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TERRORISM HISTORY
U.S. History 101
VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE!
You have to read the catalogue of events in this brief piece. Then, ask yourself how anyone can take the position that all we have to do is bring our troops home from Iraq, sit back, reset the snooze alarm, go back to sleep, and no one will ever bother us again. In case you missed it, World War III began in November 1979... that alarm has been ringing for years.
US Navy Captain Ouimette is the Executive Officer at Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida. Here is a copy of the speech he gave. It is an accurate account of why we are in so much trouble today and why this action is so necessary.
AMERICA NEEDS TO WAKE UP! That's what we think we heard on the 11th of September 2001 (When more than 3,000 Americans were killed -AD) and maybe it was, but I think it should have been "Get Out of Bed!" In fact, I think the alarm clock has been buzzing since 1979 and we have continued to hit the snooze button and roll over for a few more minutes of peaceful sleep since then.
It was a cool fall day in November 1979 in a country going through a religious and political upheaval when a group of Iranian students attacked and seized the American Embassy in Tehran. This seizure was an outright attack on American soil; it was an attack that held the world's most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency. The attack on this sovereign U. S. embassy set the stage for events to follow for the next 25 years. America was still reeling from the aftermath of the Vietnam experience and had a serious threat from the Soviet Union when then, President Carter had to do something. He chose to conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America's inability to deal with terrorism. America's military had been decimated and down sized/right sized since the end of the Vietnam War. A poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly organized military was called on to execute a complex mission that was doomed from the start.
Shortly after the Tehran experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East. America could do little to protect her citizens living and working abroad. The attacks against US soil continued.
In April of 1983 a large vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the US Embassy compound in Beirut When it explodes, it kills 63 people. The alarm went off again and America hit the Snooze Button once more.
Then just six short months later a large truck heavily laden down with over 2500 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut and 241 US servicemen are killed. America mourns her dead and hit the Snooze Button once more.
Two months later in December 1983, another truck loaded with explosives is driven into the US Embassy in Kuwait, and America continues her slumber.
The following year, in September 1984, another van was driven into the gate of the US Embassy in Beirut and America slept.
Soon the terrorism spreads to Europe. In April 1985 a bomb explodes in a restaurant frequented by US soldiers in Madrid.
Then in August a Volkswagen loaded with explosives is driven into the main gate of the US Air Force Base at Rhein-Main, 22 are killed and the snooze alarm is buzzing louder and louder as US interests are continually attacked.
Fifty-nine days later a cruise ship, the Achille Lauro is hijacked and we watched as an American in a wheelchair is singled out of the passenger list and executed.
The terrorists then shift their tactics to bombing civilian airliners when they bomb TWA Flight 840 in April of 1986 that killed 4 and the most tragic bombing, Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing 259. Clinton treated these terrorist acts as crimes; in fact we are still trying to bring these people to trial. These are acts of war. The wake up alarm is getting louder and louder.
The terrorists decide to bring the fight to America. In January 1993, two CIA agents are shot and killed as they enter CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
The following month, February 1993, a group of terrorists are arrested after a rented van packed with explosives is driven into the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. Six people are killed and over 1000 are injured. Still this is a crime and not an act of war? The Snooze alarm is depressed again.
Then in November 1995 a car bomb explodes at a US military complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia killing seven service men and women.
A few months later in June of 1996, another truck bomb explodes only 35 yards from the US military compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It destroys the Khobar Towers, a US Air Force barracks, killing 19 and injuring over 500. The terrorists are getting braver and smarter as they see that America does not respond decisively.
They move to coordinate their attacks in a simultaneous attack on two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. These attacks were planned with precision. They kill 224. America responds with cruise missile attacks and goes back to sleep.
The USS Cole was docked in the port of Aden, Yemen for refueling on 12 October 2000, when a small craft pulled along side the ship and exploded killing 17 US Navy Sailors. Attacking a US War Ship is an act of war, but we sent the FBI to investigate the crime and went back to sleep.
And of course you know the events of 11 September 2001. Most Americans think this was the first attack against US soil or in America. How wrong they are. America has been under a constant attack since 1979 and we chose to hit the snooze alarm and roll over and go back to sleep.
In the news lately we have seen lots of finger pointing from every high official in government over what they knew and what they didn't know. But if you've read the papers and paid a little attention I think you can see exactly what they knew. You don't have to be in the FBI or CIA or on the National Security Council to see the pattern that has been developing since 1979. The President is right on when he says we are engaged in a war. I think we have been in a war for the past 25 years and it will continue until we as a people decide enough is enough. America needs to "Get out of Bed" and act decisively now.
America has been changed forever. We have to be ready to pay the price and make the sacrifice to ensure our way of life continues. We cannot afford to keep hitting the snooze button again and again and roll over and go back to sleep.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto said "... it seems all we have done is awakened a sleeping giant." This is the message we need to disseminate to terrorists around the world.
Support Our Troops and support President Bush for having the courage, political or militarily, to address what so many who preceded him didn't have the backbone to do both Democrat and Republican. This is not a political thing to be hashed over in an election year this is an AMERICAN thing. This is about our Freedom and the Freedom of our children in years to come.
If you believe in this please forward it to as many people as you can especially to the young people and all those who dozed off in history class and who seem so quick to protest such a necessary military action. If you don't believe it, just delete it and go back to sleep.
