A US Marine Speaks Out

[ajwps]

Some powerful thoughts to reflect and to ponder over. This marine really has a handle on our "AMERICA."
----------------

I sat in a movie theater watching "Schindler's List," asked myself, "Why didn't the Jews fight back?"

Now I know why.

I sat in a movie theater, watching "Pearl Harbor" and asked myself, "Why weren't we prepared?"

Now I know why.

Civilized people cannot fathom, much less predict, the actions of evil people.

On September 11, dozens of capable airplane passengers allowed themselves to be overpowered by a handful of poorly armed terrorists because they did not comprehend the depth of hatred that motivated their captors.

On September 11, thousands of innocent people were murdered because too many Americans naively reject the reality that some nations are dedicated to the dominance of others. Many political pundits, pacifists and media personnel want us to forget the carnage. They say we must focus on the bravery of the rescuers and ignore the cowardice of the killers. They implore us to understand the motivation of the perpetrators. Major television stations have announced they will assist the healing process by not replaying devastating footage of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers.

I will not be manipulated.

I will not pretend to understand.

I will not forget.

I will not forget the liberal media who abused freedom of the press to kick our country when it was vulnerable and hurting.

I will not forget that CBS anchor Dan Rather preceded President Bush's address to the nation with the snide remark, "No matter how you feel about him, he is still our president."

I will not forget that ABC TV anchor Peter Jennings questioned President Bush's motives for not returning immediately to Washington, DC and commented, "We're all pretty skeptical and cynical about Washington."

And I will not forget that ABC's Mark Halperin warned if reporters weren't informed of every little detail of this war, they aren't "likely -- nor should they be expected -- to show deference."

I will not isolate myself from my fellow Americans by pretending an attack on the USS Cole in Yemen was not an attack on the United States of America.

I will not forget the Clinton administration equipped Islamic terrorists and their supporters with the world's most sophisticated telecommunications equipment and encryption technology, thereby compromising America's ability to trace terrorist radio, cell phone, land lines, faxes and modem communications.

I will not be appeased with pointless, quick retaliatory strikes like those perfected by the previous administration.

I will not be comforted by "feel-good, do nothing" regulations like the silly, "Have your bags been under your control?" question at the airport.

I will not be influenced by so called,"antiwar demonstrators" who exploit the right of ___expression to chant anti-American obscenities.

I will not forget the moral victory handed the North Vietnamese by American war protesters who reviled and spat upon the returning soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines.

I will not be softened by the wishful thinking of pacifists who chose reassurance over reality.

I will embrace the wise words of Prime Minister Tony Blair who told the Labor Party conference, "They have no moral inhibition on the slaughter of the innocent. If they could have murdered not 7,000 but 70,000, does anyone doubt they would have done so and rejoiced in it?

There is no compromise possible with such people, no meeting of minds, no point of understanding with such terror. Just a choice: defeat it or be defeated by it. And defeat it we must!"

I will force myself to:

-hear the weeping -feel the helplessness -imagine the terror -sense the panic -smell the burning flesh - experience the loss - remember the hatred.

I sat in a movie theater, watching "Private Ryan" and asked myself, "Where did they find the courage?"

Now I know.

We have no choice. Living without liberty is not living.

-- Ed Evans, MGySgt., USMC (Ret.) Not as lean, Not as mean, But still a Marine.

 

[UsaPride]

 

[Adam's Apple]

Great post. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Yurt]

Excellent!

 

[DFresh]

In regards to:
I will not forget the Clinton administration equipped Islamic terrorists and their supporters with the world's most sophisticated telecommunications equipment and encryption technology, thereby compromising America's ability to trace terrorist radio, cell phone, land lines, faxes and modem communications

can you be more specific

thx

It's important not to forget but also not to be blinded by the anger of the past. good post

 

[ajwps]

Originally posted by DFresh

In regards to:
I will not forget the Clinton administration equipped Islamic terrorists and their supporters with the world's most sophisticated telecommunications equipment and encryption technology, thereby compromising America's ability to trace terrorist radio, cell phone, land lines, faxes and modem communications

can you be more specific

thx

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=24466

"The technology that would allow these terrorists to mask their communications was given away, hand over fist, by the Clinton administration," he said in an interview with WorldNetDaily.

Leitner says the previous administration rubber-stamped the shipment of top-end military-related telecommunications equipment to Syria, which is on the FBI's list of sensitive countries that pose a threat to U.S. security.

