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September 2001
“The Monthly Diamondhead”
September 2001
Editor-Reporter-Chief Cook-Web Slave-
Ron Leonard
304-728-7012 rollayo@earthlink.net
Company Stuff
On the Diamondhead side of things, I have posted 91 new names and addresses, they are listed in RED. If you could all review them and contact those close to you it would help the cause of finding our lost brothers. As they are contacted they will revert from being in red to crème with e-mails or phone numbers or both if available. <We have contacted 5 of the 91. Everyone please take a look and help out where you can>
There again have also been several Little Bears added to the roster. If the calls don't happen to find the guys, I will be into mailing cards once again. I will require afew volunteers of about 9 cards each, until we make contact with them all.
I recently received 25 Lbs or more of documents, AAR's and Lessons Learned from Hawaii. It should clear out everything I am missing from 1966, and some of 1967, and a little more of 68. Without the help and dedication of Julia Finch, Dorothy Cook, Deanna Pendleton, and new helpers Michelle Comerford and my daughter Hope Leonard, it would be an insurmountable task. If any one else wants to volunteer I got plenty for everyoneJ
Reunion Stuff:
There has been a reunion countdown counter added to the front page to keep posted on the time left. The response is increasing weekly. If you are planning on attending please let me know if a Diamondhead. I need to know 1: If you plan on attending even tentatively, 2: How many people, and 3:If staying at the Holiday Inn. This will allow us to reserve a large enough block of rooms. I e-mailed out a Reunion letter the other day individually. If you didn't get it. I will insert it here. It has all the contact ifo and some of the Itinerary on it.
To all Little Bear Reunion Attendees;
The Little Bear Association Reunion will be held on April 12, 13, 14, 2002 in beautiful, historic Charleston, SC. The reunion hotel is the Holiday Inn Mt. Pleasant, 250 Johnnie Dodds Blvd, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464. The Holiday Inn, Mt. Pleasant is conveniently located three miles from the famed Historic District just across the Cooper River from downtown Charleston and near most of the tourist sites and only five miles from the sun and sand of the Isle of Palms and Sullivans Island. They also offer more in-hotel facilities for the value spent. A tour representative will be present at registration so attendees can sign up for tours as desired.
A special room rate of $99.00 plus 11% tax has been negotiated for those attending the reunion. This room rate includes Continental Breakfast, newspaper and late checkout for those who join the "Priority Club". There is no cost to join the Priority Club, just ask about it and signup when you register. This rate will also be available for those of you who may want to stay longer in the Charleston area. Many other hotels are available in and around Charleston, however most are $125 to $350 per night, plus tax. The Holiday Inn, Mt. Pleasant is currently undergoing a complete remodeling and will be almost brand new for us in April 2002. All rooms have been remodeled and the common use areas will be completed by November 2001.
Reunion costs (banquet, hospitality rooms, and gratuities) will be covered by registration fees and Little Bear Association funds. Therefore, all Little Bears attendees are expected to be a member of the Association. If you are not a member, please send your membership dues ($25) to our Treasurer:
Terry Mix
4610-176 Avenue S.E.
Bellevue, WA 98006
Registration for the Little Bear Reunion is as follows:
Little Bears (members and guests) - $45 per person
Other Battalion personnel <Diamondhead, HHC etc>and guests - $55 per person
Each attendee will be responsible for their transportation, lodging and other associated costs.
Holiday Inn-Mt. Pleasant reservations can be made from now until March 2002. However, you should make them early to assure your room is available.
Contact: Susie York, Reservations Manager:
Phone 1-800-290-4004 ext. 122
Tell them you will be attending the Little Bear Reunion. The code for our blocked rooms is "COA".You can view the hotel at http://www.holidayinn-mtpleasant.com
A parade and ceremonies is being held at the Citadel at 3:45 PM on Friday April 12, 2002. Reunion attendees are invited to attend as "Honored Guests" . If you would like to attend the Citadel parade and ceremonies, plan accordingly.
Jim Dayton
Below is a list of tentative Diamondheads planning on attending to date:
Attendee.............number.............Staying at Holiday Inn
Ron and Carol Leonard-Holiday Inn
Don Cannata-?
Dianne and George Pendleton-?
Danny Driscoll-?
Steve Thorp-?
Bert Rice and wife-Holiday Inn
Ed Schenk-?
Nolan Little and Robyn- Holiday Inn
Ray and Michelle Huntington-?
Bob Seger-Holiday Inn
Art Gravatt-?
Sam Boswell-?
David Stock-?
Neil Weems-?
Gary Tompkins-?
Ed Schenk-?
Ralph Little and Robyn-Holiday Inn
Rob Amiot-?-Holiday Inn
Charlie Edwards-wife-Holiday Inn
Sal Ambrosia-GF-Holiday Inn
Ron Skamanish-Wife-Holiday
Gonzalo Salazar-wife-Holiday Inn
Al Lewis- Holiday
George Smith-Wife-Holiday Inn
Jack Mosely-Wife-?
Troy Thomas and Paula-Holiday Inn
If I have missed anyone let me know. I will get it caught up. If on th elist catch me up on the question marksJ
Newsy Links:
I got an advance copy of a letter announcing a joint program between the Viet Nam Veterans Memorial Fund and Kinko's (the copy place). Beginning 12 Sept 01 thru Veteran's Day Kinko's will provide at no cost the necessary resources <scanned image> to put the appropriate veterans picture on the Virtual Wall. Their program is called "put a face with a name".
