responders on 9/11, our troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, our CIA personnel who worked tirelessly to reveal the terrorist network, and our special operators who got Bin Laden. It is easy to look back and imagine what could have been done better. It is much harder to be under enormous pressure and do well enough.

But having said that, let me indulge my favorite indoor sport − imagining what I would have done if I had been president on 9/11 and subsequently.

If I had been in President Bush’s shoes that September morning, I probably would have done what he did. I would have put our forces worldwide on DEFCON 3, only the third time this high DEFense CONdition of alert has ever been needed. I would have approved the ground stop of all aircraft. I would have temporarily closed the borders − and used the opportunity to observe whether that would have the deleterious effects predicted by “experts.”

I would have put our intelligence agencies into overdrive in their efforts to locate the sources of the terrorist attack, and I would have gotten rid of the deadwood in the CIA. I would have ordered the invasion of Afghanistan and the unseating of the Taliban, which was giving support and safe haven to Bin Laden and the other 9/11 plotters.

But I would have done more. I would have ordered the modernizing of our nuclear arsenal, and I would have allowed news of this to leak. Bin Laden remarked that when people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature they prefer the strong horse. I would make it obvious that we were the strong horse − frighteningly strong.

And I would have ordered our B-2 Stealth bombers to execute the following mission. As soon as possible after 9/11, they would approach Kabul, Baghdad, Tehran, and Damascus at their usual altitude, invisible to radar. Then at local midnight, the bombers would drop to low altitude, go supersonic, and overfly these cities simultaneously. This would cause huge sonic booms, breaking windows and creating panic. Meanwhile I would phone the leaders of our “allies” Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and tell them plainly that unless they stopped funding and supporting terrorism, Riyadh and Islamabad would be hearing similar booms.

Then I would go on TV with a brief, blunt message:

People of the Middle East, America remained patient after the bombing of our Marine barracks in Beirut, after the attack on the USS Stark, after the first World Trade Center attack, after the attack on our humanitarian mission in Somalia, after the Khobar Towers attack in Saudi Arabia, after the attacks on our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and after the near-sinking of the USS Cole. Our patience is great, but not unlimited.

What the citizens of Kabul, Baghdad, Tehran, and Damascus heard tonight were merely sonic booms. The only damage done was some broken windows, which can be repaired. But know this.

If there is another attack on the United States launched from your nations, and more thousands of American citizens are slaughtered, or if weapons of mass destruction are used, you will again be awakened by loud booms. But the sounds will be preceded by flashes of light more brilliant than the sun, and you will not have time to say your prayers or say goodbye to your loved ones. The damage done will never be repaired. Your cities will be radioactive and uninhabitable.

You have awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve. Attack him again, and his wrath will descend upon you. If you insist on being barbaric, be barbaric with your own people, but stop killing my people. This is your final warning.

If new terrorist attacks originated from these nations, we would have made crystal clear what the result would be. Our so-called friends in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere would realize that we were indeed the strong horse. And everyone would know that it was safer to be our friend than our enemy − something they are unsure of today.

True, angry people would demonstrate in the streets. But their zeal would be tempered by the knowledge of what awaited them if they did more than demonstrate. Many people claim to be zealous supporters of radical movements, but few are suicidal.

The downside is that this might enrage some people who otherwise would remain passive. But the reasonable people of Egypt are already being submerged by the fanatics of the Muslim Brotherhood. Similar disasters may occur soon in Libya, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. Our enemies already hate us intensely, and the apathetic play no role in world events.

On the other hand, it is also possible that radical Islam would recede after such a strong demonstration. The expansion of Islam receded after Charles Martel’s victory at Tours in 732, after Jan Sobieski’s victory at Vienna in 1683, and after Gen. Kitchener’s victory in the Sudan in 1898. Even fanatics are impressed by strong horses.

You may feel that it is indeed fortunate I was not president. You probably have your own fantasies, which might be more interesting than mine. And like all fantasies, they are risk-free − unlike reality, which is always difficult and often risky. But armchair generals have the fun without the risk, and without ever leaving their armchairs.

Dr. Stolinsky writes on political and social issues. Contact: dstol@prodigy.net.

[Inyo-Mono]

It is what should have done.

[Inyo-Mono]

Oh boy!: “It is what should have been done.”

[Brad’s Gramma]

Excellent .... you have our votes on FR should you decide to run for President.