"Syria is a terrorist-supporting nation," he said. "They provide infrastructure to bastards like [Osama] bin Laden. They provide backup and support and communications abilities to these terrorist cells."

So what kind of gear has Syria -- and likely bin Laden, by way of Syria -- gotten from America?

Spread-spectrum radios

"We're giving them spread-spectrum radios, which are almost impossible to break into. We're giving them fiber optics. We're giving them a high level of encryption. We're giving them computer networks that can't be tapped," Leitner said.

Spread-spectrum radios, originally designed for military use only, change their frequency constantly.

"Bin Laden's cells aren't having any trouble communicating anymore," Leitner said.

Bin Laden, the world's No. 1 terrorist and the Pentagon's chief suspect in Tuesday's attacks, is known to use portable satellite telephones, advanced encryption cell phones and other encrypted telephony equipment, as well as secure computer networks -- all compliments of U.S. technology, Leitner says.

 

[ScreamingEagle]

Originally posted by ajwps
Some powerful thoughts to reflect and to ponder over. This marine really has a handle on our "AMERICA."
----------------

Everybody make copies and distribute!

Super!

 

[Avatar4321]

Wow that was good. I wont forget either but it seems many people do

 

[PatriotEagle]

We have no choice. Living without liberty is not living.

Exactly. Why then, did the cowards in Washington, on both sides of the aisle, pass the Patriot Act? It was a trite overreaction to 9/11, in that it addressed little of the actual flaws that allowed 9/11 to happen. Instead, it stands as a blight upon the tradition of liberty that this country upholds. One step away from the Founders, one step closer to Orwell

 

[menewa]

I will not forget how the Reagan Administration armed Saddam Hussein and covered for his ass when he gassed the Kurds.

I will not forget how George W. Bush constantly invoked the horrible day of 9-11 as an excuse to invade Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with the attack.

I will not forget how Bush's bungling foreign policy has led to an increase in the number of terrorist attacks around the world.

 

[MtnBiker]

Originally posted by menewa

I will not forget how Bush's bungling foreign policy has led to an increase in the number of terrorist attacks around the world.

An increase in terrorist attacks, how do you figure that?

 

[menewa]

Originally posted by MtnBiker
An increase in terrorist attacks, how do you figure that?

The revised terrorism report released by the Bush White House about a month ago now showed an increase in the number of terrorist attacks around the world from the year before. And this, after excluding all terrorist attacks inside the occupied nation of Iraq.

Here's a link:

http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/22/powell.terror/

 

[Annie]

and how do you arrive at the cause and effect?

 

[NewGuy]

Civilized people cannot fathom, much less predict, the actions of evil people.

I have a problem with this.

The only people who cannot are the insulated brainwashed American populace who has been taught that the government can do everything for them and all they have to do is be fat, lazy, and pay taxes.

It doesn't work that way, but that is what the masses have been convinced of.

Personal responsibility is gone.

Moral responsibility is gone.

Because of this, people forget police see the criminal element all the time.

So do locksmiths.

So do youth leaders.

So do rehab counselors.

The criminal mind is not difficult to understand.

You have been lead to believe that by a nation of power hungry corrupt politicians.

Why is this important?

So you know that while you fight an enemy bent on taking over the world by sword, you are giving in to one which is taking over by PEACE.

The sword and this PEACE are equally deadly.

FIGHT BOTH.

 

[menewa]

Originally posted by Kathianne
and how do you arrive at the cause and effect?

I'm simply making a logical connection. Bush illegally invades a Muslim nation and suddenly the number of terrorist attacks increase more than it has in the past two decades. It might be plain coincidence, but my neurons tell me otherwise.

 

[Annie]

Originally posted by menewa
I'm simply making a logical connection. Bush illegally invades a Muslim nation and suddenly the number of terrorist attacks increase more than it has in the past two decades. It might be plain coincidence, but my neurons tell me otherwise.

I wouldn't be so sure. It may be that the ferocity of attacks are down, though the frequency is up. It may be that attacks on the troops are being counted, when they are now engaging and eliminating those they may have hurt civilians in other circumstances.

I wouldn't trust your neurons, you've yet to cite evidence that the average Iraqis want us out.

 

[menewa]

Originally posted by Kathianne
I wouldn't be so sure. It may be that the ferocity of attacks are down, though the frequency is up. It may be that attacks on the troops are being counted, when they are now engaging and eliminating those they may have hurt civilians in other circumstances.

I wouldn't trust your neurons, you've yet to cite evidence that the average Iraqis want us out.

I didn't mean all Iraqis. I only meant the fundamentalists?

