I'm saying that the military protocol was not in place prior to 9/11 to fight aircraft launched from within our borders. While "Intelligence" was mulling over information regarding a possible threat, the strategic nature of our military was not. This was one of the problems addressed by the 9/11 commission, that information was not being shared or distributed properly. Want to take a guess who made it harder for our intelligence to gather information? I'll give you another guess on who cut our intelligence gathering capability. When I said we have been at war with the Terrorists for 25 years, it was a war only the Terrorists had declared it at so. This does not make it any less of a war, if anything it created a lopsided strength for the Terrorists. We had our hands bound by lawyers and the law. 25 years ago in November 1979 in a country going through a religious and political up heaval, a group of Iranian students attacked and seized the American Embassy in Tehran.This seizure was an outright attack on American soil; it was an attack that held the world's most powerful country hostage and paralyzed a Presidency. The attackon this sovereign U. S. embassy set the stage for events to follow for the next 25 years. President Carter, had to do something. He chose to conduct a clandestine raid in the desert. The ill-fated mission ended in ruin, but stood as a symbol of America's inability to deal with terrorism. America's military had been decimated and downsized/rightsized since the end of the Vietnam War. A poorly trained, poorly equipped and poorly organized military was called on to execute a complex mission that was doomed from the start. Shortly after the Tehran experience, Americans began to be kidnapped and killed throughout the Middle East. America could do little to protect her citizens living and working abroad. The attacks against US soil continued. In April of 1983 alarge vehicle packed with high explosives was driven into the US Embassy compound in Beirut. When it exploded, it killed 63 people. Then just six short months later a large truck heavily laden down with over 2500 pounds of TNT smashed through the main gate of the US Marine Corps headquarters in Beirut and 241 US servicemen are killed. Just 2 months later in December1983, another truck loaded with explosives is driven into the US Embassy in Kuwait. The following year, in September1984, another van was driven into the gate of the US Embassy in Beirut. Soon the terrorism spreads to Europe. In April 1985 a bomb explodes in a restaurant frequented by US soldiers in Madrid. Then in August a Volkswagen loaded with explosives isdriven into the main gate of the US Air Force Base at Rhein-Main, 22 are killed. Who can forget when Fifty-nine days later a cruise ship, the Achille Lauro was hijacked and we watched as an American in a wheelchair was singled out of the passenger list and executed. Then they focused on putting bombs aboard aircraft, TWA Flight 840 in April of 1986 that killed 4 and the most tragic bombing, PanAm Flight103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988, killing 259. Clinton treated these terrorist acts as crimes; in fact we are still trying to bring all those people to trial. These were acts of war. The terrorists decide to bring the fight to America. In January 1993, two CIA agents are shot and killed as they enter CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The following month, February1993, a group of terrorists are arrested after a rented van packed with explosives was driven into the underground parking garage of the World Trade Center in New York City. Six people were killed and over1000 were injured. Still this was treated as a crime and not an act of war. October 3rd, of 93 we witnessed another massacre, in Somalia where President Clinton put US Forces under UN Command, which left 29 US Soldiers dead, research has found bin hidden to have been behind that one too. Then in November1995 a car bomb exploded at a US military complex in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia killing seven service men and women. A few months later, in June of 1996, another truck bomb exploded only 35 yards from the US military compound in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. It destroyed the Khobar Towers, a US Air Force barracks, killing19 and injuring over 500. The terrorists got braver and smarter as they saw that America did not respond decisively. They moved to coordinate their attacks in a simultaneous attack on two US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. These attacks were planned with precision.They killed 224. America responds with cruisemissile attacks and goes back to sleep. The USS Cole was docked in the port of Aden,Yemen for refueling on 12 October 2000, when a small craft pulled along side the ship and exploded killing17 US Navy Sailors. Attacking a US War Ship is an act of war, but we sent the FBI to investigate the crime. And of course you know the events of 11 September 2001. Most Americans think this was the first attack against US soil or in America. How wrong they are. America has been under a constant attack since1979. In the news lately we have seen lots of finger pointing from every high official in government over what they knew and what they didn't know. But if you've read the papers and paid a little attention I think you can see exactly what they knew. You don't have to be in the FBI or CIA or on the National Security Council to see the pattern that has been developing since 1979. The President is"right on" when he says we are engaged in a war. I think we have been in a war for the past 25 years and itwill continue until we as a people decide enough is enough. America needs to act decisively now. America has been changed forever. We have to be ready to pay the price and make the sacrifice to ensure our way of life continues. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto said, "... it seems all we have done is awakened a sleeping giant. "This is the message we need to disseminate to terrorists around the world. Support Our Troops and support President Bush for having the courage, political or militarily, to address what so many who preceded him didn't have the backbone to do, both Democrat and Republican. This is not a political thing to be hashed over in an election year this is an AMERICAN thing. This is about our Freedom and the Freedomo for children in years to come. I find it to be to big of a job for someone who bailed out on his band of brothers, 3 bandaids in hand. He hasn't shown any leadership quality that resonates with our troops. His words have already given strength to our enemy.
> > Hi Stuntman, > > I considered that it was a possible threat before 9/11! If you are saying that no one in this Government considered it before 9/11 even though "We have been at war with Terrorists for 25 years," I think you may not be hearing what some people have been trying to say, which is exactly what allowed the tragedy of 9/11 to happen. > > With Love, > > CtrlAltDel aka Dave > C4/5 Complete - 28 Years Post > Texas, USA > > Stuntman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Prior to 9/11 the thought of an attack from the air originating from > within the USA wasn't considered a threat. > Like I keep saying 9/11 changed us forever. > We have been at war with Terrorists for 25 years. > On 9/11 we woke up and realized it couldn't be handled like a > criminal case. -- It's not the fall that hurts. Home page http://tnthompson0.tripod.com/homeincyberspace/ Graphics portfolio http://tnthompson1.tripod.com/index.htm Domain space http://nw-in.com/index.html
