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9/11: Five Years On: Getting It Right (Ralph Peters)
New York Post ^ | September 11, 2006 | Ralph Peters

Posted on 09/11/2006 1:05:52 PM PDT by EveningStar

The biggest story since 9/11 is that there hasn't been an other 9/11. According to our hysterical media culture, everything's always going wrong. The truth is that we've gotten the big things right...

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Editorial; Government; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 911; fifthanniversary; ralphpeters; waronterror; wot
To find out which big things we got right, click on the link.
1 posted on 09/11/2006 1:05:53 PM PDT by EveningStar
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To: EveningStar

hallelujah!!! Somebody cutting through the nonsense and spin and hitting it on the mark - no five years period being attack free since the 80s! You can't fault a perfect record (unless you are a liberal).


2 posted on 09/11/2006 1:07:47 PM PDT by bpjam (Hezbollah, Hamas, Al Qaida - The Religion of Peace)
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To: Howlin; onyx; Clemenza; Petronski; GummyIII; SevenofNine; martin_fierro; veronica; EggsAckley; ...

Misc ping list - as mentioned on Michael Medved's show.


3 posted on 09/11/2006 1:08:27 PM PDT by EveningStar
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To: EveningStar

Ralph Peters again gets it right. Congratulations. If you haven't read his entire essay, we highly recommend it.

John E. Carey

Five Years After 9/11, Our Achilles Heel Remains Our Unity and Resolve

Milestone No. 5

By John E. Carey
The Washington Times
September 11, 2006

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack was unprovoked and unannounced. No state of war existed before the attack.

On April 18, 1942, just more than four months later, America retaliated with a bomber attack on Tokyo. The pilots had been trained and qualified, in that short time, to do something never tried before: fly off a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean, conduct a bombing mission and ditch instead of land at an airfield.

On September 11, 2001, the United States was attacked at the World Trade Center in New York City and at the Pentagon near Washington D.C. The attack was unprovoked and unannounced. No state of war existed before the attack.

On October 7, 2001, less than a month later, the United States attacked Afghanistan.

It is difficult to imagine any other nation in the world being able to respond so quickly and so professionally after an attack like that suffered by the United States on December 7, 1941, or on September 11, 2001.

Both days were dark days. Both days challenged our unity and resolve. Both days ended with great jubilation in quarters of the enemy camp. And both days marked commencement of a long, arduous struggle.

Since September 11, the damaged section of the Pentagon has been rebuilt, a plan is in place in New York, and despite terror attacks in London, Madrid and elsewhere, there has not been a significant follow-up strike against the United States on U.S. soil.

By carrying the battle to the enemy in Iraq and Afghanistan, with our professional military forces and not our women and children and other innocents, we, as a nation, have already achieved a significant advantage over the enemy.

And, as the president said last Thursday during an interview with Katie Couric, of this new enemy: "They share the same jihadist mentality, this radicalism. See, that's the interesting thing about this war, Katie. It's -- we're not facing a nation-state. We're facing people from other nation -- around the -- around the globe, frankly, that share an ideology and the desire to -- achieve objectives through killing innocent people."

So this war is different from all others. And we have responded differently. We reformed our government and created the Department of Homeland Security. We energized and reformed our intelligence services and created the director of national intelligence (John Negroponte) above the Central Intelligence Agency director. We monitored the terrorists' communications, computer networks, financing and banking. We commenced a war like no other war ever on Earth.

We, the United States, redefined war. The war on terror we are engaged in, what the Pentagon calls the Global War on Terror (GWOT), and the underlying wars like the war between Israel and Hezbollah, may best carry this new definition: We will do what we have to do, on all levels throughout the world, to keep the enemy on the run, off-balance and living in fear.

The GWOT is more than a military confrontation. It is also a spy game, a media battle for "hearts and minds," a war of financial sleuthing and intrigue, a war on the internet and much more.

Saddam Hussein is behind bars or in court. Despite some ugly military prison scandals of our own, the rule of law prevails and reforms are in place. We have not lowered ourselves to the level of the terrorists.

Sure, one can criticize. Sure the effort has proceeded slowly and deliberately. Sure, the enemy has changed the rules of the game several times (he is not stupid) like springing Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) on us and attempting to instill sectarian violence so severe Iraq may splinter into civil war.

But our nation is perhaps the only nation that could have responded so quickly, so professionally and, seemingly, so effortlessly to the attacks we sustained. Shopping malls in America still teem with happy shoppers. Cars still sell. Gas is not yet even $4 a gallon. Our economy is strong. We continue to pursue projects in space.

Yes, we have made sacrifices, principal among them the sacrifice of life and blood and limb by our men and women in the combat forces. But what is the second biggest sacrifice? Processing before an airline flight takes longer? One has to remove ones shoes before boarding a plane?

Our schools continue to function. People still go to work. Our mass transit systems are operating just fine. Our football season is getting underway. No American has spent a night in a bomb shelter -- even though many Israelis spent a month or more living in bomb-proof underground facilities as Hezbollah rained down missiles.

We should not be complacent. As the president has said: This will be a long war.

So what is our weakness? Our Achilles heel is our own resolve. Our weakness is our own lack of unity, now exacerbated by an election cycle.

And our enemies are still with us. In Iran, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad defies not just the United States but the entire international community. He is the first president ever to defy the United Nations in the pursuit of nuclear projects. He pushes ahead despite U.N. Resolutions to the contrary.

What are Mr. Ahmadinejad's goals? Well, he calls the United States the Great Satan. Israel is only the little Satan. And he blithely says he intends to "wipe the Zionist state off the map." So what will his plan be for the Great Satan?

