Posted on 06/17/2005 7:09:02 PM PDT by CHARLITE
Dear Fellow American:
For many decades we here in the United States thought of terrorism as something that happened “overseas.” It was something that our borders – two oceans and two “friendly” countries – shielded us from. We were being naïve.
The devastation of the attacks on September 11th was the result of years of preparation and the conglomeration of resources by thoroughly evil minds. Their brand of wickedness had been experienced before yet for whatever reason we chose to place little heed in the message being delivered – “We want you dead!”
1983 - Sixty-three people, including the CIA’s Middle East director, were killed and 120 were injured in a 400-pound suicide truck-bomb attack on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
1983 - Simultaneous suicide truck-bomb attacks were made on American and French compounds in Beirut, Lebanon. A 12,000-pound bomb destroyed the U.S. compound, killing 242 Americans, while 58 French troops were killed when a 400-pound device destroyed a French base. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
1984 - The Islamic Jihad kidnapped and later murdered Political Officer William Buckley in Beirut, Lebanon.
1988 - U.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel W. Higgins was kidnapped and murdered by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group while serving with the United in southern Lebanon.
1993 - The World Trade Center in New York City was badly damaged when a car bomb planted by Islamic terrorists exploded in an underground garage. The bomb left 6 people dead and 1,000 injured.
1995 - The Islamic Movement of Change planted a bomb in a Riyadh military compound that killed one U.S. citizen, several foreign national employees of the U.S. government, and over 40 others.
1996 - A fuel truck carrying a bomb exploded outside the US military's Khobar Towers housing facility in Dhahran, killing 19 U.S. military personnel and wounding 515 persons, including 240 U.S. personnel. Several radical Islamic groups claimed responsibility for the attack.
1998 - A bomb exploded at the rear entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, killing 12 U.S. citizens, 32 Foreign Service Nationals (FSNs), and 247 Kenyan citizens. Approximately 5,000 Kenyans, 6 U.S. citizens, and 13 FSNs were injured. The U.S. Government held Usama Bin Laden responsible.
1998 - A bomb detonated outside the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 7 FSNs and 3 Tanzanian citizens, and injuring 1 U.S. citizen and 76 Tanzanians. The explosion caused major structural damage to the U.S. Embassy facility. The U.S. Government held Usama Bin Laden responsible.
2000 - In Aden, Yemen, a small dingy carrying explosives rammed the destroyer U.S.S. Cole, killing 17 sailors and injuring 39 others. Supporters of Usama Bin Laden were suspected.
2001 - Two hijacked airliners crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Soon thereafter, the Pentagon was struck by a third hijacked plane. A fourth hijacked plane, suspected to be bound for a high-profile target in Washington, crashed into a field in southern Pennsylvania. The attacks killed 3,025 U.S. citizens and other nationals. President Bush and Cabinet officials indicated that Usama Bin Laden was the prime suspect and that they considered the United States in a state of war with international terrorism.
These are just a small number of terrorist attacks perpetrated by radical Islamists over the recent years. The threat is real and it has been with us for quite a long time. We have just refused to accept the ugly and dangerous truth.
If we choose to ignore the facts as presented – that radical Islamists are waging war against the free West and especially the United States of America – then future deaths at the hands of terrorists must find the blood of the slaughtered on our hands as well.
The only way to stop the carnage that terrorism affords those in the free world is to understand what makes the radical Islamist want to kill, what makes him hate so much. Then, and only then, can we fully appreciate what it is that we have to commit ourselves to do.
Naïve ideologues contend that Islamic terrorists are lashing out at the West – and especially Americans – because of the provocative nature of Western life or the Western presence in Islamic States. To hold these contentions is to be blind to the truth either through ignorance or deliberate oversight.
The People’s Truth Forum is sponsoring a symposium on terror titled, “The Radical Islamist Threat to World Peace and National Security.” It will take place on September 21, 2005 in Plantsville, Connecticut. This symposium will delve into the minds of those who use terror as a tool. It will paint a profile of those who would slaughter innocents and it will educate both professional and average citizen on how terrorism threatens our way of life today.
In order to bring this important and very possibly life saving information to our First Responders, to our citizens and to you, we need your help.
Assembling speakers like Dr. Harvey Kushner (nationally noted counter-terrorism expert), Brigitte Gabriel (terror survivor and counter-terror advocate), Judith Jacobson (vice-president of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East) and Robert Spencer (Director of JihadWatch) isn’t easy. It takes a massive amount of time, coordination and resources, resources like funding.
Help us to bring knowledge to the American people. We have been uneducated on the issue of Islamic terrorism for too long. It is time to understand the threat as it presents itself today so that we can successfully defend ourselves and our way of life; so that our children can enjoy a world – and a country – that is devoid of the horrors of September 11, 2001.
Please consider attending this symposium should you find yourself in the area on the date of the event. Tickets are $115 a piece and that includes dinner and entertainment before the presentation.
In addition to attending, an even greater and more selfless contribution would be to donate to The People’s Truth Forum so that we can fully fund the event without going into debt. We are not underwritten by any large corporations or organizations. We have put this event together with nothing but private funding.
Please help us bring this pertinent and vital information to the American people. We have ignored the problem for too long. Now that the vehicles of terrorism have invaded our shores we have a civic responsibility to act. This time, sticking our heads in the sand or making this a political issue may just cost us our lives.
Sincerely,
Jeff Epstein
The People’s Truth Forum
Note: Please contact me for information on how to donate funds to our most worthy cause. Or you can get more information on how to contact us at http://www.peoplestruthforum.com.
Related Reading:
US Dept. of State: Significant Terrorist Events 1961-2003
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ho/pubs/fs/5902.htm
Plantsville?! That upscale subsection of Southington? I cannot recall anything larger than a McDonalds for holding a talk. Where is it? Somewhere along 322?
Please click on the links to listen to this powerful interview.
Please click on the links to listen to this powerful interview.
It's at the Aquaturf, the upscale banquet hall
The SwiftVets had a dinner there last year
So did Hillary!
Connecticut Ping!
Okay, I didn't know that the AquaTurf club was in Plantsville, I thought it was in Cheshire. I spent the first 35 years of my life ('cept college) in the Wallingford-Meriden area (even ran for state rep in the district next to Plantsville in '96!). After I got married in '97, we decided that the Connecticut I grew up in was gone, never to come back, so we moved westward, to Rockford, Illinois (which is NOT like Chicago or Connecticut politically).
I heard Tom Scott is back on the radio, which station?
"Swifties did not have an event there. It was a Vietnam Vets for Truth fundraising dinner. I hosted it."
Jeff Epstein
I remember that one
Hillary Shrillary made her "I am sick and tired" screech speech there.
I knew that! :)
I didn't know that. Glad Jeff told me, and you confirmed it. I'm hoping that when it comes time to get down to "brass tacks" in the run-up to the '08 election, our side will play and replay that portion of the REAL shrill Hill, so that voters "GET IT" loud and clear about this disingenuous political chameleon!
Char :)
Please Freepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent Connecticut ping list.
G. Gordon Liddy just had her on for an interview and she mentioned this upcoming forum:
“The Radical Islamist Threat to World Peace and National Security.”
It will take place on September 21, 2005 in Plantsville, Connecticut.
So I thought I'd give it a bump.
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