Latest Commentary on The War On Terrorism

Posted Tuesday 25 November 2003 at 21:25

There is a feature in my community newspaper called 
"Speak Out", and it allows readers to phone, e-mail,
or write in comments on any subject. An ill-informed
reader posted a sarcastic comment about the war and 
casualties, posing the question "How Safe Do You Feel?"
(which WILL NOT be reproduced here), crying just like 
those foolish Viet Nam protesters of years gone by. This
is my response, and I think it sums it up pretty well.

note: nowhere in my commentary will you find the comparison
to "Viet Nam", or the word "quagmire"



How safe do I feel? Right now much safer than before the 
"battle" in Iraq. You see, I think of Iraq as like the 
Battle of The Bulge, or Guadalcanal in WWII, because we 
ARE in the midst WWIII. WWIII started in my mind in 1979 
when our embassy workers in Iran were taken hostage for 
400+ days. Next came October 23, 1983, when our peace 
keeping forces in Beirut were brutally murdered in their 
sleep. It continued in October 1985 with the hijacking of 
the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro and the killing of 
disabled American tourist Leon Klinghoffer, his body dumped
overboard still in his wheelchair. More terrorism over 
Lockerbie Scotland in 1988 with PanAm Flight 103, in 
New York City with the 1993 W.T.C. bombing, and Khobar 
Towers Dhahran, Saudi Arabia in June 1996. Then in 1998 
with the simultaneous bombing of our embassies in Tanzania
and Kenya in Africa. Again in 2000 with the suicide bombing
of the USS Cole in Yemen. Of course you must remember 9-11?
How about Bali, Turkey, and the almost daily attacks in 
Israel, where many American tourists' have been caught up 
in that mess? President Bush declared war on terrorism with 
Congress behind him, and warned us that it would be a long 
war, with many different fronts. The President used Saddam 
Hussein's own stupidity and arrogance as the reason to enter 
Iraq. All Saddam had to do was let inspectors have free 
access, and the U.S. couldn't attack. Saddam and his boys 
would still be raping and pillaging their own country and 
people, living like kings. Now that we are there, the 
terrorists are coming from all over the region to fight our
military. It was awesome when President Bush said, 
"Bring it on!" I think it's great, that our Soldiers, 
Sailors, Airmen, and Marines, with all their training, 
equipment, and superior fire power are the ones taking on 
these vermin. That sounds like a good reason to be in a far
away land. How about changing the face of the middle east? A
working democratic arabic nation in the midst of monarchies 
and dictatorships, makes the people of the other nations 
look over and go "hmmmm?" Just look at what happened to 
the old soviet bloc. While every loss in battle is tragic, 
and my heart goes out to the families, they are there to 
do a job for us. They know the risks, and are willing to 
take them. They are fighting those that would kill as many 
of us here in the states as possible, simply for living our 
lives in freedom. I saw the Dateline NBC special that showed 
some severly disabled vets home from Iraq. The only regret 
they all have is the fact that they can't go back to fight 
some more. I am extremely proud of these warriors,  they are
the best of the best! Have there been any terrorist attacks 
on U.S. soil since 9-11? No, and I don't want there to be. I 
don't want the war on terrorism to be fought here in our cities. 
Peace is not negotiated, peace is won. Only when the Jihadists 
are destroyed, can the free world live in peace. 



Written, edited, and produced by David LaPorte on 11-25-03. Permission is hereby
granted for this commentary to be freely reproduced, printed, and distributed, 
unedited and in it's entirety, with full credit given to the author.