A 9-11 Memorial: How We Lost the War on Terrorism

By Mark David Blum, Esq.

As all of us suffer and mourn this day in remembrance of the life, property, and dreams that collapsed five years ago, we should never forget who are our enemies and why we fight. Going to War against Terrorism, like going to War against Drugs … is going to War against an inanimate object or a methodology of combat … it has been a fool’s errand. Kicking the crap out of those who intend us harm should have been goal #1. Instead, our President led us around the world seeking to change the sociology and politics of every society.

I remember how slightly more than a year ago, I never expected to hear start my Sunday morning were the words of George Kilpatrick, talk show host on Syracuse’s WSYR radio, proclaim on July 10, 2005 without hesitation that “they have won.” The “they” he was referring to are the terrorists.

At first, I was taken aback. Mr. Kilpatrick, a man I know and love (not that there is anything wrong with that), is not know for going that far out on a limb. Having established himself as being the most non-confrontational and touchy-feely radio host around, to make such an outlandish statement took more chutzpah than I thought he had.

Of course, George was right. Not only are they winning, but yes George … they indeed have won. Think about it …

‘Terrorism’ is not a cult, a political theory, nor a religion. It is a means of operation and advancing a political agenda … much the same as any body politic will rely upon its police and military units to advance and protect its’ own ‘turf’. Smaller units have always fought larger ones using such tactics. Our own Founders operated in much the same way back in their day.

Bombs went off in the London subway. Forty nine people dead. The entire world mourned. Three days later, bombs went off in downtown Baghdad killing 48 people. Nobody cared. The hypocrisy is now obvious. Iraqis, Islam, or the loss of life that is not White is irrelevant to us. Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda, Dharfur, Zimbabwe all slaughter their own and we do not care. In some cases, we encourage it.

We are told by our government to forget the lies originally told about WMD, so long as we have freed the Iraqi people from a brutal dictator. Implied in that argument is that Americans are supposed to care for the Iraqi people and show a brotherhood with their drive to freedom. So pray tell, why do we mourn so loudly when 49 Londoners die and turn our backs when 48 Baghdadis are blown apart two days later?

No number of homicide bombers or falling airplanes can change us as a people or end our government. Ours is a nation that to the last person, will carry the spirit of the constitution and battles for liberty fought over the centuries. Killing three thousand of us in one day proved that we are just too big in spirit, size, and power to be destroyed militarily. Even Abraham Lincoln early on recognized that no foreign power will ever have boots on the banks of the Ohio River. He said that which will destroy us will come from within.

But the terrorists used weapons far more effective than any dirty bomb. They used fear. Where they failed through violence, they won through legislation. Freedom has been lost not because the Pentagon was attacked but because freedom was attacked through such entities as the Patriot Act, the Department of Homeland Security, closing the borders, the Gitmo -- Abu Ghraib -- Secret Prisons sagas, airport searches, and invasions of privacy at every level of government. This is all done in the name of security. These are the weapons of terrorism; attacking the people themselves and turning them against each other.

It is not the terrorists, but we who have changed our society. We are allowing the poison of the extremist ideology to infect our hearts and souls. What we call “terrorists”, are nothing more than extremists of one political ideology or another. Be they Islamic Terrorists, IRA, or Rudolph and McVeigh; it is the extremist who is the enemy of freedom loving people. Extremists in government do not get a free pass. According to our Senate; not being as bad as Adolf Hitler or Pol Pot or Josef Stalin has become the new standard for who we are as a People.

What extremists could not with their bombs, we do to ourselves. We are surrendering our rights. We are starting to factionalize and mistrust our own. Half our nation hates the other half. Few trust the government or the media or academia to tell the truth. We are closing our borders to our oldest friends. We are isolating ourselves from the world community. What was once the bright shining star of nations is dulling in the glow of blood and despair.

If they look at the Israeli model, they will see how this all plays out. First of all, generation after generation of attacks will keep coming and they will get more sophisticated and violent. Our children and theirs will grow up in a world of mistrust, fear and revenge. The natural instinct to punish and retaliate against weaker opponents begins to give the impression of being a bully. Over the years, the nation works harder to make itself safer and the only real result is further isolation and condemnation in the international community.

Second, American society is transitioning to one without walls. Everything done, every movement made, every thought written, and every word read is being scanned and investigated. Reporters are going to prison. People strip down to their skivvies just to get on an airplane. Privacy and personal liberty is being replaced with security-first policies. Heavily armed soldiers patrol our subways and trains and busses. Is this the world you want to live in? Do you really want to stare down the barrel of an M-16 every morning on your way to work? Israelis do.

Third, our political soul is being changed. The nation that gave the world security after the second world war, the Berlin airlift, massive aid and assistance around the world, and the internet … is now a nation that is feeding upon its own. American citizens are being held indefinitely without lawyer, trial, or even charges. We are prosecuting common criminals under terrorism statutes. The Patriot Act, intended for terrorist investigations has been used to close a brothel and investigate gambling interests. Every day, Senators like Rick Santorum and Charles Schumer call for more police powers, more restrictions, and more laws … not aimed at getting terrorists, but rather targeting normal everyday American life. Have you tried to enter into a public building without having to show identification (as if identification is going to say TERRORIST TERRORIST TERRORIST).

The terrorists have won because we gave them the victory.

Instead of punishing ourselves because of what “they” did; go get “them”. There are so many more of us than there are of them. Punish the attackers, chase them down and slaughter them like dogs. We have to stop killing our own. Too many Americas are dying in Iraq for no Just Cause.

Return America to its original intentions. A nation of free people unrestricted in thought and action; a nation of human beings with hearts and compassion and a desire to make a better world. We should care about all those who die from brutality; whether they be from London or Baghdad. Recognizing one and ignoring the other is pure unadulterated racism and exposes the true blackness currently enveloping the American heart.

To Hell with those who are my enemy. They don’t scare me – at least not enough for me to want to give up my freedom. The odds are against them; unless we join their team.

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