I have over the past two weeks forward quite abit of News Information from outside the USA sources. I have ceased doing that as it is creating an e-mail overload on many. I will supply below my source links and they are very good and quite accurate and much more informative than our own Newspapers of late. They are updated hourly.
http://www.afgha.com/index.php This is the official News Website of The Northern Alliance in Afghanistan.
http://www.afghan-network.net/News This is the Afghan News Website
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_411686.html?menu=news.latestheadlines World Headline News
Most of these have Archives you can search and many other links to other News sources.
Have you wondered what Islam really is? What Muslims are really supposed to be like? The links below will let you draw your own conclusions. They are very informative and are in English. They do an excellent job of comparing the differences in the Muslim religion and Christianity. It also lays out the rules for the good Muslim etc., their views on life, worship, and terrorism.
http://mosaic.echonyc.com/~onissues/su98goodwin.html to read about life under the Taliban...where life is very cheap.
http://www.quraan.com/ Authentic Islamic Literature
http://216.115.238.251/quran/ Your best source for ISLAM (SUBMISSION) on the Internet
http://www.islam-guide.com/ A Brief Illustrated Guide To Understanding Islam
Fun Link:
I bought a real nice scale model of a UH1C gunship today in a store in Hendersonville, NC.....the website is www.dadscats.com The manager is Dean McWilliams and his phone # is 828-698-7525. I thought it might be nice to have a link to his site if any one wanted a nice scale model of a Huey ( UH1C & UH1D), Cobra, or Chinook.
Reab Berry (Little Bear 3A)
News Stories:
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WAR OFFICE
Dept. of the Army
Regulations For Operation Of Aircraft
Commencing January 12, 1920
1. Don't take the machine into the air unless you are satisfied it will f[y.
2. Never leave the ground with the motor leaking
3. Don't turn sharply when taxiing. Instead of turning sharp, have someone lift
the tail around.
4 In taking off, look at the ground and the air.
5. Never get out of the machine with the motor running until the pilot relieving you can reach the
motor controls.
6. Pilots should carry hankies in a handy place to wipe off goggles.
7. Riding on the steps, wings, or rail of the machine is prohibited.
8. In case the engine fails on takeoff, land straight ahead regardless of
obstacles.
9. No machine must taxi faster than a man can walk.
10. Never run motor so that blast will blow on other machines.
11. Learn to gauge altitude, especially on landing.
12. If you see another machine near you, get out of the way.
13. No two cadets should ever ride together in the same machine.
14. Do not trust altitude instruments.
15. Before you begin a landing glide, see that no machines are under you.
16. Hedgehopping will not be tolerated.
17. No spins on back or tail sides will be indulged in as they unnecessarily strain
the machines.
18. If flying against the wind and you wish to fly with the wind, don't make a
sharp turn near the ground. You may crash.
19. Motors have been known to stop during a long glide. If pilot wishes to use
motor for landing, he should open the throttle.
20. Don't attempt to force the machine onto the ground with more than flying
speed. The result is bounding and ricocheting.
21. Pilots will not wear spurs while flying.
22. Do not use aeronautical gasoline in cars or motorcycles.
23. You must not take off or land closer than 50 feet to the hanger.
24. Never take a machine into the air until you are familiar with its controls and
instruments.
25. If an emergency occurs while flying, land as soon as possible
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Release #01-166
September 7, 2001
ARMY ACCELERATES AVIATION TRANSFORMATION
Today, The Army announced a significant acceleration of its aviation modernization plan. The plan, the result of a two-year effort, contains specific guidance to accelerate the retirement of older, Vietnam-era
helicopters and the recapitalization of other types of helicopters remaining in the fleet. It allows The Army to compress the procurement timeline of the Comanche aircraft and moves newer helicopters sooner into the U.S. Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve. The plan includes the Chief of Staff of the Army's guidance to conduct feasibility studies and refine implementation plans for several initiatives.
The aviation modernization plan accounts for the increased capabilities of modern military helicopters while creating a more maintainable fleet with improved operational readiness rates. It reduces previously projected unfunded requirements. The plan also embraces a holistic view of doctrine, organization, training and materiel, as well as soldier and leader development. The Army leadership, active and reserve, collaborated closely in the development of the plan.
"This Aviation Modernization Plan supports Army Transformation by posturing our aviation force for transitioning to the Objective Force," said Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. Eric K. Shinseki. "As in all things associated with Army Transformation, the intent is to transform the force and do it quickly
without breaking readiness. These adjustments will improve our posture as a warfighting force."
The Army's plan will reduce the total number of aircraft by more than 400 in the active force and by more than 600 in the reserve forces. This will include accelerating the retirement of the Vietnam-era UH-1 "Huey" helicopters and AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters. The acceleration will divest Army aviation of these "legacy" aircraft by 2004. These aging aircraft are difficult and expensive to maintain and are far less effective than their modern successors, the UH-60 Blackhawk and the AH-64 Apache.
The plan significantly modernizes U.S. Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve aviation by moving some 240 aircraft from active component units to reserve component units. It restructures and standardizes lift and attack formations in both components. In general, the revised plan focuses lift assets in reserve forces units and attack assets in active units. The plan distributes aviation resources amongst active, Army National Guard and Army Reserve units to produce a more effective fighting force.
"This is a major step forward for Army aviation," said Director of the Army National Guard Lt. Gen. Roger Schultz. "Aviation formations are justified on war fighting requirements; however, in the Guard, our cargo and utility aircraft are used daily in response to local and state emergencies. The good news with this plan is that the Guard receives modern aircraft earlier than originally planned. For the Guard, turning in the legacy aircraft as we migrate to modernized aircraft is welcome news indeed. Our obligation today
is to prepare for the future of Army aviation. This aviation modernization plan does just that."
