The 1 weapon essential for victory: Just wonders of Americans have stomach for what lies ahead

No one can doubt the fierce commitment of radical Islamists who are willing to kill themselves in waging this war of terror on America. But as the war heats up, both in the Middle East and here at home where terror attacks are expected, the world will be watching to see if average American citizens can demonstrate a similar will to fight. Experts know the odds are against us.

Ironically, despite our "superpower" status, military authorities worldwide consider us an underdog in this battle of wills, something made clear by former military history professor Lt. Col. Anthony Kern (USAF, Ret.) in his famous "Open Letter to Americans," written right after the Sept. 11 attack and later quoted by the Defense Department. In it, Kern warns Americans that the post 9-11 "flag waving and patriotism" could end fairly quickly in the face of continued terrorism.

"It is generally acknowledged that America lacks the stomach for a long fight," says Kern. "We need only look as far back as Vietnam, when North Vietnamese Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap (also a military history teacher) defeated the United States of America without ever winning a major tactical battle. American soldiers who marched to war cheered on by flag waving Americans in 1965 were reviled and spat upon less than three years later when they returned."

Is Kern's assessment cynical? Not at all; it is sober and realistic in acknowledging that the "soft underbelly" of the United States is public opinion, led by media opinion. So we must ask ourselves: When the terror really begins (and make no mistake, it's coming), will we have the necessary determination to achieve victory, no matter what the sacrifice?

No one really knows the answer, because no one really knows just how ugly the battle will get. We can only guess. It could come as a multitude of terrorist attacks coordinated in Tet Offensive fashion in order to surprise and shock the American public, causing us to despair that victory is achievable, or it could come as long term, low-level terror to slowly demoralize Americans and undermine political unity. Consider the following modest scenario and the effect it would likely have on us all:

It started with news reports of a suicide bombing at sea. Cell phone calls were coming in from passengers on the "Lady Anne", a cruise ship that had embarked from San Diego earlier that week headed for the Hawaiian Islands. According to one passenger who reached a local radio station, at least 30 people died suddenly in the huge explosion in the ship's crowded ballroom. The suicide bomber knew what he was doing, placing himself where the bomb would cause the most damage. It was a grisly scene the caller described, body parts were everywhere, dazed passengers wandered the hallways in shock, and a huge number of wounded still went uncounted.

The Coast Guard immediately flew in an emergency surgical team, while the seriously wounded were rushed to the ship's hospital. TV helicopters from Honolulu were circling the ship, long before the morning light. Americans who woke up listening to the cell-phone interview played over live footage of the "Lady Anne" – still a half-day from Hilo – could only think of the bombings in Israel, which created similar carnage. However, this was no normal terrorist attack. The "Lady Anne" bombing was only intended to get America's attention. It succeeded. All the cable channels immediately connected to the satellite feed from Hawaiian TV. In fact, before long, the whole world was watching this "horror at sea." There was more to come.

The terrorist noose closed quickly. Right as the story broke, someone placed a 911 emergency call that health officials first thought might be a prank. A prerecorded voice warned that the "Lady Anne" was also under biological attack.

In a clear Oxford English accent, steady and polite, the voice on the phone said that the "Lady Anne" had been exposed to a weapons-grade agent after disembarking from San Diego Harbor. Not much was said about the "agent," just enough to raise serious alarm. It was a genetically engineered variety of smallpox, supposedly resistant to current inoculation technology. The tape message emphasized that the bio-attack occurred only after the ship was "safely" out in open sea, away from any possibility of shore contamination.

The caller's polite personal assurances made his statement all the more chilling to those who understood the nature of the disease, which can literally melt the body from within while the patient remains conscious to the end.

Under "normal" circumstances without immunity, virologists knew that at least 30 percent of the passengers infected would die an ugly death within weeks. What they didn't know until later was that the weapons-grade strain used was capable of killing with near 100 percent efficiency by causing massive hemorrhaging similar to the effects of the fearsome "black pox." All Coast Guard personnel who had boarded the ship were immediately notified to stay there until further notice. The "Lady Anne's" wounded would also have to remain on board. A triage area that had been set up in the dining room became a hospital.