And in North Korea, an attention-seeking dictator has nuclear weapons and strives to perfect his long-range ballistic missiles.

So, like the Roman Emperors, we face the Huns on many fronts.

And like our forefathers in Rome and in other great civilizations, we have to guard against our own disagreements and divisions from becoming crippling. We have to watch our Achilles heel.

Because our enemies are real. And they want to win.

Mr. Carey is former president of International Defense Consultants Inc.

http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/
20060910-102742-6703r.htm


4 posted on 09/11/2006 1:09:37 PM PDT by John Carey
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To: EveningStar

"WHAT should we worry about? Plenty. First, the unscrupulous nature of those in the media who always discover a dark cloud in the brightest silver lining. They're terror's cheerleaders. Second, the rabid partisanship infecting our political system - when "getting Bush" is more important than protecting our country, something's wrong.:


Terrors cheerleader's. Boy if that doesn't nail it.
They will make sure the terrorists agenda is front and center that day and everyday. They feed off each other, they need each other. They have common goals even.
Each giving the other what they want most.


5 posted on 09/11/2006 1:12:53 PM PDT by Names Ash Housewares
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To: EveningStar


Hiya, ES.
Thanks for the ping.


6 posted on 09/11/2006 1:13:52 PM PDT by onyx (1 Billion Muslims -- IF only 10% are radical, that's still 100 Million who want to kill us.)
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To: EveningStar

Nice article by Peters!


7 posted on 09/11/2006 1:16:32 PM PDT by GianniV
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To: EveningStar
The pathetic reality is that there is a sector of the American population that is actually praying to Mother Earth for another attack upon US soil.

And those Americans are rabid liberals who also happen to be Democrats one and all!

How sick is that!

8 posted on 09/11/2006 1:18:39 PM PDT by TexasCajun
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To: EveningStar
Over at DU, they are saying that due to the fact we haven't been attacked in five year proves the the WOT is fake. The WOT is a method to enrich W's friends and keep him in power.

There is healthy cynicism and their is unhealthy cynicism. Unhealthy cynicism could kill us all.

9 posted on 09/11/2006 1:19:28 PM PDT by oyez (The way to punish a providence is to allow it to be governed by philosophers. --Frederick the Great)
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To: John Carey
Gas is not yet even $4 a gallon.

Like it is in Brazil. Actually, it's more than $4.00 per gallon.

.

10 posted on 09/11/2006 1:20:36 PM PDT by Westbrook (Having more children does not divide your love, it multiplies it!)
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To: Names Ash Housewares

--terror's cheerleaders--

Imagine Terry Moran in a cheerleading outfit!

Wouldn't be surprised if he were a male cheerleader in college. Dork.


11 posted on 09/11/2006 1:25:17 PM PDT by GianniV
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To: EveningStar

BTTT


12 posted on 09/11/2006 1:30:31 PM PDT by MattinNJ (The paleocon's paleocon.)
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To: EveningStar

bttt


13 posted on 09/11/2006 2:21:27 PM PDT by Chicos_Bail_Bonds
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To: EveningStar

The infuriating part is no one will put a tough question to liberal politicians.

To treat terrorism as police work means you are willing to accept civilian casualties.

3000 deaths was not enough..

How many casualties are then willing to accept...30,000...300,000.


14 posted on 09/11/2006 2:34:29 PM PDT by TASMANIANRED (The Internet is the samizdat of liberty..)
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To: EveningStar
Thank you for pinging me to the excellent read, ES.

My son asked me an interesting question after the President's speech tonight: "Mom, what happens when the death count of US soldiers reaches those who died on 911?"

1. Liberals will say: No room! No more room for War! Bring out the doormouse and have a spot o'tea.

2. Nothing: we keep on winning, son. The good fight is never over.

15 posted on 09/11/2006 6:30:32 PM PDT by Alia
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To: Alia
The GWOT is more than a military confrontation. It is also a spy game, a media battle for "hearts and minds,"

...and we know where our media stands...

16 posted on 09/11/2006 6:37:33 PM PDT by ErnBatavia (Meep Meep)
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To: ErnBatavia
...and we know where our media stands

Yes. We do. Nonetheless, I do see a rising tide of journalists and media faces beginning to stand, and to rise. And those behind the scenes issuing the orders for what gets printed/shown and what doesn't? Are being confronted by decreasing revenues.

The will of the American people is strong, and rising.

17 posted on 09/11/2006 6:58:11 PM PDT by Alia
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To: Alia
I do see a rising tide of journalists and media faces beginning to stand

Ping me when you see something significant....other than the "obligatory" lip service they all do. I won't be holding my breath.

The media is basically evil...in fact, you can strike the 'basically' part.

I guess I'm not as charitable as you.

18 posted on 09/11/2006 7:41:07 PM PDT by ErnBatavia (Meep Meep)
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To: ErnBatavia
Yeah, I'll bet you are as charitable. And most days, yea, I go off on the MSM. BUT some days I do take the time to remember that Rush and John Fund and Ann Coulter, and David Horowitz, William F Buckley and writers all over the US -- sometimes do get truth out there via MSM venues.

IOW, these are the important media to me; not those who hate America -- I don't read or listen or watch these unless by accident or deliberate purpose.

I see most those who do the standard, regular MSM "stuff" as 3rd rate, affirmative-actioned via ideology hackjobs. These are boring. Their words carry no flavor; their stories come across as lacking in depth and come across as as appealing to a junior high school level audience.

19 posted on 09/12/2006 3:22:31 AM PDT by Alia
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