Seven years ago today, America was attacked on her own soil. This was the worst attack against the United States by a determined enemy in an ongoing effort to assert dominance over the West, and especially over America. There have been a series of attacks against America by that enemy that began in 1979 in Iran. The attack on 9/11 was the most deadly, killing nearly 3,000 innocent Americans.
After eight years of being attacked around the world without responding in a serious way, a new President of the United States made a decision to respond to the 9/11 attacks with all the might of the United States and to dispel the notion then held by the Islamic jihadists that America was weak – a paper tiger.
Since 9/11/2001 America has routed out Al Queda leaders and other Islamic jihadist leaders from Afghanistan and Iraq. She has removed the deadly iron-fisted Taliban from rule in Afghanistan and the cruel dictator who supported jihadists and who was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of his own people in Iraq. We have liberated 50 Million people and removed two totalitarian regimes.
The U.S. has been responsible for the formation of democratic governments in both Afghanistan and Iraq, bringing freedom to millions of grateful Muslims in both those countries. Iraq is now a strong friend of America and the West in a strategic location in the Middle East. We have won the support of the ordinary Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan who don’t agree with the jihadists and who oppose violence. We are very close to a victory in the Iraqi battle. As Secretary of Defense Gates said yesterday to Congress, “We are entering the end-game in Iraq.” That is a big achievement. But, keep in mind that Iraq and Afghanistan are only battles in an ongoing war with radical Islam. There will be more battles in that war.
We have done much to destroy the organized groups who want to destroy us. But we aren’t finished. Through good intelligence activities we have managed to identify and disrupt over 150 terrorist threats and cells.
Further accomplishments made by the US and our Western Allies are: Worldwide, nearly two-thirds of al Qaida’s known senior leadership has been captured or killed — including a mastermind of the September 11th attacks; Worldwide, more than 3,000 operatives have been incapacitated; Five terrorist cells in Buffalo, Detroit, Seattle, Portland (Oregon), and Northern Virginia have been broken up; 401 individuals have been criminally charged in the United States in terrorism-related investigations; Already, 212 individuals have been convicted or have pleaded guilty in the United States, including shoe-bomber Richard Reid and “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh; and Over 515 individuals linked to the September 11th investigation have been removed from the United States.
We won’t always be so lucky. It is certainly probable, even likely, that additional attempts will be made to attack America. We should be very concerned about electing leaders who don’t truly understand the continuing threat to America and who think that we can deal with radical Islamists by appeasement or by negotiation alone.
Iran presents a credible threat to Western democracies in the region, and to the whole world. It’s leaders are not guided by the morality and Judeo-Christian values of America and the West. Terrorist organizations sponsored by Iran such as Hezbollah, Hamas and the Revolutionary Guard constitute ongoing threats to peace and democracy, as do Al Queda and its related organizations. I
t is inevitable that the United States, and its allies, will have to confront Iran in the near future.
We need to elect those who are capable of standing up to Iran and to other potential threats to America with strong leadership going forward.
We must never surrender. We must not forget 9/11, and we must never let another attack occur on American soil.
While you are considering who you want to see as the next President of the United States, keep in mind that the war is not over, and that America will continue to be under threat in the coming years. When you cast your vote for President, you should thoughtfully choose who you think will best be willing and able to defend this country against our enemies.
We should all take a minute today to think about those whose lives were cruelly taken on September 11, 2001, and about those brave Americans who have lost their lives in voluntary service to their country since 9/11, defending the freedom we all enjoy in our wonderful country.
BEAR TO THE RIGHT 