The prerecorded voice on the phone called the "Lady Anne" a "death ship," guaranteeing that after three days at sea most of the passengers (well over 1,200, including 43 children) would be infected, including himself. Maintaining an even tone, the caller gave his cabin number and said that, having finished his suicide mission with the ballroom bombing, proof of the biological agent would be left by his bed in an empty fountain pen used to smuggle the agent aboard. He said it was essential that the ship be stopped before docking in Hilo or American authorities "would be responsible for a disaster of global proportions." No one needed convincing.

It was guessed that the terrorists had used modern aerosol particle technology, probably exposing the passengers during dinner on the first night. In previous decades, smallpox was not considered a very efficient weapon because disseminating it was so difficult. However, as reported by the New Yorker magazine and others in the late 1990s, the silicon-chip industry had developed credit-card size devices for special uses, which as it happens were also perfect for the efficient spread of viral particles. In 1998, a PBS Frontline documentary had pointed out that such a device could easily be placed inside a fake thermostat and attached to any wall in a public place. Experts knew this attack was totally doable. Now the public would know.

It was a bio-terror nightmare, made more frightening by its precise execution. Government strategies had to be devised on what exactly to do with the giant white ship, famous in the Hawaiian Islands for its sleek good looks and haute cuisine. For the moment it would remain quarantined at sea and under strict security.

Space-suited health officials would have to board the ship as soon as possible. In the hope that it might do some good, they would inoculate the passengers and crew with regular smallpox vaccine, isolate them, and then wait to see if anyone survived. There was also the question of how to handle large numbers of contaminated bodies, and the inevitable panic – both on board and around the country.

There was no chance to manage the media, which had received the same prerecorded message. On top of that, the "Lady Anne" was already a major national story due to the bombing. The public would have to know everything as it unfolded, or clearly, heads would roll back in Washington.

Over the ship's audio system the captain told the passengers to immediately return to their quarters as a precaution. No explanation was given, but soon after, heavily suited CDC investigators were seen walking the hallways, accompanied by an armed guard. The fountain pen had tested positive. After everyone was inoculated, the waiting game began. America watched as several days passed. At first nothing, but then suddenly passengers started getting flu-like symptoms. Within days they were dying in large numbers. Panic took hold of the ship, making security very difficult. Once the disease erupts, victims become highly contagious. One passenger managed to get on deck, and could be seen jumping overboard. The Coast Guard kept him at bay until security agents could pick him up. TV news helicopters captured it all on videotape.

Back in the states, headlines read, "World Watches Death Ship," while the networks and cable channels play video of the escaping passenger over and over.

The ensuing flood of articles and TV news reports were full of details, not only of the dead and dying on the "Lady Anne", but also detailed histories of past smallpox outbreaks and their devastating effects, including the famous 1972 event in Yugoslavia where one "patient zero" shut down the whole country and caused the inoculation of 18 million people. The "Lady Anne" had hundreds of "patient zeroes" who had a highly contagious disease against which there was no protection. It was a floating biological bomb.

The public is terrified at the thought. All these men, women, and children on a dream vacation to see the world have now become a danger to the world. They themselves have been turned into a weapon, held back only by the terrorist warning. The scenario, scripted carefully, has played out exactly as the terrorists planned. Act II is about to begin.

Colorado's tourist paradise, Aspen, suddenly reports a series of massive explosions. Within hours comes the news no one wants to hear: Radiation is present. The breezy summer day, typical for that time of the year, spreads the contaminants all over the primary tourist/business area of the city, and as the gentle winds blow, hundreds of chic residences are also contaminated.

This famously beautiful ski area is quickly declared closed, and probably for many seasons to come. Political authorities use the vague word "indefinitely," while experts interviewed by various news networks explain that depending on the kind of nuclear waste utilized, Aspen could become hardly more than a ghost town. And yet, to the eye, the pristine mountain resort still looks beautiful – as does the "Lady Anne". For Americans, normal is no longer normal – again, all part of this terrorist mind game.

It turned out the terrorists had used a few radioactive materials, including cobalt and americium, to confuse officials and add to the media profile of the event (creating more fear). The media report that cobalt-60 (a gamma emitter) has many common uses including cancer treatment and food irradiation, while americium (an alpha emitter) is often used in oil well surveying. The public learns all about "emitters." New reports include details of radiation sickness, and the more likely long-term risk for people exposed – cancer.