"Aviation modernization is a good news story for the Army Reserve," said Chief of the Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Thomas J. Plewes. "It brings us the medium-lift capabilities of UH-60 Blackhawk companies, enabling us to more effectively support Army missions, and modernizes much of our current aircraft, including our Chinooks and Apaches."
By the end of 2004 the operational fleet will consist of only four types of helicopters: the AH-64 Apache, the UH-60 Blackhawk, the OH-58 Kiowa, and the CH-47 Chinook. The reduction in the number of types of helicopters will yield significant savings in terms of spare parts inventories, operating costs and schoolhouse requirements to train pilots, crews and maintenance personnel. Reducing the number of aircraft will allow The Army to aggressively pursue recapitalization throughout the fleet. Recapitalization
programs include model upgrades, as well as the refurbishment of aircraft to a "like new" or "zero hour" condition.
The AH-64 Apache is The Army's attack helicopter. The increased effectiveness of the AH-64D model over the A model, as well as enhanced Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, gives The Army the ability to reduce the numbers of attack helicopters while retaining the ability to fight and win decisively in the current and near-term. For those reasons, by the end of 2002, attack helicopter battalions in heavy divisions will be restructured from 24 to 18 AH-64 Apaches. Corps-level attack battalions will be converted from 24 to a maximum of 21 Apaches.
For the long-term, Comanche remains The Army's highest aviation priority and is the centerpiece of Army aviation transformation. Comanche will provide the tactical commander more timely and accurate information about the tactical situation. It provides the ability to orchestrate devastating firepower and synchronize mobile security, even in the most challenging operational environments.
The UH-60 Blackhawk will remain the foundation of The Army's utility helicopter fleet. The CH-47 Chinook will continue to provide medium/heavy lift capability for the foreseeable future. To have the capability required for the Objective Force, The Army will continue to upgrade and recapitalize
these aircraft to the UH-60L/M and CH-47F models.
The plan also requires the development of options for the best crew manning-to-aircraft ratio for each type of aircraft to maximize war fighting potential. Manning at greater than a one-to-one crew-to-aircraft ratio in
selected units will allow units to maintain a higher operational tempo (OPTEMPO) for longer periods of time. Army commanders will assess and report the implications for manning, personnel tempo (PERSTEMPO), training and leader development, and the impact on maintenance support structures and the repair parts system.
The Army has established a goal of maintaining a 90 percent operational readiness rate by 2004 as opposed to the current fleet average of 75 percent. The plan will accomplish this goal by several means. First, The
Army is retaining the same number of maintenance units to maintain a reduced number of aircraft. Second, the plan retires many of the old, legacy aircraft that are adversely affecting readiness rates. Third, the monetary savings from the retirement of the legacy aircraft will be used to recapitalize more of the existing fleet to "zero hours" condition. Fourth, the plan increases the number of crewmembers per aircraft in selected units to enhance crew maintenance of the aircraft. Finally, it permits compressing the procurement timeline of Comanche. By increasing both aircraft availability and crew availability, the commander gains an increase in usable aviation assets.
This plan makes maximum use of training technologies to maintain crew proficiency while minimizing costs. It requires commanders to make maximum use of simulator and simulations prior to robust live fire exercises. The plan also represents a commitment to investing in Training Aides Devices Simulators and Simulations (TADSS) and training range upgrades at the same priority level as investment in major weapons platforms. This will make it possible to train pilots and crews to maximum proficiency.
In October 1999, The Army announced its Vision for a Transformed Army and leaders at all levels have been working to make that Transformation a reality. The plan announced today will ensure that Army aviation transformation is affordable, on time, and complete.
<I wonder has this been reassessed since Sept 11-Ron>
RIO DE JANEIRO - To avoid that an aircraft is used as bomb against important buildings, the Brazilian parliament decided today to liberate light weapons (caliber less than 0.38) for all passengers over 21 years old.
As 65% of all Brazilians with income more than US$ 2000 always walks equipped with gun, the government finds it safe and guaranteed that sufficient persons will react against any eventual highjackings.
Extra information will be distributed and presented by the air hostess. When they show the safety equipment they will also inform the passengers to prepare eventual shot with precision, always take aim at
chest to avoid that bullets perforate the shell of the aircraft. The president, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, wanted to make his veto against the proposal, but was rejected by the astounding majority of
234 against 6 votes.
Permission to reprint/republish granted, as long as you include the name of our site, the author, and our URL. www.SierraTimes.com All Sierra Times news reports, and all editorials are © 2001
SierraTimes.com (unless otherwise noted)
From today's Jerusalem Post...
By Douglas Davis
LONDON (September 17) - Mossad officials traveled to Washington last month to warn the CIA and the FBI that a cell of up to 200 terrorists was planning a major operation, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph here yesterday.
The paper said the Israeli officials specifically warned their counterparts in Washington "large-scale terrorist attacks on highly visible targets on the American mainland were imminent." They offered no specific information about targets, but they did link the plot to Afghanistan-based terrorist Osama bin Laden, and they told the Americans there were "strong grounds" for suspecting Iraqi involvement.
A US administration official told the paper that it was "quite credible" that the CIA did not heed the Mossad warning: "It has a history of being over-cautious about Israeli information." But the official noted that "if this is true, then the refusal to take it seriously will mean heads will roll."
In another development, the Sunday Times reported that an account at a branch of Barclays Bank in the London district of Notting Hill was used by a suspected Bin Laden lieutenant to finance and disseminate Bin Laden's fatwas (religious rulings) and to maintain contacts with various elements in bin Laden's global network.
