Posted on 09/11/2001 8:18:14 PM PDT by Maurice Tift
(Washington, D.C.): Today's attacks against the United States are acts of war. The Nation must vigorously support President Bush in responding appropriately and forcefully. The following essay by the Center for Security Policy's President, Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., which appeared today in National Review OnLine, offers specific suggestions concerning what such a response should entail.
WAR COMES TO AMERICA
by Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.
National Review Online, 11 September 2001
At this writing, the United States is under attack as never before in its history. Coordinated, murderous strikes have happened at several of the most visible public and private sector facilities in the country.
Suddenly, as a result, several facts are clear:
Those who have perpetrated these acts are waging war against the United States. This is not simply terrorism; it is a determined assault aimed at destroying a free society using instruments of mass destruction against which there is, for all intents and purposes, no sure defense -- notably, hijacked commercial airliners. Even greater than the threat to our people and property is the prospect that, with the unleashing of these Pearl Harbor-style bolts-from-the-blue, the civil liberties and freedoms we have taken for granted for so long -- and that make America the unique and great nation it is -- may never be quite the same.
The fight that has now come to our land is the same one Israel has been fighting for many years. Its perpetrators may or may not be exactly the same. My own guess -- which can only be a guess in the absence of an uncontradicted declaration of responsibility -- is that this violence has been wrought by Islamic supremacists who view the United States and Israel as equally anathema to their faith, society and cultural mores and, therefore, deserving of a similar, lethal fate. The United States must now contend with sources of these threats in much the same way as the Israelis have of late: Using lethal force where it can to attack, disrupt and, if possible, destroy those believed associated with international terrorism. This means not only those individuals and groups but also, where necessary, the states that sponsor and support them.
The distinct possibility exists that others may try to seize upon America's distraction and the allocation of its resources to domestic remediation and reconstruction needs to engage in aggression elsewhere. This should put an end to discussion of funding our defense budget at levels inadequate to deal with two major contingencies simultaneously. We now have one at home; how long will it be before we have one elsewhere?
America is not omniscient. For too long, we have been encouraged to believe that our spy satellites would assure we knew in advance of any threat. Clearly, our intelligence capabilities are not what they need to be when the threat comes not from weapons that can be monitored from space but from small, highly disciplined and ruthlessly secretive groups and their state sponsors. The Clinton holdovers who still run the Central Intelligence Agency bear no small measure of responsibility for serious shortcomings in these and other areas. Heads should roll, starting with that of CIA Director George Tenet.
Preparedness for emergencies like those we now confront must be redoubled. For years, the Clinton Administration downplayed the importance of continuity of government planning, preparations for evacuating cities and a comprehensive approach to civil defense. This should be seen for what it was -- a reprehensible abdication of responsibility. There can be no higher priority than rectifying that reckless policy.
Awful as today's deadly attacks on the United States are, however, they pale by comparison to what missile-delivered weapons of mass destruction could inflict. Even as we improve our ability to detect, deflect and destroy those planning acts of terror against us, we must also end our present, absolute vulnerability to the real and growing danger posed by missile threats. President Bush should be commended for his commitment to deploying effective missile defenses and certainly not deterred by today's events from pursuing them even more aggressively.
There is no doubt that September 11, 2001 is a day that will long be remembered as momentous. If the United States properly perceives the grave nature of the threat it now confronts, and deals with it appropriately, chances are historians will mark it as the day the "Inter- war" years ended.
_______
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. is the President of the Center for Security Policy (www.security- policy.org).
Which people?
And what if we guess wrong?
Yes, maybe now we can get the federal government to put aside the war on drugs, war on poverty, war on racism, war on non-free prescription drugs, war on SUVs, war on property rights, etc., etc., and concentrating on defending the country and its borders!
I heard Ed Koch this afternoon on a San Antonio radio station saying the exact same thing, along with Newt Gingrich later. Give them a warning to turn over the terrorists or we will bomb your cities into oblivion.
I think it's not time to play nice nice America or we will have more and deadlier attacks.
Jen
That could involve imposing a 'Protectorate' over the Gulf region, and a necessary few exceedingly sharp blows at terrorist HQs.
Make the b*st*rds bleed, W.
To: All Sovereign States
From: The United States of America
Subject: Osama bin Laden
Sirs,
Please be advised that as of this date and time, the Government of The United States of America cannot guarantee the safety of any state harboring the
international murderer known as Osama bin Laden. This advisory must also include any of this criminal's relatives, friends, business associates, casual
acquaintances, heirs or assigns.
The people of The United States of America would, of course, profoundly regret any eventualities in the event that the government or people of any sovereign nation or territory were to continue to ignore paragraph one of this letter.
Sincerely yours,
George W. Bush
President
The United States of America
We know from many sources, right down to those places where it was "Christmas in September" today, where children were being handed candy in celebrations over today's attack, precisely where the countries and societies are that support these groups. Beirut, Damascus, Amman, Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, Baghdad, Tehran, Kabul. How many war mongers are there today in Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
They've given shelter and support to these outlaws, so they are no different than them. Let them and their families and friends die miserable, suffering deaths en masse for their crimes, and they will be much less capable or willing to engage in the crimes in the future.
You get to vote for Nader again in 2004.
“And what if we guess wrong?”
You get to vote for Nader again in 2004.
Darn it. He gets to live? And here he was one of those rare people I wouldn't mind seeing be the victim of a mistargeted nuke.
We punish citizens for the actions of their government?
By this logic, all of us here are responsible for the atrocities of the Clinton regime and deserve to be executed along with him.
You are a complete fool if you do not understand that the people of these nations support their governments, and support the causes that result in the crimes of today. It was a holiday in the Palestinian territories today. You ride with outlaws, you die with outlaws. These people should die for the crimes of their brothers, whom they supported. Then perhaps whoever does survive the carnage will decide it is better to just stay home and tend their cattle and sheep instead.
Now, democrat senators, how about authorizing the President's missle defense?
Let God sort out those ignorant arab bastards that were dancing in Yassar's streets today.
No. The people of these nations are enslaved by their governments, and support them only in that they'll be shot if they don't. And random bombing of those nations will just hurt the enslaved, while the governments just hide out somewhere and continue to tell them lies about the US being the real bad guy.
Wake up. These people hate us to the death. Enslaved by their governments?? If you are this naieve you should be in downtown Seattle at the Peace March.
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