Day of Infamy II
As on December 7, 1941, on September 11, 2001, the United States was unexpectedly attacked by foreign powers and suddenly thrust into a worldwide war, once again a war to defend and preserve freedom. September 11, 2001, will be remembered as a turning point in American history as well as world history, a new line in the sand in the war between good and evil, which has plagued humanity throughout recorded history. Whereas the attack on December 7, 1941, was an attack against American military targets, September 11, 2001, was of greater evil intent because it was a deliberate attack on innocent people, against men and women who were just starting their workday, and on our children. More than 3,000 innocent victims died as the result of this senseless attack by terrorists, which destroyed the two 110-story World Trade Center buildings in New York and caused major damage to the Pentagon and death to many who worked there.
Three of four hijacked commercial airliners were used as weapons of destruction by these radical fanatics, willing to sacrifice their lives by suicide in a self-imposed religious war against people of the free world of which the United States is the central symbol. Two aircraft were deliberately crashed into the two World Trade Center buildings, a third into the Pentagon, the fourth, believed to be enroute to a collision with the White House or the United States Capitol, crashed before reaching its target. Heroic action by onboard passengers to overpower the hijackers prevented the terrorists from achieving that objective. These horrible acts of terrorism were caused by persons with evil minds, blinded by their distorted view of their Islamic faith, totally intolerant of views different from their own, their minds filled with hatred toward people of freedom.
Since the beginning of human history, people of various societies differing in race, religious beliefs, government systems and cultural development, have tried to settle their differences by warfare. Tyranny, lust for power, disrespect for the views and rights of others has been rampant in humanity for many centuries. The first government, which had at its roots, the concept of freedom for all mankind, was born out of the 1776 Revolutionary War between the American colonials and Great Britain. It was a fourfold freedom—freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. This was the bedrock on which a new form of government emerged which is based on freedom and equal rights for all.
The struggle to preserve this freedom has been severely tested many times since its birth - in the United States Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War and is again being tested in this new war against terrorism. This is a war between the intolerant, archaic, barbaric and narrow-minded religious fanatics who refuse to recognize the rights of others. The attacks by terrorists on September 11 were intended to disrupt the United States economy and cast a pall of fear and disunity among our citizens. Their mission failed. Instead, these acts of destruction have unified our country as it was during World War II, and have led to a coalition of more than 80 nations worldwide now dedicated to the destruction of terrorist networks and to the administration of justice to the terrorists and nations that harbor them. This will be a long struggle. With the defeat of terrorism and the replacement of ancient and irrational thinking, leaders of terrorist nations with rational and peace-supporting leaders, the people of these nations can then reap the rewards that flourish in a peaceful environment and with peaceful relationships.