|
|
Retribution
9-12-01
Every guilty deed
Holds in itself the seed
Of retribution and undying pain.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
|
|
 |
You'll have to excuse me but - they all look the same to me. Sitting on
my couch watching horrific acts of violence I can't tell the difference
between one terrorist group or another. If we find in the coming days
that it was someone other than Osama Bin Ladin that did this then please
insert the appropriate terrorist organization or country into this piece -
it will read the same.
For those who do not know, my parents live in Manhattan near the UN
building and thankfully they are both fine. I called my mother after the
second plane hit and talked to her for a few minutes - before the phone
lines became unavailable. It was extremely troublesome to listen to my
crying mother on the phone as she described America's greatest city being
turned into a war zone with her in the middle of it and my father still at
his office. After my first phone call no one else could get though on the
phones but we got several E-mail messages from her describing what she
saw: She counted 67 ambulances grid locked in traffic unable to help
anyone, smoke everywhere, Navy and Air Force fighter planes in the sky,
police boats, people coming into her building covered in ash and blood -
everyone crying.
Of course our first response must be to use all of our powers to rescue
and care for people - all that goes without saying. That will happen with
unmatched resolve that people have not seen since WWII. I am concerned
about what comes next - our response to the terrorists.
Every American in the past 200 plus years has contributed to making
America the greatest country in the world. They have made America a world
power - THE world Power. There have been many defining moments in our
history that have contributed to this and the single greatest one was "The
Dropping of The Bomb(s)". History revisionists and political correctness
have seeped into this event but make no mistake - when we dropped the bomb
and unleashed that level of warfare the entire world was watching and they
sat bolt upright and understood the way things were - and they way they
were going to be. The U.S. was already the leading world power, but we
underlined that fact and made it extremely clear to all those who are too
stupid (or too crazy) to understand subtlety. As the whole world watched
we said in a very loud, clear voice "Do NOT #@%& with us!" That is what
war is all about.
Now, I am NOT calling for a nuclear strike on Afghanistan. A "war on
terrorism" doesn't quite say it either. Let me be blunt: I am calling
for profound, extreme acts of controlled rage aimed at those responsible
for this. A response that the world has not yet seen. An American
response. I am talking about a scorched earth, extreme over-reaction (if
that is even possible). Osama Bin Ladin's head on a plate may be a good
start but not nearly enough. Not enough to deter and send the message
that needs to be sent. Those countries involved in harboring these
terrorists still have training camps and supply depots for these diseased
freaks and I believe that we know where most of them are. We have the
best equipped army in the world and we should march across the earth and
take out all of these installations. Every country had better roll out the
red carpet and present these criminals to use the moment we reach their
shores or pay the consequences. There is no neutrality in this, no gray
area. Zero tolerance. We show up ready to destroy the terrorists and
their allies - not to pick them up for trial. Countries who harbor these
people should be given 24 hours to produce these terrorist leaders and
destroy their camps completely (to our level of satisfaction) or else we
will level their countries as we do it ourselves. If this means we
destroy Afghanistan, so be it.
Since your enemy always gets strong on what you leave behind, we leave
nothing behind. After we obliterate everything that is theirs we salt the
earth so that nothing can grow there. That is one monument I want the
world to see. One which explains to all, in a very clear, loud voice, the
serious way we protect the worlds greatest country and avenge the death of
innocent Americans. We make it clear that each and every American life is
worth far more than the life of any terrorist or those who assist them.
This is the only way you deal with people who win the praises of their God
and get to heaven by killing innocent people.
I am certain that the site of the World Trade Center will be turned into a
memorial of sorts - and probably rightfully so. But a small, growing
piece of me wants us to rebuild the World Trade Center EXACTLY as it was
before - perhaps even bigger and more grand than it was. That too can be
a symbol of the innocent Americans that were lost there and a symbol of
America once again. That's the other monument I want the world to see.
Will my generation only be known for the 5000 Dow and the 200 Nasdaq? Or
will we prove that when it really counts Americans are still Americans and
willing to step up, lead the free world, and free it from evil once again?
Once again the entire world is watching - I wonder what our response will
be.
|
|
|
