Wash. Post issues late edition, lead editorial: "WAR"

Washington Post ^ | September 11, 2001 | various

[Dems_R_Losers]

Front page story on Pentagon attack titled 'This is on the Scale of Pearl Harbor'...

Lead editorial titled simply, "WAR"..."It has been 60 years since the U,S. homeland sustained an aggression of this magnitude. The country responded then without panic but with an iron determination to defend itself and punish the aggressors. the response today must be as decisive - to the mass murderes who carried out the attack, and to any nation or nations that gave them shelter and encouragement....But if this assault originated overseas it is not a question for law enforcement. It is an act of war, and must be treated as such."

[.30Carbine]

We all agree that these terrorists have declared war on the United States...

I am eagerly awaiting this same declaration from our President tonight.

[TACHIGUY]

You know this seems like a hell of a price to pay so that our Israeli "friends" can hang on to their "settlements" in the occupied Palestinian territories. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to think we should take another look at our relationship with our (so called) best Middle East Friends.

[Ronin]

Does anyone know the current DEFCON?

[Yaelle]

Our flag is also flying.

[Petronski]

In another era, your sentiment was voiced differently:

Would you really die for Danzig?

[Yaelle]

I think it's possible. We will all be together as ONE: AMERICAN, after this. We all want the same thing: for those who did this to be punished for all eternity and let that eternity start ASAP. We should put aside all thoughts of race and even political affiliation, get behind our President, fly our flags, and fight together.

[reg45]

Does anyone know the current DEFCON?

One notch short of war!

[Imsote]

The time has come. America, Americans, must make a momentous decision. Do we continue to allow others to attack us, murder innocent citizens, kill mothers, fathers, and children? Who will be next? Our friends, our family, ourselves? A difficult road lies ahead of us. It has two paths we can take, the path we’ve traveled too many times before, (see the CNN listing below of terrorist attacks against innocent American citizens) the one where we proceed within our own high standards of ethical and moral limits, using legal methods to achieve our goals. Or, we can travel the untraveled road, the one, I believe, and many others believe as the only option we have to ensure the freedom of the citizens of the United States of America. We must declare war against these terrorists, not a political war, not a war of words, but an official declaration of war by our United States government (representing us). This must not be a declaration of war against any single nation, but against ANY nation, ANY organization, ANY group, ANY people, ANY person, who in any way contributes to, aids, abets, or in any minute manner helps or supports these gutless murderers. The full force and might of the United States Military must be brought upon these perpetrators and their supporters, no matter where their location is. And as in any war, just like our innocent citizens have suffered and lost their lives, many innocent people in other areas of the world will suffer and die in this war. This grave reality, unfortunately, is unavoidable. However, the complete and total annihilation of our enemy must remain our steadfast objective, with us willing and able to utilize every type of weapon we have (yes, even nuclear attack should not be ruled out) and take all the necessary military action to achieve total victory.

The United States has been attacked; thousands of our innocent citizens have perished. War has been declared against US, a war that has been going on for years, we just have not wanted to accept this reality. Now the time has come for us to accept it, and more importantly react with unparalleled ferocity. We cannot continue to allow rogue individuals/groups/organizations/nations to attack us and kill our people, WE MUST DECLARE WAR UPON THEM, AND COMPLETELY DESOLATE ANY FURTHER THREAT TO OUR INDIVIDUAL AND NATIONAL FREEDOMS.

Recent terrorism attacks targeting the United States The United States has been the target of several terrorist attacks in recent years. October 12, 2000: A suicide bomber attack on the USS Cole in Yemen's Aden harbor kills 17 American sailors and wounds 39 others. August 7, 1998: Twin bombings at the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, kill 224 people and wound thousands of others. June 1996: A bomb at U.S. barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, kills 19 Americans and injures 500 people. November 13, 1995: A bomb at U.S. military headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, kills five U.S. service personnel. April 19, 1995: A truck bomb at the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, kills 168 and wounds more than 500 others. February 26, 1993: Terrorist bombers strike the World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others. December 21, 1988: The bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, kills 270, mostly Americans. September 5, 1986: Hijackers take over a Pan Am jet at Karachi Airport. Twenty people are killed when security forces storm the plane. September 20, 1984: A bombing at the U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut, Lebanon, kills 16 and injures the ambassador. October 23, 1983: The bombing of U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, kills 241. April 18, 1983: A car bomb at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, kills 17.

