Thoughts To Consider
On a daily basis, our men and women of our armed forces continue to fight the War on Terrorism". I pledge my support to them as I do the Commander In Chief, regardless of political views and party affiliation, he is having to make the tough decisions, the least that we can do is give him our support. The days following 9/11 our country came together like it has not done since World War II and the attack on Pearl Harbor. We were united, however, I had concern that as time slipped by that those harrowing scenes on 9/11 would fade from memories. Unfortunately, I was correct. Instead, we have members of our own congressional delegation, community leaders, Hollywood actors and actresses downgrading decisions and making public statements on conditions that they have no knowledge nor have the need to know. When combat troops are deployed, one man is in charge and that is the Commander In Chief. He deserves as much of our support as the troops in the field. Having went through several Presidents from John F. Kennedy through Ronald Reagan while serving in the Navy, I would have been proud to serve under his leadership. When the troops are home, the facts are known it is only then that these actions should be discussed and brought before investigative committees. History has a way of setting the field, The U.S.S. Maine was attacked in Havana Harbor. Immediate action was taken against Spain and they were defeated in the Spanish American War. Pearl Harbor was attacked, several thousand sailors lost their lives and the U.S. Pacific Fleet was nearly destroyed, immediate retaliatory action was initiated and Japan was defeated in World War II. The U.S.S. Mattox was attacked by North Vietnam gunboats on the high seas, the Vietnam War escalated immediately. In each of these cases, a Naval vessel was attacked, a naval ship is soveign territory. The U.S.S. Cole was anchored in the harbor, attacked by terrorists which resulted in the loss of thirty five sailors. Our Commander In Chief, took immediate counter measures and launched one missile with no target. Then continued his day as normal. I think of that decision and wonder to myself, if we would have had a tough decision maker as our President, could we have avoided 9/11 and perhaps our troops would be home from Afganistan and Iraq today. Instead, I see us forgetting what 9/11 meant to us on that day, instead, our country is evolving back into the mentality of the Vietnam War era, when our military personnel were not recognized, spat on and made to feel that their mission was wrong. When our naval ships came back from long deployments to the Western Pacific, as they passed under the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, gallon cans of paint were dropped onto their decks from the protestors standing on that same bridge. The day is coming that we will see this same type of mentality once again, as it is the same type of leadership that is fueling this resentment today. The next time, you see a military person on the street or having a cup of coffee, stop and visit with them for just a second and then ask them what they think of their Commander In Chief. He has their support because they know he will make the tough, hard, decisions that are needed, regardless of the popular public opinions, he will make the decision and that is all we can ask.
