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n September 11th, our nation was confronted with pure evil: the
mass murder of nearly 7,000 Americans — the worst carnage wrought
against U.S. citizens in a single day since our nation's founding.
The enemy struck at the heart of our financial and military centers.
It used our own civilian airliners, loaded with passengers, to execute
its deadly attacks. And it all occurred in the light of the morning
sun.
Some in academia
and the media are beginning to question the ability of the United
States to hold not only Osama bin Laden and his organization, Al
Qaeda, responsible for their terrorist acts; they warn against America
declaring a wider war that targets states which sponsor bin Laden
and other international murderers. They see a thousand reasons not
to act, with capitulation as the unstated consequence. These naysayers
misapprehend the true nature of America and the resolve of her people.
In recent
years, our country has experienced unprecedented prosperity and,
with the end of the Cold War, the illusion of impenetrable borders.
This national mood fueled a political dialogue that can best be
described as petty and superficial — involving such topics
as nonexistent Social Security and Medicare lockboxes, the dangers
of handheld cell phones, the well-being of the caribou in the Alaska
National Wildlife Reserve, and the last gallon of gasoline that
can be squeezed out of sports utility vehicles.
But when the
American people are roused, as they were on September 11th, they
are the most resolute people to ever occupy this earth. On December
7, 1941, the Empire of Japan unleashed a surprise attack on Pearl
Harbor, which crippled our Pacific fleet. The day following this
assault, Winston Churchill, a student of the American Civil War,
commented, in part:
Silly
people — and there were many, not only in the enemy countries
— might discount the force of the United States. Some said
they were soft, others that they would never be united. They would
fool around at a distance. They would never come to grips. They
would never stand blood-letting. Their democracy and system of recurrent
elections would paralyze their war effort. They would be just a
vague blur on the horizon to friend and foe. Now we should see the
weakness of this numerous but remote, wealthy, and talkative people.
But I had studied the American Civil War, fought out to the last
desperate inch. American blood flowed in my veins. I thought of
a remark Edward Grey had made to me more than thirty years before
— that the United States is like “a gigantic boiler. Once the
fire is lighted under it there is no limit to the power it can generate.
Being saturated and satiated with emotion and sensation, I went
to bed and slept the sleep of the saved and thankful.”
Indeed, the
Civil War tested America's mettle like nothing before or since.
Every one of the 646,000-plus casualties was an American casualty.
And Churchill
knew that only America could recover from such a devastating military
strike as Pearl Harbor, rebuild her fleet in record time, and eventually
lead the Allies to victory over some of the most depraved, murderous,
and powerful despots in world history.
America exists
to defend freedom, overcome adversity, and right wrongs. International
terrorists and the rogue states that give them sustenance and protection
are our sworn enemies. They preach hate, kill without provocation
or remorse, and rule at the point of a gun. They declared war on
the United States long ago. But not until the horrendous killings
on September 11th was America finally moved to respond.
This war will
not be easy, short, or painless. Our commander-in-chief has made
this quite clear. Our enemies are no less resourceful and persistent
than the kamikazes who preceded them. But this nation, which has
overcome all past adversities, will do so again. The deaths of nearly
7,000 of our compatriots will be avenged. This we can be sure. We
are, after all, Americans.
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