[reg45]

bin-Laden declared war on the US a few years back, we were just too bored to care.

Who do we think they are - The Mouse That Roared?

[foreshadowed at waco]

As of now Fox News is reporting that about 450 firefighters and policeman from NYC are missing...there was a maintenance guy interviewed on the radio today...he said that after the plane hit he went up to the floors above him and helped people down...the last trip he made before the building imploded he left a floor with some people and more than 30 cops were on the floor when he left...as he got outside the building the collapse began...the cops probably didn't get out...I'm from NYC...I can't imagine what it will be like here over the next several weeks and months as the enormity of the carnage hits home...right now we're all walking around lilke zombies watching smoke pour out over our suddenly naked skyline...it feels like the Twilight Zone...can hardly cry...too shocked...as a teacher I wonder if any of my students lost somebody today...pray for GW and God bless America.

[Vast Buffalo Wing Conspiracy]

Saddly, now we see what Israel has to contend with every day.

Well, if you rob a people of its land, massacre them, ethnicly cleanse them, round them up into de-facto "reservations" cut off from water and basic infrastructure, cut them off from economic opportunity, bulldoze their houses, destroy their farms, orchards, and businesses, and take every opportunity you can to kill, imprison, torture, and murder them, then it is not surprising when their response is often murderous, retaliatory terrorism.

Regardless, Israeli's actions in Palestine should be none of our business, and yet we finance, arm, and support Israel, "our most reliable ally" (an ally that spies on us and attacks and kills our sailers a la USS Liberty). By doing so, we become de facto part of the politics of the middle east. Therefore we should not be surprised when hate-crazed revenge seeking Islamic lunatics target us for attack.

We have chosen sides in the Arab-Israeli wars (and have done so for decades); in spite of our pretense of peacebroker, we are de facto Israeli's ally and prime means of support, and therefore we should have expected to be attacked by Islamic terrorists. The only surprise is why it took so long for something like this to happen.

My own preference would be for us to hunt down and execute those responsible for today's terrorists attacks, without mercy. After that is done, though, we should pull out of the middle east entirely: Israel, Egypt, and the rest should not get one more cent of our money and not one more bullet of our military assistance.

This won't happen, of course. Expect us to get drawn deeper into this mess. That is what our empire-loving elites desire: more internationalism. That's also why the Washington Post is beating the war-drums: they are not against all wars. They are for wars which happen to coincide with their own interests. Surely no one here thinks that the Washington Post has our interests or the interests of the USA at heart. Quite the contrary. They have recognized a golden opportunity and are seizing it.

[Ronin]

I am serious. Are we at DEFCON 2 or DEFCON 1. All U.S. military bases in Japan are on maximum alert and all civilian employees have been told to stay home.

The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo is closed.

[rstevens]

Don't trust these people, they will lie to your face, then stab you in the back. I lived three years among these people in Iran and I know them.

It would be interesting to know just how many of the Islamic/Moslem immigrants went to work today in, and near the WTC. I heard on one report that many of the Arabic/Palestenian(sp) cab drivers were not present in that area today. Something to think about. I'm convinced that the fires in Kabul, Afganistan were set delibertly to make the rest of the world think we have jumped on them. They are scared to death, and reason to be, as they are into this up to their necks.

[rstevens]

You are wrong, both borders were closed. Get the facts before you spout off.

[imperator2]

The terror of today is the direct result of the loose immigration policy that has allowed thousands of Islamic militants to enter this country. Rid us of Arab and moslem immigrants NOW!

[Salvation]

"Americans are slow to anger but mighty when angry, and their proper anger now should be alloyed with pride. They are targets because of their virtues - principally democracy, and loyalty to those nations which, like Israel, are enbattled salients of our virtues in a still-dangerous world."

Great quote from George Will.

God bless America and protect her from further harm.

[rstevens]

Spoken like a true coward. Forsake your friends and go cower in a corner.

[rstevens]

Well you can't exactly refuse reentry of US citizens now can we? High security alert means checking everyone to make sure they are US citizens. No one else was allowed to enter. Closing the border does not mean it is closed to all traffic, but everyone is checked before they can enter.