The account was held by Saudi dissident Khalid al-Fawwaz, who is currently being held in custody awaiting the outcome of extradition proceedings to the United States on charges of conspiring with bin Laden to murder Americans.
The Barclays account is understood to form part of a web of bank accounts and front companies used by bin Laden to underwrite his Al Qaida terror network.
Court documents link Fawwaz to a Bin Laden fatwa calling for the death of American civilians "anywhere in the world they can be found," which was faxed directly to him by Bin Laden.
Fawwaz was personally appointed by bin Laden to set up and run the London-based Advice and Reformation Committee. The organization was ostensibly dedicated to war-relief work, but British and US officials now believe it was in fact a component in Bin Laden's terror network.
Fawwaz is also thought to have been directly involved in the terrorist cell that perpetrated the simultaneous bombings of the US embassies in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi in 1998. More than 200 people died in those attacks.
How Do Terrorist "Cells" Work?
By Dahlia Lithwick
News reports have attributed the planning and execution of the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings on terrorist "cells." What are terrorist cells, where do they come from, and how do they work?
Among the first revolutionaries to organize conspiracies into secret cells was Louis Auguste Blanqui, a socialist of the Napoleonic and post-Napoleonic era. The basic principle behind cell organization is
simple: By dividing the greater organization into many multiperson groups and compartmentalizing information inside each cell as needed, the greater organization is more likely to survive if one of its
components is compromised.
Anarchists and revolutionaries in Russia, Ireland, France, Germany, and Switzerland adopted cell organization in the 1880s, as did the communist movement in the late 19th century, because they are remarkably difficult for foes to penetrate. We know from previous criminal investigations that Osama Bin Laden organizes his terrorists into cells. Had U.S. intelligence infiltrated one of the terrorist cells responsible for last week's attacks, they might have learned only of the proposed date of an attack but not the target, the time, or the means of the attack.
Like communist cells, Osama Bin Laden's terrorist cells intend to overthrow existing governments. But unlike the communist cells, which were highly organized and specialized, Bin Laden's cells may be
extremely ad hoc in function. A planning cell for one operation may be tapped as an execution cell for the next.
"Planning" or "support" cells may have fewer than 10 members, often local residents from Islamic nations, responsible primarily for fund raising. They may also be responsible for providing execution cells with drivers' licenses, cash, credit cards, or lodging, as well as procuring materials for bomb building.
The members of "sleeper" or "submarine" cells may have lived in the target country for years, doing nothing until activated. According to one of Bin Laden's former aides, there are hundreds of "sleeper"
terrorists across the United States. This is why several suspects from last week's attacks had no prior FBI record.
"Execution cells" are brought in at the final stages of an attack. They will utilize resources supplied by other cells. Several of the hijackers from last week's attack arrived in the United States in August.
"Operation commanders" may come in only at the last moment before the attack. They may be the only link between local cells and the larger umbrella organization--in this case, the central Bin Laden organization. The commander may not even perform the operation himself, often leaving the country before the terrorist attack occurs. Terrorism experts are certain a commander watched this week's attack and has escaped with the help of other U.S. cells. The commanders of both the first World Trade
Center bombing in 1993 and the bombing of the U.S. embassy in Kenya are college graduates, multilingual, computer literate, and still at large.Osama Bin Ladin's role in these operations was probably limited to serving as front man, financier, and publicist.
"Explainer" thanks James Phillips at the Heritage Foundation and Martha Crenshaw at Wesleyan University.
Subject: Heroes saved lives in Pentagon fire
WASHINGTON (Army News Service, Sept. 19, 2001) -- The casualty toll at the Pentagon last week may have been much worse, officials said, if it wasn't for the heroic actions of many soldiers and civilian employees.
"There were an unknown number of acts of personal courage and heroism," said Brig. Gen. Clyde A. Vaughn, deputy director of military support to civil authorities.
Vaughn said he was returning to the Pentagon Sept. 11 when he saw aBoeing 757 slam into the west side of the building. He saw people coming out of the building limping badly, he said, "and every one of them had two or three people caring for them and comforting them."Lt. Col. Ted Anderson carried two of the injured away from the burning building. Then he re-entered the smoke-filled Pentagon through a broken window to drag out two more injured employees, one whose clothes were on fire.
Anderson kicked open an interior door and with the help of two others, carried a heavy woman out of the building and boosted her through the broken window. Then back inside a dark corridor, Anderson said
he saw a flash go by and realized a man's clothes were on fire. He tackled theemployee and rolled him on the ground to extinguish the flames.
After helping the burn victim out through the window, Anderson turned to go back in again, but was stopped by two firemen who grabbed his shoulders and struggled to keep him from returning into the flames that had ignited from the jet fuel. Anderson said he was upset with the firemen for not letting him go back.
"You don't leave your comrades on the battlefield," said Anderson, a field artillery officer who worked in the Office of the Chief of Legislative Liaison. "To me, this was the battlefield."
Brig. Gen. Glenn Webster, director of Training in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, was in the section of the building one floor above where the plane hit. He and most of his staff were able to get downstairs and outside before the floor caved in.
Everybody moved quickly into the hallway, Webster said, and then a fireball shot forward along the suspended ceiling. Chunks of the suspended ceiling began to fall, he said, as soldiers checked stairwells for
heat and smoke to find the safest way out. He said a few others actually ran atop part of the burning aircraft to get out.
"Soldiers were helping badly burned and cut personnel out of the building," Webster said. He said other soldiers used debris to break windows open and pull people out.
A contract employee who worked with Webster, retired Sgt. Maj.Ron Schexnayder, went back upstairs to get a flashlight to help guide people out.
