Four days have passed since an unspeakable
act of war was perpetrated against our country.
Today, we are a nation in mourning, a nation in shock, and a nation united in
prayer and hope that survivors can be found.
I, along with most other Americans, nay, most civilized people, am furious and
outraged at this vile, despicable act of treachery. I hope and pray that we as
a nation can remain steadfast in our resolve to eliminate those responsible.
I am also afraid that we will remain steadfast in our resolve to eliminate
those responsible.
For it will be a long arduous process, not without cost. We must steel
ourselves for battle. We must also realize that there will be casualties. This
will be a different war than anything most of us could imagine. The enemy will
not play by the rules as they are spelled out in the Law of Land Warfare. He
has already proven that by killing at least 5,000 innocent civilians. He is
committed, dedicated, and more than willing to die for his cause. We must be
equal to the challenge. The rules have changed.
We also need to temper our anger with reason as we are, after all, civilized
people. Let's not stoop to their level of hatred. We can't denounce an entire
race of people or an entire religion based on the acts of a few zealous
hate-mongers who hypocritically wage war on innocent people in the name of God.
These people do not speak for all of Islam nor do they speak for all
Arabs.
Bottom line:
We are in for a very rough ride. There will be strikes and retaliatory strikes.
Military action and more atrocious deeds committed by fanatics swept up in
their misguided religious fervor.
There will be more bloodshed. There will be more pain and suffering. And,
hopefully, at the end of it all, there will be no more terror.
Like most Americans, in my mind I have a list of wishes. I wish they would find
more survivors. I wish Saddam would claim responsibility for the attack. I wish
we could prove that Saddam and Usama Bin Laden DID orchestrate this horrible
event together. I wish the spin doctors would quit bad-mouthing the US
Intelligence Community. (I mean, come on! The US is over 3000 miles
coast-to-coast with a LOT of attractive targets for such acts. If anything,
blame the previous administration for the decimation of our human intelligence
(HUMINT) capability, extreme near-sighted oversight, and the unwillingness to
follow through on rhetoric thereby giving rise to an enemy who would dare do
this to us, and for the complete breakdown of the mightiest military on earth
by cutting its size by two-thirds and forcing it to become some grand social
experiment.) I wish the networks broadcasting continuing coverage of the
disaster would lose those annoying graphics at the bottom of the screen. I wish
they didn't interview idiots like the son of Billy Graham who proposed that we
use weapons of mass destruction instead of troops. (Stick to preaching, God
boy.) I wish that God will guide us and help us through the trying times that
are sure to come.
I wish this WAS just a movie.
I wish you all peace.
- Mike Jacquard
15 September 2001