 

[ajwps]

Originally posted by menewa

I will not forget how the Reagan Administration armed Saddam Hussein and covered for his ass when he gassed the Kurds.

Yes, the result of arming Sadaam was a prolonged war between the Iraqis and the Iranians during time which the world became much safer with less terrorists left standing.

I will not forget how George W. Bush constantly invoked the horrible day of 9-11 as an excuse to invade Iraq, a country that had nothing to do with the attack.

Of course you have certified verifiable evidence of this assertion that Sadaam and the Al-Quaida in Iraq had nothing whatsoever to do with 9/11? Everyone would be enthralled to hear or see any evidence that confirms your highly enlightened OPINION!

I will not forget how Bush's bungling foreign policy has led to an increase in the number of terrorist attacks around the world.

Let's take a closer look at this Indians conclusion that George Bush's policy led to increased terrorist attacks around the world.

1) 1975
Jan. 24, New York City: bomb set off in historic Fraunces Tavern killed 4 and injured more than 50 people. Puerto Rican nationalist group (FALN) claimed responsibility, and police tied 13 other bombings to the group.
1983

2) April 18, Beirut, Lebanon: U.S. embassy destroyed in suicide car-bomb attack; 63 dead. October, 1998

3) Oct. 23, Beirut, Lebanon: Shi'ite suicide bombers exploded truck near U.S. military barracks at Beirut airport, killing 241 Marines. Minutes later a second bomb killed 58 French paratroopers in their barracks in West Beirut.
1988

4) Dec. 21, Lockerbie, Scotland: N.Y.-bound Pan-Am Boeing 747 exploded in flight from a terrorist bomb and crashed into Scottish village, killing all 259 aboard and 11 on the ground. Passengers included 35 Syracuse University students and many U.S. military personnel. Libya formally admitted responsibility 15 years later (Aug. 2003) and offered $2.7 billion compensation to victims' families.
1993

5) Feb. 26, New York City: bomb exploded in basement garage of World Trade Center, killing 6 and injuring at least 1,040 others. In 1995, militant Islamist Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and 9 others were convicted of conspiracy charges, and in 1998, Ramzi Yousef, believed to have been the mastermind, was convicted of the bombing. Al-Qaeda involvement is suspected.
1995

6) April 19, Oklahoma City: car bomb exploded outside federal office building, collapsing wall and floors. 168 people were killed, including 19 children and 1 person who died in rescue effort. Over 220 buildings sustained damage. Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols later convicted in the antigovernment plot to avenge the Branch Davidian standoff in Waco, Tex., exactly two years earlier. (See Miscellaneous Disasters.)
1996

7) June 25, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: truck bomb exploded outside Khobar Towers military complex, killing 19 American servicemen and injuring hundreds of others. Thirteen Saudis and a Lebanese, all alleged members of Islamic militant group Hezbollah, were indicted on charges relating to the attack in June 2001.
1998

8) Aug. 7, Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: truck bombs exploded almost simultaneously near 2 U.S. embassies, killing 224 (213 in Kenya and 11 in Tanzania) and injuring about 4,500. Four men, two of whom had received training at al-Qaeda camps inside Afghanistan, were convicted of the killings in May 2001 and later sentenced to life in prison. A federal grand jury had indicted 22 men in connection with the attacks, including Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who remained at large.
2000

9) Oct. 12, Aden, Yemen: U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole was heavily damaged when a small boat loaded with explosives blew up alongside it. Seventeen sailors were killed in a deliberate terrorist attack. Osama bin Laden, or members of his al-Qaeda terrorist network suspected. October 2000

and on and on and on and on.....

Yep your right there were hardly any terrorist attacks around the world prior to George W. Bush's policies. What a memory you have.

 

[menewa]

Originally posted by ajwps

Of course you have certified verifiable evidence of this assertion that Sadaam and the Al-Quaida in Iraq had nothing whatsoever to do with 9/11? Everyone would be enthralled to hear or see any evidence that confirms your highly enlightened OPINION!

Well, one of the largest and most diligent investigations ever undertaken by our Senate has failed to find anything. Don't you read the news.

Yep your right there were hardly any terrorist attacks around the world prior to George W. Bush's policies. What a memory you have.

In fact, in 2003, there were more terrorist in the world than in the last 21 years. And this was not counting such actions in Iraq.

Again, don't you read the news or do you just rely on osmosis.

 

[ajwps]

Originally posted by menewa

Well, one of the largest and most diligent investigations ever undertaken by our Senate has failed to find anything. Don't you read the news.