"All the lights went off immediately after the big explosion," Schexnayder explained. He moved debris out of the way so people could get through.
Once outside, Webster helped perform first aid on a number of the fire victims. He treated them for shock by loosening clothing, removing shoes, propping up their feet and covering them with whatever he
could find.
He helped a nurse and medic triage the victims and held an IV bag for one patient.
Spc. Beau Doboszenski also helped provide first aid to the injured immediately following the plane crash.
A soldier with B. Co., 3rd U.S. Infantry, Doboszenski had been trained as an emergency medical technician before joining the Army. He served as a volunteer firefighter and EMT in Loretto, Minn., before
enlisting.
"I come from a family of fire fighters," Doboszenski said. Doboszenski was working in the Pentagon as a tour guide the morning the aircraft struck the building. The Tour Guide office is on the
opposite end of the building from where the plane hit, so Doboszenski didn't even hear the explosion. But he heard a Navy captain screaming for anyone with medical training.
Doboszenski ran around the building, was stopped by police, so he went around barricades and ran down the George-Washington Parkway. He reached Pentagon North Parking where medics from the health clinic were beginning to perform triage on victims of the blast and fire. Hejoined in to help.
He treated a woman who was having trouble breathing and placed a tube down her throat. Then he helped load the woman and about 20 others who were injured into automobiles so they could be taken to a
nearby hospital.
Doboszenski then went with a six-man team into the building where the fire was still blazing. They placed doused rags around their faces and spent an hour in calf-deep water searching for survivors.
Link to original news item:
Bad for the Jews?
By Jacob Weisberg
Thursday, Sept. 20, 2001, at 12:56 p.m. PT
Back during the Persian Gulf War, the first question on the lips of many American Jews was what the U.S.-Iraqi conflict would mean for this country's relations with Israel. Many feared that public support for the Jewish state would not survive heavy American casualties sustained in defense of a vulnerable ally, rather than in self-defense.
Those fears did not materialize. Thanks in part to Colin Powell's hasty cessation of hostilities, there were no mass American casualties in the Gulf War. Yasser Arafat and the PLO sided with Saddam Hussein, damaging American sympathy for the Palestinian cause. What's more, President George H.W. Bush cast American intervention as a rescue of Kuwait, rather than as protection of Israel, when it was in fact both of those things.
With another Bush in the White House and another Mideast war imminent, some are again asking the eternal question: Will this be bad for the Jews? This time, though, the people who seem most concerned are Israel's familiar foes. Robert Novak's first reaction to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 was alarm that they might bring Israel and the United States closer together. "The spectacle on television of Palestinian youths and mothers dancing in the streets of East Jerusalem over the slaughter of Americans will not soon be forgotten," he wrote in his syndicated column. "The United States and Israel are brought ever closer in a way that cannot improve long-term U.S. policy objectives." By "long-term U.S. policy objectives," Novak apparently means his own goal of jettisoning support for the Jewish state. Others unfriendly to Israel from a left-wing perspective have expressed this wish even more obliquely, suggesting that now may be an occasion to "re-examine" or "re-evaluate" our Mideast policy.
In his prognostication, Novak is probably correct. Like the Gulf War, I think the coming war on terrorism will only strengthen our relationship with Israel. The primary reason for this is not the one Novak cites--that many of the enemies of the Israeli revel in our destruction. Rather, the chief reason is something that most ordinary people understand, but that Novak cannot grasp at all: that the Arab-Israeli conflict was not the proximate, or even the underlying cause of the Sept. 11 attacks. And that means that distancing ourselves from Israel is not a logical response or part of a solution.
For the chief suspect Osama Bin Laden, as for Saddam Hussein, the existence of Israel, and of Jews, is a significant irritant. But the physically distant Zionist state seems even further down on Bin Laden's demented litany of grievances than it was on Saddam's. In his fine book, Taliban, the Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid gives an account of Bin Laden's ideology and apparent motivation. Having helped to finance the guerrilla war against the Soviets in Afghanistan, the wealthy young Saudi Islamist became obsessed with driving all infidels out of Muslim countries. When Saudi Arabia invited an American military presence during the Gulf War, Bin Laden declared war on the royal family of his own country as well as upon the United States. (For more on Bin Laden, click here to read David Plotz's "Assessment.")
Our abandonment of Israel might diminish one of Bin Laden's sources of suicidal recruits. But even if appeasing him were desirable, there's no reason to expect that cutting Israel loose would appease him. And what's true of Bin Laden is true of Islamic radicals more generally, especially those with some geographical distance from Israel itself. As Bernard Lewis explained in his still highly relevant article "The Roots of Muslim Rage," which appeared in the Atlantic a decade ago, radical Islam has a hatred of America that is clearly separable from its loathing for Israel and perhaps even more virulent. As evidence, Lewis notes that during the two decades when the Communist bloc was Israel's chief backer, there was no comparable Arab animus against the Soviets.
Ditching or diminishing our alliance with Israel would also be a grave practical mistake. Israel's military and secret service have more experience dealing with terrorism than such forces in any other country in the world. We need their help and advice in the war we're about to start fighting. Most of all, we may need Israeli's intelligence capacity. I've frequently heard it said that Israeli intelligence is strongest in dealing with threats in its immediate neighborhood, which Afghanistan is not. But according to a disturbing story in today's Los Angeles Times, the Mossad last month warned the FBI and CIA about an upcoming, large-scale terrorist attack. The Israelis were able to connect the threat back to Afghanistan and Osama Bin Laden. Tragically, we appear not to have acted on that information. In the future, we'll be paying far closer attention. If we find Bin Laden now, we may well have the Israelis to thank.