Americans watch as this famous town dies. TV images of Aspen before and after are broadcast, a bustling town center becomes nothing but empty streets. Already reeling from the "Lady Anne" horror story, the tourist industry shudders from this second shock. Political leaders in both parties urge the public not to panic, but the fight to maintain normalcy isn't working.

People stay home. The attacks have occurred just in time to stagger the recovering economy, and to plunge the presidential primary campaigns into profound shock.

This was only the end of Act II. There was more to come in the terrorists' unfolding "drama," scripted to play out in succeeding weeks. Each attack was designed for high psychological impact but low levels of actual damage – from anthrax letters sent to businesses located in city centers to the chemical poisoning of one Florida town's water supply. The lesson was clear: biological, radiological and chemical. The terrorists wanted to educate and frighten the public, not enrage it. They hoped America's self-confident response to 9-11 would "pop like a bubble" once the war was taken to this next level.

In truth, despite continual warnings from American officials, the public was not prepared for an attack of this sophistication and magnitude. That was the point – not only to terrify with choice of "weapons," but to terrify with the "creativity" of their use. As in the case of the D.C. area sniper killings, fear of the unknown and the unpredictable is what the terrorists sought to achieve.

The key to their plan's impact was in knowing that every household in the country would get the same nightmare imagery on TV and the same basic message: Anytime they wanted, the terrorists could do this on a much larger scale.

Another message got through to the public: No matter how well the American military waged war abroad, their families at home would never be safe again. In fact, the "Lady Anne" bio-attack alone made it quite clear to everyone that America might face death on a scale never seen before in history.

This was not just an effort to sway public opinion. It was an all-out battle for the American mind, using the media as the primary gateway. The goal was to convince a simple majority of voters that the "war on terror" could not be won, and that in any event, Israel was not worth the suffering and sacrifice. Even the most brave and conscience-led politicians would have trouble standing up to that kind of shift in public opinion, making "appeasement" candidates inevitable.

Immediately after the attacks began, the president had put the nation on full alert, calling for unity and promising action if any evidence is found linking the attacks to a particular country. None has been found so far. Increasingly, pundits on TV say that military action in the Middle East is not going to stop terrorists from wreaking havoc within America. Although the president's approval ratings are still high – due to successful action abroad – there is continual criticism and second-guessing on issues of homeland security, resulting in growing public frustration over America's situation. "Helpless giant" becomes a popular media phrase. Congress holds hearings.

Over the succeeding months, the bloody Palestinian intifada is dramatically reinvigorated. CNN broadcasts images of young Palestinian boys standing "defiantly" before Israeli tanks. As the presidential election approaches, divisions begin to grow in America's political ranks. As the opposition party gears up for the primaries, there is general agreement that, yes, terror must be resisted, but not at the expense of peace in the Middle East. There must be an Israeli-Palestinian settlement. Quickly, Israel's "intransigence" becomes the issue. Large sums of anti-Israel money pour into the coffers of certain outspoken congressional candidates. The election debate heats up.

Time magazine puts an ominous silhouetted picture of a bearded man on the cover with the headline, "The Unknown Face of Terror." The report suggests there's no end to the flow of zealot killers, and thus no clear victory is likely. Increasingly, says Time, people are looking for alternatives to war. The polls start to agree, and slowly but surely "appeasement" candidates start to gain credibility in the media.

America, once united and focused on crushing the terrorist enemy, is now more at war with itself, as in the Vietnam era. Increasingly, those crying for aggressive action on terrorist nations are called warmongers, while those seeking to "understand" the terrorists are peacemakers.

America's enemies watch her fault lines grow. They watch congressional leaders become increasingly frozen in doubt, while support for the president diminishes. As the attack unfolds successfully, gaining the desired results, the terrorists become even more determined to maintain pressure on the United States, which is now actually becoming a "helpless giant."

We've seen this kind of scenario before. The accumulative effect of the attack described above would be not unlike the famous Tet Offensive during the Vietnam war. That pivotal "victory" for the North Vietnamese was not over our military, which quickly beat back the aggressors, inflicting huge casualties. It was a victory over the American media, which became unnerved and then subsequently unnerved America's political leadership. That combined with a substantial and growing "peace movement" ultimately led to America's defeat in Vietnam. So great was the shock over the apparent strength of the enemy and its determination to win, that in psychological terms, America simply caved in at home, despairing of any near term victory. Sadly, all this happened while our men were dying bravely in the field, never losing a major tactical battle.

