Wednesday, September 12, 2001

 

Of course I don't want a war. But I also don't want terrorists coming into my country and killing innocent people. I don't want to see any more video of Palestinians celebrating in the streets because America was attacked.

As Tom Brokaw said shortly after the events of Sept. 11 began, "This is a declaration of war on the United States." Much of the country came to a halt. The economy was crippled. Our collective psyches have been shattered. Americans will never be the same because we now know that unspeakable acts of terrorism can happen here.

Although it hasn't been confirmed, I believe American troops are on their way to Afghanistan to hunt down and capture Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden. Just minutes ago, Sen. Trent Lott said whatever happens next will happen in a "dramatic, bold, unusual way." This is similar to Desert Shield and Desert Storm when the public didn't know what was going on until the operations were well underway.

But unlike Desert Storm when Sadaam Hussein was not captured, I believe the government has every intention of finding and capturing bin Laden and bringing him to justice, at the very least.

When the war begins, there will most certainly be heroes. But we can't forget the heroes that came forward during the events of Sept. 11: The firemen, policemen and emergency personnel, some of whom gave their lives, who were working, and still are working, to rescue survivors of the attacks; the flight attendant aboard one of the hijacked planes who kept her wits about her and used a cell phone to let officials know the seat number of one of the hijackers; the passengers aboard one hijacked plane who fought the hijackers, thus stopping an attack on the White House or Air Force One.

That's one thing many other countries don't understand about the United States: When it really matters, our people stick together for the common cause.

As President Bush said, "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings. ... They cannot touch the foundation of America."

posted by Anne 9/12/2001 02:26:00 PM