Our military relations with Israel may also prove crucial to what lies ahead. The United States has other allies in the region, namely most of the Arab states that were part of the anti-Saddam coalition. But all of these are fair-weather friends, many of whom have been financial supporters of terror networks themselves over the last decade. The downfall of an unpopular government or wave of anti-American sentiment in the streets might make it impossible for us to stage military operations from any of those countries. Israel, by contrast, is a fast ally, the equivalent of several aircraft carriers already in place in the Mideast.
What may deter us from full or open military cooperation with Israel is the precarious position of those so-called moderate Arab regimes. Having Israel as an ally by proxy makes it more difficult for Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan, and others to join with us in responding to radical Islamic terror. This diplomatic problem is what underlies the case for stepping up pressure on Israel to settle with the PLO. While there's no reason to think a peace agreement at Camp David last fall would have prevented what happened on Sept. 11, a settlement could remove a thorn from the paw of the moderate Arab states, making it easier for them to maintain public support while supporting our military campaign.
There are, however, two caveats to the notion that pressuring Israel to make a deal could be helpful. This first is that in the final stage of the Camp David negotiations, Israel went about as far as it could plausibly go, offering back nearly the whole of the occupied territories. It was Arafat who either out of mulishness or fear of a backlash among his own people refused to accept a reasonable settlement. Some American pressure might be necessary to get Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to reactivate his predecessor's best offer. But in the end it's Arafat who needs to be pushed. The second caveat is that a peace agreement that proved unpopular in the Arab world could well have unintended consequences for our Arab and Muslim allies. These governments have long milked Palestinian grievances to create credibility with their own populations. In that sense, pulling the thorn from the paw might also remove one of the pillars holding up several unstable regimes.
Peace agreement or not, the American-Israeli alliance seems likely to emerge from this conflict stronger than it was before. In the final analysis, what sustains the relationship is not the practical benefits the United States derives from it, but morality and sympathy. As others have already pointed out, what Americans experienced last week was a concentrated version of what Israelis have been living through for decades. The experience of defending our lives and liberties puts us ever more firmly in the same boat. And in the end, the ethical and practical considerations behind the alliance come together. As Gideon Rose, the managing editor of Foreign Affairs, notes, Israel provides a model of how a liberal democracy can live under siege and not sacrifice its values. It's an example that may prove increasingly important to us in the weeks, months, and perhaps years ahead.
[Update, Sept. 21: The Los Angeles Times has retracted yesterday's report that the Mossad warned U.S. authorities that terrorists linked to Osama Bin Laden were infiltrating the United States in preparation for a large-scale attack. Apparently, the U.S. official who told the newspaper this was getting his information secondhand from a British newspaper, The Sunday Telegraph. The FBI and CIA both categorically deny it. I'm relieved that it's (probably) not true. However, my larger point about the value of Israeli intelligence stands.]
Digital moles in White House?
Terrorists had top-secret presidential codes
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© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com "Air Force One is next," read the message received by the U.S. Secret Service at 9 a.m. Sept. 11, after two hijacked planes struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Three minutes later, Secret Service agents grabbed Vice President Dick Cheney from his seat opposite a television set in the White House and hustled him down to the president's emergency operations center, a bunker built to withstand a nuclear blast. The terrorists' message threatening Air Force One was transmitted in that day's top-secret White House code words. As the clock ticked away, the Secret Service reached a frightening conclusion: The terrorists had obtained the White House code and a whole set of top-secret signals. This made it possible for a hostile force to pinpoint the exact position of Air Force One, its destination and its classified procedures. In fact, the hijackers were picking up and deciphering the presidential plane's incoming and outgoing transmissions. The discovery shocked everyone in the president's emergency operations center – Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. Their first question was: How did the terrorists access top-secret White House codes and procedures? Is there a mole, or more than one enemy spy in the White House, the Secret Service, the FBI, the CIA or the Federal Aviation Administration? In the week after the attacks in New York and Washington, more hair-raising facts emerged. The terrorists had also obtained the code groups of the National Security Agency and were able to penetrate the NSA's state-of-the-art electronic surveillance systems. Indeed, they seemed to have at their disposal an electronic capability that was more sophisticated than that of the NSA. This startling observation came as no surprise to those tracking the globe-spanning investments of Saudi Arabia's bin Laden family and those of its exiled son, Osama, in some of the world's biggest and most advanced satellite and telecommunications companies. World Space Communication is one of the known bin Laden assets. U.S. counter-terrorism agencies, including the NSA, have been tracking World Space Communication's activities for the past five years. Some of the company's satellites are far more advanced than the NSA's own eyes in the sky. Bin Laden also has the NSA beat on the employment front, hiring the best computer experts on the market. One such is Nabil Khan Kani, a Syrian who lived in Barcelona with his Spanish wife, Jenna Florine, in the late 1980s and early 1990s. No one ever suspected what the amiable Syrian was really up to until January 2000, when FBI agents found two apartments he used thousands of miles from Barcelona, in the Bab el-Shabaa district of Saana, Yemen. The apartments served as transit points for Egyptians suspected of operational links with the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and Algerians connected with the Armed Islamic Group, or GIA. There, investigators turned up nine fake identity cards in different names, all