Debra Burlingame put it exactly right; the 9/11 “Terror attacks were an act of war, not simply a tragedy to be mourned.”
The events of 9/11/01 were acts of UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE waged by “jihadist soldiers” (enemy combatants) on a civilian population.
Debra Burlingame notes that “There is a disturbing phenomenon creeping into the public debate about all things 9/11. Increasingly, Sept. 11 is compared to hurricanes, bridge collapses and other mechanical disasters or criminal acts that result in loss of life, with "body count" being the primary factor that keeps it in the top spot of "worst in the nation's history."
“Misremembering is as dangerous as forgetting. If we must know one thing, it is that the Sept. 11 attacks were neither a natural disaster, nor the unfortunate result of human error. 9/11 wasn't the catastrophic equivalent of a 3,000-car pileup.
“The attacks were not a random actof violence or insanity. They were a deliberate and brutal act ofwar committed by religious fanatics engaged in Islamic jihad against the United States, all non-Muslim people and any Muslim who wishes to live in a secular society. Worse, the people who perpetrated the attacks have explicitly told us that they are not done.
“Sept. 11 is a date that comes and goes once a year, but "9/11" is with us every day. The body count keeps rising - Bali, Riyadh, Istanbul, Madrid, Beslan, London, Amman.
“We now clearly know that the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was part of the holy war against America. When we previously dismissed this as a random attack by crazy men and declared ourselves lucky that "only six lives were lost," we effectively disarmed ourselves. Eight years later, six became 3,000. While the comparison to other "tragedies" may help us cope with what has befallen us, we must resist being glib and intellectually careless.
“Our fellow human beings were not "lost" in 1993 or on 9/11. They were torn to pieces. We must not give the enemy any quarter. We must confront the reality of their acts.”
“We must refuse to be fooled by their propaganda, which is meant to appeal to our own moral vanity - the belief that we can appease them by responding to their outrageous demands for accommodation, their open threats and their hateful rhetoric with even more forbearance.”
There is neither any WAY, nor any reason to seek to “negotiate our way out” of what appears to be an endless war against Islamic extremism.
As James Fox, then Director of the FBI’s New York Office said, after the 1993 World Trade Center attacks, “The U.S. criminal justice system is inadequate to dealing with the issue of international terrorism.”
That’s something that those who oppose the current military “War on Terrorism” fail to understand.
The events of 9/11/01 were acts of UNCONVENTIONAL WARFARE waged by “jihadist soldiers” (enemy combatants) on a civilian population.
Debra Burlingame notes that “There is a disturbing phenomenon creeping into the public debate about all things 9/11. Increasingly, Sept. 11 is compared to hurricanes, bridge collapses and other mechanical disasters or criminal acts that result in loss of life, with "body count" being the primary factor that keeps it in the top spot of "worst in the nation's history."
“Misremembering is as dangerous as forgetting. If we must know one thing, it is that the Sept. 11 attacks were neither a natural disaster, nor the unfortunate result of human error. 9/11 wasn't the catastrophic equivalent of a 3,000-car pileup.
“The attacks were not a random actof violence or insanity. They were a deliberate and brutal act ofwar committed by religious fanatics engaged in Islamic jihad against the United States, all non-Muslim people and any Muslim who wishes to live in a secular society. Worse, the people who perpetrated the attacks have explicitly told us that they are not done.
“Sept. 11 is a date that comes and goes once a year, but "9/11" is with us every day. The body count keeps rising - Bali, Riyadh, Istanbul, Madrid, Beslan, London, Amman.
“We now clearly know that the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was part of the holy war against America. When we previously dismissed this as a random attack by crazy men and declared ourselves lucky that "only six lives were lost," we effectively disarmed ourselves. Eight years later, six became 3,000. While the comparison to other "tragedies" may help us cope with what has befallen us, we must resist being glib and intellectually careless.
“Our fellow human beings were not "lost" in 1993 or on 9/11. They were torn to pieces. We must not give the enemy any quarter. We must confront the reality of their acts.”
“We must refuse to be fooled by their propaganda, which is meant to appeal to our own moral vanity - the belief that we can appease them by responding to their outrageous demands for accommodation, their open threats and their hateful rhetoric with even more forbearance.”