Whatever the nature of the coming terrorist attacks that most experts consider inevitable, the resulting political/media drama described above is also inevitable. Our enemies know this. It not only factors into their plan, it is their plan. Thus, everything they do will focus on the goal of dividing to conquer. They cannot win any other way. They can't beat our military, so they must beat our people. Thus the American character is being tested as the world waits and watches to see the results. Those jealous of our power are eager to watch us fall. And we might fall if our people don't stand firm.

Consider that even now – with the 9-11 attacks still vivid in most people's minds – it's obvious that Americans are less unified. And it may get a lot worse. The terrorists have studied us. They know that if the war starts to "go wrong" for America, the two parties will fight over it. Even now various politicians are positioning themselves to take advantage of any American set backs. These kinds of divisions will only grow deeper as the presidential election approaches. Our enemies understand our media and our political system. They know they can create disunity because currently that's how our "adversarial" system functions. Politicians, who continually seek advantage in opposition, play to a media that needs opposition for its debate formats—a marriage of convenience that can be devastating to public morale, which never gets to see lasting patriotic unity.

This gives terrorists a tremendous psychological advantage, and they know it. What soldier on the battlefield is told by some of his officers to fight and by others not to fight? And yet, over time, if the parties become divided, that's what could happen to our civilians, who are the center of gravity in the coming battle. They will get mixed messages, and they may falter when grit determination is essential.

And the battle will soon be upon us. The 9-11 attack was only the beginning. Nobody is being an alarmist here. Even the Journal of the American Medical Association warned years ago that bio/chemical terrorism is not a question of "if," but only of "when," urging readiness for 100,000 dead and the same number in need of hospital care. Imagine that on the TV news – 24 hours a day. Imagine the opposition party's reaction.

So the only thing really in our control is how we'll react as a people. Ironically, that is also our most powerful weapon, the one truly capable of being decisive. A steely, unified America is the one thing our enemies fear. It is not enough to have brave leaders and a brave military. The people themselves must be brave. This war on terror will not be won without "true grit" on the part of the American public, and a passionate desire to win. Otherwise, the inevitable "party wars" and media hysteria will freeze the public's will to act against our enemies.

Although the Vietnam War showed our enemies how to defeat us, we can now show them that we learn from history. Effective homeland security must focus both on convincing our enemies that they can never win, and convincing the American people not to give up no matter what we suffer.

Our military personnel, who put their lives continually on the line, have a right to expect no less a commitment from us. It is also the only path to victory.

Couple of points....

AQ was able to hijack four planes simultaneously, so I wouldn't put anything past them. However, a scenario like the one the author poses would be exponentially more sophisticated and difficult to pull off. That said, I think we ARE in line for more attacks, and I frankly wonder why there haven't been a lot more since 9/11.

Second, we're targets now just Because we exist. Whatever we do, the terrorists will find some reason to attack us. Back down on Iraq? Then Israel will be the issue. If not Israel, something else. It's a fight to the finish now, whether the finish is ten years, fifty, or a hundred years down the road.

By and large, we didn't falter during the Cold War, because we knew it was either Us or Them. The same applies in this new conflict.

I disagree with the article. Vietnam was a war we fought overseas. Unfortunately the side we fought for was corrupt and incompetent. Our leaders limited the operations of the war to containment only. The enemy can retreat to a protected santuary to come back and hit our troops over and over. The war against AQ is different. It is our homeland that is attacked. The Arab attackers can not hide amongst us and there is no safe sanctuary for the enemy to regroup. This war will be different. I liken it to the Indian Wars. The enemy will learn that if the American people are brutalized, we will brutalize them to the point of extinction. Just look what happen to the American Indians.

Consider that even now – with the 9-11 attacks still vivid in most people's minds – it's obvious that Americans are less unified. And it may get a lot worse. And the democrat party of America has been working tirelessly to insure this flame is fanned to fevered level! If we fall, it will be from within at the hands of power-lusting bitter nuts who have shown they will do anything to regain power, even sacrifice this nation's citizens.[Don't believe it? Look at their long-standing defense of the indefensible, the infanticide of partial birth abortion!] May God grant US the time and attention to throw the bastards from office via the election process, so that the repudiation will stem their destructive 'lie'berlism for a generation.