with Kani's photo, Spanish, Italian, French and Sudanese passports, likewise with the same photo but in different names, and two pistols fitted with silencers. Kani must have used yet another alias for his getaway. His whereabouts are unknown to this day. Computer and terrorism experts suggest that the missing Syrian computer whiz was the author of the technology known as steganography, as first described in the Washington Post yesterday. This technology enables users to bypass electronic monitoring by hiding messages randomly in seemingly innocent digital files, such as music files, those of the popular online marketplace eBay, pornographic files or even e-mail headers. Scrambled with the help of basic encryption tools, they can only be read by those with a "key." These messages leave no trace of their presence. U.S. intelligence has been unable to trace their authors and recipients in the three years since first detecting evidence of their existence in the files of the bin Laden organization. U.S. agencies now believe that the attacks in New York and Washington were coordinated through those encrypted electronic messages, which were opened by "key" holders. They also believe that terrorists are in possession of all or part of the codes used by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the National Reconnaissance Office, Air Force Intelligence, Army Intelligence, Naval Intelligence, Marine Corps Intelligence and the intelligence offices of the State Department and Department of Energy. Intelligence and counter-terror sources report that, while rescuers in New York and Washington were sifting through rubble inch by inch, US government experts were changing codes one-by-one – and in even more difficult, replacing procedures and methods of encryption. The nagging question of a mole in the highest reaches of the U.S. government and intelligence community – with direct or indirect links with bin Laden – remains. Since no single individual has access to every top-level code at any given time – a single mole would not answer the case; it would have to a large, widely spread number. U.S. experts do not believe bin Laden was capable of infiltrating double agents into the heart of the U.S. administration on a large scale. They are looking elsewhere, instead, at a country with a very well-oiled intelligence apparatus – Iraq. This theory was argued by an authoritative voice, former CIA Director James Woolsey, in a New Republic article reprinted by London's Daily Telegraph on Sept. 17. He refers to a book called "Study of Revenge: Saddam Hussein's Unfinished War Against America," by Laurie Mylroie, which quotes a senior FBI investigator on the problematical identity of Ramzi Yousef, perpetrator of the first attempt to blow up the World Trade Center in 1993. For that deed, a U.S. federal court in New York sentenced Yousef Jan. 8, 1998, to 240 years in solitary confinement. He was also indicted for conspiring to hijack 12 U.S. and Asian commercial aircraft on their way to the United States and blow them up over New York. It was claimed that the name Ramzi Yousef was an alias for his real identity, which was a Pakistani called Abdul Basit Karim. However, the FBI investigator cited in the book said that Basit was not his real identity either; Yousef was actually an Iraqi army agent who stole Basit's identity. Basit and family were resident in Kuwait when Iraq overran the oil emirate in 1990. The Iraqis moved the family to Baghdad with other hostages. Some returned home, but the Basits were never heard of again, probably murdered for the sake of disguising Ramzi Yousef. The former CIA director's advice is this: Iraq was involved in the first attack on the World Trade Center. Baghdad is therefore the place to look for the conspirators behind the second. Intelligence sources can disclose that Woolsey's conclusion does not rest exclusively on the Mylroie book. While pointing the finger at Iraqi intelligence, he assigns Baghdad with no more than a partial role both in the1993 World Trade Center bombing and also in last week's suicide attack on its twin towers. His conclusions are based on a CIA investigation opened during his tenure as CIA director from 1993-1995. Evidence kept in a personal dossier codenamed KG-84-HJ established Iraqi complicity in the 1993 attack. It also contains the first serious evaluations and theories regarding the identity of the high-placed penetration agents in the White House and at the heart of U.S. intelligence. They appear to be the very moles who made those vital coded signals available to the kamikaze terrorists Sept. 11.
They Took a Vote.-Flight 93
Tuesday September 11th, there were many elections taking place all over the United States. Most of them were small, municipal and county elections. Votes were made on subjects ranging from who would be able to claim the candidacy of a particular party for a particular forthcoming election, to the winning of such seats as a councilperson or mayor.
But there was one vote taken that was not scheduled. No seat on any city council was up for grabs. No amount of campaign support was at stake. No determination on curfew, noise limits for parties, or whether or not a stop sign was being put up at an intersection was being decided. No scheduled vote was intended to affect the nation as a whole. But one did.
On a speeding aircraft, only partially filled, somewhere over the farms of Pennsylvania, a vote was taken. No other vote count was so heartwrenching. No other question so important was decided in these wide lands by so few. And their franchise claimed such a price, a price no person should ever again be forced to pay.
Three men spoke to their loved ones that day. United Airlines Flight 93 out of Newark was hijacked, and the men heard through their phones that thousands were killed a short time before by two other airliners in New York. Their response humbles me.
They took a vote.
They voted whether to die resisting the monsters that came into their lives that election day. They voted on whether they would reach out and extinguish death by embracing it - whether they would die to save unknown people, in unknown numbers, somewhere in the morning ahead of them, rushing ever closer.
And nothing in my life has prepared me to explain how I felt when I read those four words this morning.
They took a vote.
Their names were: Mark Bingham, Jeremy GLick, and Thomas E. Burnett.
THE WISDOM OF KNOWING YOUR ENEMY
"In the years preceding World War I, General John J. 'Black Jack" Pershing was commander of the American forces in the Philippines. The small Moslem community on the island nation began to wreak havoc against the Philippine government and American forces. The American troops captured a large group
of these terrorists. During the interrogation by the Military Court, the fanatics were heard to repeatedly shout, 'Allah Achbar! Allah Achbar! Jihad!
The Philippines are the lands of Islam!'
