The Implications Of 9/11

For many Americans, the events of September 11, 2001 were a genuine wake-up call. This was a different kind of terrorist attack in both magnitude and effect. While it is true that Americans had been attacked by terrorists in the past, we had never seen anything like this level of devastation on American soil.

In 1979, 52 Americans were taken hostage for 444 days from the U.S. embassy in Tehran. But that was in a far away land. It was indeed a humiliating experience for a great country like America, but it was not an event of mass destruction.

On October 23, 1983 the Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon was bombed killing 241 American servicemen. A disaster for sure. But then, they were military personnel -- a dangerous occupation under any circumstances, especially in a war zone.

The same could be said for the attack on the USS Cole in October, 2000. Far fewer casualties. Again military personnel. Operating in unfriendly waters. And the ship didn't even sink.

Leon Klinghoffer, bound to a wheelchair, was thrown from the cruise ship Achilles Lauro on October 7, 1985. But he was only a single individual, and he was Jewish... and they were Palestinian. It was seen by many as a problem caused by Jews, not Americans. So it had little impact on Americans as a whole.

Even the attack on the Twin Towers in 1993, although significant and on American soil, was considered a failure. The bomb blast killed six and injured 1042, but the structure remained standing. I think it gave Americans a false sense of invincibility.

The twin embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania of 1998 were again in faraway places. Most of the victims were Kenyan and Tanzanian. The U.S. made little effort to retaliate. It was an irritation more than a call to arms.

The events of 9/11 were different. They were intended to bring down the towers, kill thousands of innocent civilians, destroy the financial hub of America, and bring the economy to a grinding halt. In some respects, the terrorists succeeded. The towers did come down, nearly 3,000 people were killed, and the economy suffered. Airline travel was halted for many days. Millions of dollars were spent on clean-up, repairs, and security improvements. The nation was in mourning and in fear of another attack.

But in another way, the terrorists made a major blunder on 9/11. The attacks united Americans in a way we have not seen in recent memory. Americans for the first time realized that is truly a war against radical Islam. And for the first time we joined the fight...

We froze the assets of dozens of organizations tied to Islamic terror organizations. We reorganized our intelligence communities. We started new intelligence gathering operations to ferret out potential enemies. We began capturing or killing major terrorist leaders. We forced Osama bin Laden and his top people into hiding. We have thwarted dozens of terrorist plots both at home and abroad.

Although it is sad to say that the patriotism and unity felt among Americans following 9/11 has dissipated to a large extent, many Americans remain committed to fighting the War on Terror. America remains vigilant and is actively fighting an offensive battle against terrorism. The result has been no second attack on American soil since 9/11.

But Americans cannot become complacent. More than 8 years elapsed between the first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, and the events of September 11, 2001. We should not overly pride ourselves on our current success at stopping terror attacks here at home. It has only been 6 years since 9/11 and the terrorists have not given up the battle.

We learned on 9/11 that there is a faction of religious extremists and fanatics who hate everything American. They hate democracy. They hate freedom. They hate choice. They hate Christianity, Judaism, and all religions other than Islam. They want to convert America into an Islamic caliphate. They think nothing of mass murder and mass destruction. In fact, they seem to relish in it. They bear the sword against us. Only naivete would lead one to think they can be reasoned with.

The danger we face as a nation, is that we will forget. Many Americans have short memories. They want to forget about terrorists. They want their fast food, iPods, 'Dancing With the Stars', and 'American Idol'. God have mercy on us. Let us never forget...