I'll keep repeating myself. There is no, none, nada, snowballs chance in hell, that this world can survive well into the future without divine intervention. Repeat after me and God's word, "unless those days are shortened (by direct intervention from Heaven), no flesh would survive (the coming nuclear holocaust). The good news, "on account of the elect I (God through His Son (Jesus Christ) and His Bride (the elect perfect church) will shorten those days. Now you know why Jesus said "let not your heart be troubled". Man's greatest adventure is about to begin, just as his worst nightmare is ending.

10 to 15 years ago no one could imagine not living under the threat of nuclear destruction, and until recently the threat was largely gone. (I think the fear of TOTAL destruction is still in general gone). It's the same with terrorism (I hope) - some day THAT threat will be gone too.

I wonder where in the timeline of this article we shut the borders? And when will the internment of middle-easterners happen? As bad as the internment of the Japanese during WWII was, I wonder how many acts of sabotage, spying, etc. were stopped. (I guess one way to answer that would be to see how many Germans or Italians did bad stuff.)

During the Vietnam war, the media sources that Americans had was severly limited. Lets see, CBS, NBC, ABC or local tv stations and the local newspaper. That was it. Today there is the internet, talk radio and some alternative media outlets. Also, we currently dont have a failed control freak as President (Take your pick LBJ or Nixon). We have a President who deeply understands what is at stake here. Reference his use of the word 'crusades' early on. The plain fact of the matter is these terrorists want Americans as either Islamists or dead and buried. The attacks or 'Acts' are comming whether we fight them or not. Just look what giving land to Palestinian terrorists (ie - not fighting) did for Israel. We must fight this battle. Can you imagine the courage Americans were required to muster to board ships headed to Europe to liberate it from Hitler ? We did it then, because we knew that if we left him alone, Hitler would eventually be coming for us. Do you really thing that people who refer to us as the Great Satan will ever actually leave us alone ?

We have no choice but to endure, and there yet remains much strength in our people. One more hit within our borders on such a scale as 9/11 and so many arguments for complacency and appeasement will disappear, IMHO.

If the terrs prove again that they can strike with such coordinated operational sophistication, nobody will be able to argue that 9/11 was an aberration. If the terrs attack with bio agents or radiation, nobody will argue that our existence is not threatened. Without those rhetorical gimmicks, the response of the American psyche should then tilt well toward the extreme "fight" side of the "fight/flight" response, we might guess. A shift in the group zeitgeist perhaps somewhat like the citizens who, after ambivilently opposing the tax increase to build the new stadium, then get all excited when the home team executes a championship victory.

Following such atrocities, I think that we would witness a lot of different kinds of "Korematsu" type treatment of targeted groups, including but not limited to internment camps on the basis of criminal associations, electronic tracking on the basis of immigration status, and infiltration arguably on the basis of religious affiliation. All of this would be likely be considered permissible under the US Supreme Court's decision in Korematsu v. U.S. [323 U.S. 214 (1944)].

In Korematsu, the Court upheld the constitutionality of the infamous eviction order, President Roosevelt's Executive Order No. 9066, 7 Fed. Reg., 1407. In a previous case, Hirabayashi v. U.S., the Court decided that the evictions and curfews did not unconstitutionally discriminate against persons of "ethnic affiliation" with the enemy people, and wherein the Court stated bluntly that "[w]e cannot close our eyes to the fact, demonstrated by experience, that in time of war residents having ethnic affiliations with an invading enemy may be a greater source of danger than those of a different ancestry." [320 U.S. 81, 101-102 (1943)].

These cases have not since been overturned and remain good law, even now ready to be put to use when the "invading enemy" clause of the above Hirabayashi dictum appears sufficiently analogous, in my humble opinion. So, when it comes down to it, America will not be constrained by our own Constitution from protecting ourselves. Too many come here today, but they may well be entering a very difficult trap which could both eliminate them and also bring unintended sad consequences for their kin folk.

