Lessons of September 11th

Last night the President addressed the nation from a military town in the heart of the North Carolina. About 9,300 soldiers and airmen from Fort Bragg and the adjacent Pope Air Force Base are deployed to Iraq, and 89 have been killed there or in Afghanistan. Johnny Walton of the 82nd Airborne Wolfpack Division, our grandson returned from Iraq, was there.

Before his speech, President Bush met privately with 90 relatives of slain service members. Crystal Owen, a third-grade teacher, asked the president to wear a metal bracelet memorializing her deceased husband, Staff Sgt. Mike Owen, and Cpl. John Santos, both of whom were killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The President was visibly moved and spoke sincerely: "Like most Americans, I see the images of violence and bloodshed. Every picture is horrifying, and the suffering is real. Amid all this violence, I know Americans ask the question: Is the sacrifice worth it? It is worth it, and it is vital to the future security of our country."

The media critics and the Democrats wasted no time rallying around our troops and our commander. Instead, Kerry, Kennedy, Durbin, Pelosi, Reed and the rest of the weak kneed crowd immediately began yammering their old saws about quagmire, dredged up from the Viet Nam playbook. The president should know he hit the sweet spot during his speech because all the right people are angry.

They had the gall to accuse the President of using the 9/11 tragedy to drum up support for the war. Just imagine if President Roosevelt, during WWII, was prohibited from talking about the attack on Pearl Harbor.

The Dem’s argue that the war on terror is unconnected to the Iraq war, since everyone knows that Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11. They want America to believe that our soldiers are fighting and dying for nothing much. One even said "what if we do win, what would it be worth?"

On the first point they ought to read the fine article by liberal writer Nicholas Lemann in the liberal New Yorker magazine's February 17/24, 2003 issue, "After Iraq: The Plan to Remake the Middle East". Here's what Lemann wrote following the State of the Union address and 6 weeks before we invaded Iraq:

" Has a war ever been as elaborately justified in advance as the coming war with Iraq? In his State of the Union address, President Bush offered at least four justifications, none of them overlapping: the cruelty of Saddam against his own people; his flouting of treaties and United Nations Security Council resolutions; the military threat that he poses to his neighbors; and his ties to terrorists in general and to Al Qaeda in particular. In addition, Bush hinted at the possibility that Saddam might attack the United States or enable someone else to do so."

Note there was no mention of Saddam tied to the 9/11 attack.

On the second point, it is truly appalling that they fail to see the enormous importance of this war. Do the Dems ask themselves what Zarqawi and his merry band of cut throats would be doing if we did not have them occupied and dying in Iraq? Could it be they might be blowing up trains in Spain, or killing the pope or committing some atrocity at Euro Disney or Yankee Stadium?

When the Japanese attacked Hawaii, we did not pull back to the West Coast and hope that they would go away. No, we invaded the South Pacific, fought on Guam and Midway and ultimately dropped atomic bombs on Japan. We took the fight to the Japanese, and never again had to fight on US soil.

One of the most ludicrous Demo accusations is that we have no “exit strategy.” Since when did we ever fight a war with an exit strategy? Unless by that you mean unconditional surrender. A war with an exit strategy is a war you intend to lose.

The President was having none of that: "We will stay in Iraq as long as we are needed and not a day longer." He added, "Our strategy can be summed up this way: As the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down."

It was good to hear the commander-in-chief remind people that this is still the war against Islamo-fascists who slaughtered 3000 Americans on 9/11 and who spent the eight years before those atrocities murdering and promising to murder Americans.

President Bush asked all Americans to pray for our brave soldiers and to let them know how much we appreciate their service. He mentioned a web site for just that purpose at America Supports You. Go there and do your duty. Also visit the mil blog Soldiers Angels where you can “adopt” a soldier. Every classroom in the country should do that.