There is neither any WAY, nor any reason to seek to “negotiate our way out” of what appears to be an endless war against Islamic extremism.
As James Fox, then Director of the FBI’s New York Office said, after the 1993 World Trade Center attacks, “The U.S. criminal justice system is inadequate to dealing with the issue of international terrorism.”
That’s something that those who oppose the current military “War on Terrorism” fail to understand.
4 comments:
I believe that the 9/11 attacks were perpetrated by sociopathic megalomaniacal mass murderers (and their ovine followers). I do not believe the word "war" is applicable. I do not for a single moment believe one word of their allegedly religious justification. Phrased another way, I believe they, like many others in history, find a convenient place to hang their hat when carrying out their evil acts of choice. On the other hand, I find the assertion many make, including our own "leaders" that Islam is a "religion of peace" laughable. Those folks slaughter each other for doctrinal differences which make no sense at all, so of course they think nothing at all of slaughtering those even more removed from their religious leanings (meaning all of us "infidels"). I think that, at bottom, few Moors would argue with the proposition that no one on earth should be allowed to be anything other than a follower of Mohammed/Allah--and even then, when all "infidels" are gone, no one should be allowed to live other than those with the prevailing view of Islam (whether the Sunnis, Shi'ite, or yet another cult prevails is, of course, yet to be seen). [I'm also aware that there have been historically Christians who felt this way].
Hitler apparently set the standard for folks like Osama Bin Laden, charm some weak-minded droogs, intimidate or kill everyone else.
You're right about Islam Gerry. In fact, the Arab/Islamic world sided with Hitler in WW II and had a number of pacts with the Nazis.
We may actually agree that strict Islam is completely incompatible with Western society.
We may disagree about terrorism.
The actual definition of terrorism is "an act of unconventional warfare against civilian populations."
There is no way our criminal justice system can deal with international terrorism. I'd go so far as to say that even I, might have a hard time convicting a jihadist terrorist of any crime, as I consider them "soldiers"....or more accurately enemy combatants (soldiers fighting out of uniform).
I don't believe soldiers should be punished in civilian courts. I think that's morally wrong on a number of levels.
I earnestly believe that the ONLY way to deal with international, state sponsored terrorism is via military actio and lots of it. Perhaps after a serious pounding, the vast majority of the Islamic survivors may foist some kind of "Reformation" on Islam from within. I doubt there's any way that that can be encouraged or helped along by talk or "changing hearts and minds."
In that case, bullets and bombs seem to change far more hearts and minds in our favor than all the talk of previous generations.
Just my viewpoint on that.
I didn't say the 9/11 attacks weren't terrorism, they most certainly were. There are days I'd like to open the window and yell into the sky that famous phrase "Kill 'em all, let God sort 'em out!" There is something inside me which does not feel a bit bad when Moors kill Moors, and just wishes they'd do more of it.
I even wish our leaders would give us "body counts" (assuming they were true, of course!).
Vengeance runs deep in all of us, I think, and maybe that ain't a bad thing.
Of course, as far as I can tell, the sociopathic megalomaniacal mass murderers and their weak-minded followers don't seem to care if we kill a few billion Moors, including themselves.
Would the world be a better place without Islam? Religion of any stripe?
Don't get me started.
Gerry, I do understand your rightful anger at the political correctness that lauds Islam, when Sharia-based Islam has been a scourge all over the world (the Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia, Kashmir, the Phillipines, Indonesia, etc.).
One of the things this administration is guilty of is not properly defining the enemy, probably out of a fear of a backlash against American Muslims.
The issue you and I seem to disagree over is how best to battle terrorism.
In short, is terrorism a "crime," or is it, as I assert, "an act of unconventional warfare conducted against civilian populations by enemy combatants (non-uniformed troops)?"
Again, I'd point to James Fox, the Director of the FBI's NY Office back in 1993 who said, "The American criminal justice system is inadequate to dealing with the problem of international terrorism."
I agree with that completely and believe that the only rational response to international terrorism is military action against those countries that have supported, supplied, aided and harbored those terrorists.
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