Lessons of September 11

As the U.S. marks the 7th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our country of 9/11/01, it is interesting how complacent the nation has become in the area of national security. It is not just the lack of a united people working with the best intentions of our country at heart, as we did during the immediate days after the attacks on NYC, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, the symbolic shows of patriotic spirit, the vision of sheer physical strength as the wreckage was cleared. All are images still in the minds of most.

Seven years of being kept safe by the current administration here in this country have brought about a false sense of security for many. The politically partisan divides soon reared ugly shouts of blame and attacks within the halls of congress. Many take the timeline of the attacks all the way back to the 1980's and the failed presidency of Jimmy Carter. He thought if we just understood the terrorists, if he just negotiated and talked with them then everything would be all right. The opposite proved to be true.

From an article written by then unknown Illinois State Senator Obama, in Chicago's Hyde Park Herald, published on Sept 19, 2001, Obama said that after securing airports and reforming intelligence networks, we "must also engage ... in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness." Obama claimed the madness was born out of "a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair."

Remember, all of the terrorists who crashed the airplanes into buildings and the ground were middle to upper class, highly educated young Muslim men.

"In a speech before a joint session of Congress on Sept. 20, 2001, President Bush pointed out the real reasons islamofascists hate us: "They hate what they see right here in this chamber - a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms: our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other."

"Knowing the nature of your enemy is the key to victory. On the seventh anniversary of 9/11, we should all thank President Bush for keeping America safe. Along the way, he brought freedom and democracy to the Middle East, draining the terrorist swamp."

"Bush gets it. So does John McCain. This is one thing we should want to change."

Barack Obama still doesn't get it. He spoke early into the election campaign process of meeting with leaders of terrorist nations without pre-conditions. He wants to go back to the Clintonian days of slashing and burning the military budget to make allowances for the implementation of huge governmental feel-good programs. It's all about the show.

Is it any wonder that a poll taken by the BBC would come to a conclusion that "US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama may be struggling to nudge ahead of his Republican rival in polls at home, but people across the world want him in the White House."?

We've seen the declines in European countries who have lacked the will and strength to fight off terrorist activities as Islamofascism marches on within its immigrant communities. We see the chaos and brutality of African dictators. We see rampant socialism on the march in Central and South American countries. Personal and political freedoms are not high up on the list.

And, finally, a survey of 16,063 people in 17 nations "found majorities in only nine countries believe al Qaeda was behind the attacks on New York and Washington that killed about 3,000 people in 2001." "On average 46 percent of those surveyed said al Qaeda was responsible, 15 percent said the U.S. government, 7 percent said Israel and 7 percent said some other perpetrator. One in four people said they did not know who was behind the attacks."

"The U.S. government was to blame, according to 23 percent of Germans and 15 percent of Italians. Respondents in the Middle East were especially likely to name a perpetrator other than al Qaeda, the poll found." "In Mexico, 30 percent cited the U.S. government and 33 percent named al Qaeda."

Reasonable Americans are not so concerned how Europe and the rest of the world perceives us. Someone has to be the grown-up. To whom does the rest of the world turn in times of need? There has always been a bit of jealous envy towards the U.S. all around the world. We are what they hope and strive to be, verbalized or not, by their ordinary citizens.

Talk all you want. The results are in.