Note: Over 4,000 lives were lost by Terroist actions against the United States prior to declaring war on Terrorism around the world after 911.
~ "LEST WE FORGET" ? ~ (THE EDITOR)
DID
YOU KNOW THIS?
Did you know that Iraq's higher educational structure consists of 20
Universities, 46 Institutes or colleges and 4 research centers, all
currently operating?
Did you
know that 25 Iraq students departed for the United States in
January 2005 for the re-established Fulbright program?
Did you know that the Iraqi Navy is operational?
They have
5 - 100-foot
patrol craft, 34 smaller vessels and a naval infantry regiment.
Did you know that Iraq's Air Force consists of three operational
squadrons, which includes 9 reconnaissance and 3 US C-130 transport
aircraft (under Iraqi operational control) which operate day and night,
and will soon add 16 UH-1 helicopters and 4 Bell Jet Rangers?
Did you know that Iraq has a counter-terrorist unit and a Commando
Battalion?
Did you know that the Iraqi Police Service has over 55,000 fully trained
and equipped police officers?
Did you
know that there are 5 Police
Academies in Iraq that produce over 3500 new officers each 8 weeks?
Did you know there are more than 1100 building projects going on in Iraq?
They include
364 schools, 67 public clinics, 15 hospitals, 83 railroad
stations, 22 oil facilities, 93 water facilities and 69 electrical facilities.
Did you know that 96% of Iraqi children under the age of 5 have received
the first 2 series of polio vaccinations?
Did you know that 4.3 million Iraqi children were enrolled in primary
school by mid October?
Did you
know that there are 1,192,000 cell phone
subscribers in Iraq and phone use has gone up 158%?
Did you know that Iraq has an independent media that consists of 75 radio
stations, 180 newspapers and 10 television stations? Did you know that the
Baghdad Stock Exchange opened in June of 2004?
Did you know that 2 candidates in the Iraqi presidential election had a
televised debate recently?
The lack of accentuating the positive in Iraq serves two purposes.
It is
intended to undermine the world's perception of the United States thus minimizing
consequent support, and it
is intended to discourage American citizens.
Above facts are verifiable
on the
Department of Defense web site.
RELIGION OF PEACE DEMONSTRATION
These Pictures tell it all!
Muslims have stated that
England will be the first country they take over!
These are pictures not shown
on American TV or in American Newspapers (as they might help Bush's war on terror),
but were forwarded to me by someone who got it from someone. Take it for what
it is worth.
These pictures are of Muslims marching through the streets of London during their recent "Religion of Peace Demonstration."
Why would anyone think that we should be at war with such nice, peaceful Muslims?
Americans need to Know!!!
THANK OUR TROOPS
BY JAKE JAEKEL VP RIVER CITY CHAPTER SIX
My wife, Merle, and I traveled to Hawaii to spend this last Thanksgiving with family members. I spent some time at the pool under the Banyon tree talking to some of our service men and women on rest and recreation leave from many different parts of the world.
One Marine Sergeant has deployed three times in support of the Global War on Terrorism. He’s been to Iraq twice and part of a security force in the Philippines. On his first deployment they were guarding Iraqi waterways ensuring no Terrorist boats made their way through the country. The Marines would use escalation of force to keep insurgents at bay. When a boat would approach Marines would shoot to the side of the craft as a warning and it wasn’t until it was to close that the Marines would shoot at them. Once their boat was hit they would turn around.
His most recent deployment was to Iraq as a recon Marine conducting direct action missions. They were given any Intelligence that was gathered and go out and locate high value targets all over the west side of the country, conducting more than 200 raids during their six-month deployment.
One of the most memorable raids was when a Marine threw a grenade in a room to clear it. There was a propane leak in the kitchen and when the grenade went off the propane blew the roof off the kitchen. It just so happened that every Marine was standing by a window so nobody was hurt.
The number of Marines conducting a raid depended on the size of the house or the number of insurgents inside. There could be as few as four or as many as thirty Marines on a raid. It got so that usually they would get one guy and he’d be so scared he’d start divulging information; that’s why we had so many raids. He felt they got a lot of good work done and that they made a big difference.
Another Marine veteran said it was hard to believe that Iraqis in western al Anbar province have now formed a 20-team soccer league in Habbaniya. The Coalition brought stability to the area by establishing the Coalition Outposts (COP).
Two outposts were dark examples of the desperate struggle for the future of the region. One was manned by an U. S. Army Military Transition Team of approximately 15 Soldiers embedded as an advisory group in an Iraqi battalion. The Team had seen every single member wounded at least once. Both out posts were subject to daily sniper and mortar attacks. And every inch was a possible place to conceal a bomb. Even parts of the main base at Habbaniya were threaten by sniper and mortar attacks because of a shanty town teeming with insurgents on the other side of the base wall. Civilians were even more vulnerable to violence and the streets seemed mostly deserted everywhere.
Now they are playing soccer for the first time in Habbaniya since the Iraqi war started in 2003 and it is part of an organized league of 20 teams. Soccer is a national pastime and the Iraqis finally feel safe enough to play. What’s more, according to the Troops, they are safe enough to stand on the sidelines and joke with Iraqi players they know.
I won’t try to explain why things changed in the last year or so; I think we all should congratulate the Americans and Iraqi’s that made it possible.
December 19, 2007