[familyop]

"And I would have ordered our B-2 Stealth bombers to ...approach Kabul, Baghdad, Tehran, and Damascus at their usual altitude, invisible to radar. Then...drop to low altitude, go supersonic, and overfly these cities simultaneously. This would cause huge sonic booms, breaking windows and creating panic. "

Oops. The speed of sound is 761 mph at sea level, and at 20,000 feet, 660 mph. The B-2 has a top speed of about 630 mph.

[familyop]

Sorry, by the way, because your plan would have generally been a good one, in my opinion. Your articles are honest, well considered and well written, too.

[TwoSwords]

You make a mistake in calling what the USA inflicts is a war. War doesn’t care for man, woman, child. War is you stop what you’re doing or I’ll wipe you from the face of the Earth. We’ve lost that intent. It’s the only real winner.

[hocndoc]

You say pretty much what I told a Ron Paul supporter -and then blogged, tonight.

"The nihilist asks what good is there in defeating an enemy? It’s a whole lot better than losing and history shows that if you don’t win, you risk losing both the war and your soul.  We saw Chamberlain give up Czechoslovakia for “peace in our time” and Vichy France betray not only the French, but the Jews.  And then, we saw Churchill resolve never, never, never to give in and even Truman and his decision to end the war with Japan by dropping nuclear bombs.  I’ll stand with the latter two men."

[stolinsky]

Thanks, but God forbid!

[Brad’s Gramma]

LOL!!! I wouldn’t want that job either.

No. Way.

[stolinsky]

Oops is right—no boom at Mach 0.95. Should have had a more realistic fantasy. But you’ll have to excuse my ignorance. My knowledge only goes so far as field-stripping a Garand. So how about some F22’s?

[familyop]

The error was trivial, and I probably shouldn’t have posted the correction publicly.

Field stripping a Garand is a great skill. I also enjoy learning with firearms of older technologies (e.g., single action .45s). F-22s would be great for taking part in such a mission, as would B-2s. Thank you for the reply. I’m a fan of your thesis in every piece, along with your logic and writing in general, Dr. Stolinsky. It’s great work.

[Tucker39]

Just a thought, but, while “straight and level” for a B-2 is only .95 Mach 1, a dive from 50K ft to treetop level would produce more than ample speed and boom to break as many windows as one might desire. IMHO

[patriot08]

"Every “moderate” Muslim is a potential terrorist. The belief in Islam is like a tank of gasoline. It looks innocuous, until it meets the fire. For a “moderate” Muslim to become a murderous jihadist, all it takes is a spark of faith."

Ali Sini

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'Remembering 9/11' on the Geographic Channel. Sunday: 'Inside 9/11: Zero Hour'- EXCELLENT.

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This moving video is the most viewed of any of the 9/11 videos and is now in the Smithsonian.

http://www.frugalsites.net/911/attack/

Be sure to read (at the site) Anatomy Of The Attack and the moving essay,’That Day’ by Steve Golding, a New Yorker who lived through it.

[BenKenobi]

I would have done what Bush did, but I would have given that address that night, once the people were home safe in their beds.

And this is what I would have said.

“Friends.

I say friends, because as Donne once wrote, “no man is an island.” Today more than ever we have learned that our lives are inextricably bound to one another.

We are thousands of men and women to the less in America tonight. Fathers, sons, daughters, mothers. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Centre, one crashed in Pennsylvania, and one crashed into the Pentagon. 4 planes, 4 sets of terrorists. Coordinated, planned, executed together.

We do not know, at present, the names of the terrorists. We do not know where they have come from, what motivated them to engage in this attack, who supported them, who paid for them, their hat and shoe size. We do not know who associated with them.

But, starting tonight, we will search. We will dig, we will uncover absolutely everything that there is to know about these terrorists.

Anyone who is responsible for assisting or associating with these terrorists, friends, family, will be held responsible for this despicable and cowardly act.

Any nation that is found to have harboured or assisted these terrorists will also be held responsible as an act of war declared against the American people. An attack on one of us, is no different then to attack all of us and we will not abandon anyone to the evils that occurred today.

I ask one more favour. America has been hurt, but she still stands together. We will rebuild the pentagon. We will erect a monument to the fallen in Pennsylvania, we will rebuild the twin towers, as they were on the 10th of September.

We will avenge the deaths of the civilians killed, and the deaths of the brave men and women who sacrificed their lives so that others might live.

We shall not rest until those responsible are brought to justice here in America.

I thank you and I pray as Donne did, “do not ask for whom the bell tolls,

“it tolls for thee”

Goodnight.

[BigCinBigD]

I would do it anyway. First thing in the morning.