So we might endeavor to plant the seeds of mental toughness within the minds and hearts of our associates, friends and family members who remain naive to the realities of the world. Giving a preparedness pamphlet to an elderly relative, or buying a box of JHP cartridges for a friend who's still in denial, can serve to plant such seeds of mental toughness. Even challenges such as those described in the article can be overcome with but a little faith.

Not only do I agree with your post, I fear this nation has already been led down a side path to IGNORING terrorist attacks. The war started without us...I believe history will much later show TWA 800 and OKC to be crafted by terrorists and covered up by the aforementioned dem degenerate.

Frankly, I realize that there are many that will tell me that the aluminum foil is blinding me to reason, but personally, I find the fire in NH to be suspicious....one of the the major clues, (which will be mis-placed by sunrise), is the guy who called news reporters after three a.m. to express surprise at the pyro show he did not plan or expect had led to such a tragedy.... we were warned not more than a week ago that this kind of venue is a very attractive target....while not a bomb, it would be relatively easy to plan, execute....and unfortunately cover-up as a tragic circumstance.

It is very easy for a number of "accidents" when combined in venues like the Chicago nightclub (already cited for violations), to be caused by independent terrorists "for the cause...." Now, the true test is will responsibility be taken? AND IF or WHEN it is, will we KNOW it???

While in agreement that accidents and tragedies can and do happen, if we stop and really look at this before it has been taken apart and redesigned by national mainstream news, perhaps we have some information that will help us start to prepare for chaos and very real threats in day to day living.

John, ( a good morning to you... for some reason I missed my usual 4:00 reville and am just getting started ) I can't even pretend to guess the answer to this.

On the one hand, I see so much evidence of a decadent, degenerate, corrupt popular culture- just turn on the TV, or look around your own home town...

On the other hand, I'll never forget "let's roll," or the fact that all those firemen & policemen charged up into burning buildings everyone else was charging out of...

I just can't judge, but then again, there is history- what we did to Hitler's Thousand-Year Reich.

"Interesting times..."

I've said ( low-key ) from the beginning that we are locked in a death struggle with radical Islam... we'll either get the hardness we need to win, or shortly all our women-folk will be swathed in Burkas and confined to their houses... there's no "third way..."

I have to disagree with this one in a big way. When the American Indians fought back with 'terror' attacks on men women and children, the American people marched forth and EXTERMINATED the culture.

When the Nazis and Japanese threatened America directly, those cultures were wiped off the face of the Earth.

If the terrorists of the Middle East were to pull this off, every middle eastern nation even suspected of having these guys in their midst would get letters from the US bluntly stating to police their own or face extermination. Mecca and Medina might wind up as 'object examples' of American fury before this is all over.

>>As bad as the internment of the Japanese during WWII was, I wonder how many acts of sabotage, spying, etc. were stopped.

There is relatively recently available info that we knew of saboteur cells in the U.S. among Americans of Japanese heritage. We could not take out the cells without likely revealing that we had broken their communications codes, destroying this supremely valuable source of intelligence. Thus, the decision was made to intern everyone, and not just take out the cells.

See Magic: The Untold Story of U.S. Intelligence and the Evacuation of Japanese Residents from the West Coast during WW II.

From the review in the Amazon link above:

In late 1940 members of the U.S. Army Signal Intelligence Service broke Japan's highest level diplomatic code and then constructed a machine that was an analog of the one used by the Japanese. This allowed the U.S. to read Japan's diplomatic traffic from then until after the end of the war. Intelligence thus gained was cover named MAGIC because it seemed that only magicians could have produced it.

Among the decoded messages of 1941 were a number detailing espionage planning and operations involving Japanese-Americans along the West Coast. In February 1942 President Roosevelt authorized the evacuation of all persons of Japanese ancestry.

In 1983 a congressional commission, ignoring available declassified intelligence and ignorant of MAGIC revelations, concluded the President's action was the result of racism, war hysteria and lack of political will.

Now for the first time David D. Lowman, using MAGIC messages and declassified Army, Navy and FBI reports, presents the real reasons for the evacuation. As a former high level officer in the National Security Agency and a witness before congressional committees dealing with the evacuation he was uniquely qualified to tell this story. Those who could never quite believe the base motives attributed to our wartime leaders and our country will find Lowman's story compelling.

Important historical information for dealing with leftists screaming about the racism of Japanese internments in WWII.

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