Yes I read the news but do you believe everything you read in the news media? Are the US Senate investigation findings proof positive? Not many people believe that this group of self acknowledged brilliant elected men have all the evidence as yet?

http://themoderatevoice.typepad.com/blog/2004/06/opps_the_sequel.html

More red faces in Washington?

John F. Lehman, a highly respected Reagan-era GOP defense official told NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday that documents captured in Iraq "indicate that there is at least one officer of Saddam's Fedayeen, a lieutenant colonel, who was a very prominent member of al Qaida." So this became a monster story, interpreted as the possible missing link that would begin to prove the Iraqi-Al Qaeda connection. And even if partisans debated over it (which they had started to do) it would be a good start at solid proof.

Then there were news reports saying the 911 commission had received "new information indicating that a senior officer in an elite unit of the security services of deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein may have been a member of al-Qaida involved in the planning of the suicide hijackings." And, of course, the usual talking-head analysis on television, talk of vindication by talk show hosts, and expressions of cynacism by Democrats.

But now it looks it may be a case of (to borrow a phrase from an old Saturday Night Live skit) "Never mind." The Washington Post:

An allegation that a high-ranking al Qaeda member was an officer in Saddam Hussein's private militia may have resulted from confusion over Iraqi names, a senior administration official said yesterday.

Former Navy secretary John Lehman, a Republican member of the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said Sunday that documents found in Iraq "indicate that there is at least one officer of Saddam's Fedayeen, a lieutenant colonel, who was a very prominent member of al Qaeda." Although he said the identity "still has to be confirmed," Lehman introduced the information on NBC's "Meet the Press" to counter a commission staff report that said there were contacts between Iraq and al Qaeda but no "collaborative relationship."

Yesterday, the senior administration official said Lehman had probably confused two people who have similar-sounding names.

Even so, both sides haven't really changed their positions -- since much of what is at play on this issue hinges on a person's world view.

Hindrocket at ever-lively Powerline argues that there could indeed still be is a connection:"The evidence as we know it is highly suggestive of a connection between Shakir (the lieutenant colonel) and the Iraqi government, even apart from his possible membership in the Fedayeen. But you won't read any of those details in the mainstream media. All you will hear is: pay no attention to the man behind the curtain."

Billmon, on the other hand, concludes: "The point is that the neocons, in their desperate search for an excuse for having led the country - and their clueless leader - into the Iraq disaster, are staking a claim that intelligence contacts between Iraq and al Qaeda (which is all we have credible evidence of) amount to an intelligence relationship, one serious enough to justify preventative war."

Read both of the above excellent posts in full. They make their cases quite well. The bottom line seems to be: if Lehman didn't quite catch Howard Dean Disease, he did open his mouth a little too WIDE at a time when his factual assertion was not...in fact....a proven fact. This sparked a scramble by both sides.

It's clear that on the war issue every fact, every assertion is going to be carefully examined and challenged -- on both sides. And it's not just election year; it's the magnitude and implications of this issue.

UPDATE: A reader sent us links to two interesting stories about bin Laden that appeared during the Clinton administration. They are QUITE interesting...but these are definitely not the "smoking gun" that settles it and proves a connection. They simply indicate that bin Laden was indeed on the radar at that point and Sadaam offered him asylum. These stories are worth reading (and saving):

--CNN report from 1999 about bin Laden leaving Afghanistan
--Guardian report from 1999 about Sadaam link to bin Laden -- but again it's about offering asylum.

Sourcing is uncertain (but that doesn't mean the facts are not correct) on these 1999 stories (TMV is a former reporter so he knows about sourcing). One source on Guardian is the intelligence community; the other Iraqi exiles, whose general information has recently been called extremely unreliable if downright false. The stories are a LINK...a LEAD...but they don't make the case (or come close to closing it). Article also quotes Saudi officials as saying bin Laden would have a strong "aversion" to accepting Iraqi hospitality (which critics could use to prove that talk of a connection was overblown)....and about how Afghanistgan oficials assured Saudis that bin Laden would likely be leaving their country (yeah, right).

In fact, in 2003, there were more terrorist in the world than in the last 21 years. And this was not counting such actions in Iraq.

In fact? Whose facts? Are you having trouble counting? Give some site or proof of this allegation. What facts do you have that gives any correlation between Bush's policies and terrorist attacks?

In fact, attempting to link GW Bush's policies with terrorist acts is the equivalent of linking birth defects and moon beams. There is no connection other than your hatred of Bush.