"Pershing ordered the Amalekites executed one by one in the presence of the whole group. (The author is referring to the prophecy in the Bible that the Amalekites would be a very vicious and war like people down through history.) Moslems will not eat pork believing that no one could enter Paradise if there is even the smallest amount of swine flesh in their bodies. Knowing this, the General first ordered the firing squad to shoot large hogs. After they skinned the swine, the executioners rolled their bullets in pork fat and passed fat through the barrels of their rifles while the condemned watched. As each condemned terrorist was executed, his corpse was wrapped in hog's skin and buried on the spot. The entrails of the swine
were dumped over the corpse before the grave was covered. Three of the convicted Amalekites were released to take the news back to their Islamic Communities. That ended the Islamic Jihad in the Philippines. Terrorist incidents from Islamic Fundamentalists were unheard of until a decade ago when the U.S. State Department recognized the PLO as legitimate 'Freedom Fighters' " (Vendyl Jones, RESEARCHER [Arlington, Texas: Vendyl Jones Research Institutes, January 2001]: 20).
USS New Jersey finally slips home
By Angela Couloumbis
The USS New Jersey, a monument to American prowess and an aging veteran of war, quietly made its final journey along the Delaware River just after dawn yesterday under tight security, coming to rest in its
prominent berthing place on Camden's waterfront.
There were no crowds to witness its arrival, as had been planned, and no bands or speeches to mark its docking.
There was only a handful of elected officials and ship handlers, humbled by this month's terrorist attacks and cautioned against a public display, standing on a pier and waving American flags as the 887-foot dreadnought approached.
"Yes, it's disappointing that we weren't able to have a big ceremony with music and food and large crowds," said Camden County Surrogate Pat Jones, cochairwoman of the Home Port Alliance, the nonprofit group that worked to bring the battleship to Camden and turn it into a museum.
"But we now have an extraordinary ship right here in our backyard," she said. "And it's a symbol of all America has done in the past, and a testimony to all it can and will do in the future."
The battleship's berthing was the culmination of several years of fund-raising, politicking, hand-wringing and hard work.
The battleship had been scheduled to open to the public on Labor Day weekend, but that was postponed after a series of minor mishaps. The moving date was then set for Sept. 16, the 61st anniversary of the laying of the vessel's keel at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, but the Coast Guard told the Home Port Alliance to delay the move again after the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes on New York and Washington, Jones said.
Finally, on Wednesday, the Coast Guard said the ship could be tugged in the early morning if it was done in secret. Media representatives were allowed to attend under certain conditions, but the public was kept in
the dark. As a result, the prep work for the 45,000-ton warship's final river trek began at 5 a.m. yesterday. Only about 35 people, including 25 crewmen, were allowed on board when four tugboats pushed it out of the South Jersey Port Corp.'s Broadway terminal, where it had been temporarily docked, and moved
it 1 1/2 miles north to its berth behind the Tweeter Center.
Throughout the ride, the Coast Guard, Camden County Sheriff's Office, Camden County Park Police, and Camden Police Department monitored the ship from the ground, water and air.
"It's kind of sad," said Dennis Penn, a retired Camden firefighter from Gloucester Township who rushed to the waterfront after hearing a morning news report on the ship's movement. "I know that security is tantamount, but it's a shame that there isn't a big festival to celebrate its arrival," Penn said. Larry Miles, who runs a bookstore and cultural center in Camden, said he, too, had raced to the waterfront when he heard the battleship was being docked: "No shave, no shower, no breakfast. There was no time. I just ran down here."
Dorsey Rhodes, a retired chef who lives in Camden, was lucky and managed to watch the entire half-hour docking process. He said he fished at the waterfront every day between 3 and 4 a.m., and yesterday was no
exception. "I saw them build the [docking] pier from scratch," Rhodes said. "I knew it was coming one of these days, and I wasn't going to miss it." He said he would be first in line when the ship opened for tours. "This ship has been in so many battles. It's part ofhistory now," he said.
State Sen. John Matheussen (R., Gloucester), a Home Port Alliance cochairman, said the Big J, as the ship is also known, will likely open in the next couple of weeks. He said volunteers had logged about 90,000
hours to clean, paint, and generally restore seven of the ship's 20 decks. And a company has applied
1,500 gallons of haze-gray paint to the battleship's exterior. Inside the ship, workers have installed $1 million heating and air-conditioning systems. An electric heating system is needed because the ship's four steam engines, which once warmed the vessel, cannot be fired.
The command center has also been restored, giving visitors a glimpse into how the ship once operated, said Thomas Seigenthaler, a retired rear admiral and executive director of the alliance. A 4,000-square-foot visitors' center is almost complete, and a permanent museum is planned. Altogether, about $20 million in mostly public money has been spent to transform the battleship into a waterfront attraction. About $12 million of that built its T-shaped pier.
"The ship is a symbol of strength and power," Seigenthaler said. "People who come to see it won't be disappointed." "We realize people would have liked to see it move this morning," he said yesterday. "We would have liked to have a gala, too, but we feel fortunate to have worked out the arrangement we did. The ship is now home."
FYI... This is an e-mail from an Ensign stationed aboard the USS Winston
Churchill...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Dear Dad,
Well, we are still out at sea, with little direction as to what our next priority is. The remainder of our port visits, which were to be centered on max liberty and goodwill to the United Kingdom, has all but been canceled.
We have spent every day since the attacks going back and forth within imaginary boxes drawn in the ocean, standing high-security watches, and trying to make the best of our time. It hasn't been that fun I must confess, and to be even more honest, a lot of people are frustrated at the fact that
they either can't be home, or we don't have more direction right now. We have seen the articles and the photographs, and they are sickening.
Being isolated as we are, I don't think we appreciate the full scope of what is happening back home, but we are definitely feeling the effects.
About two hours ago the junior officers were called to the bridge to conduct Ship handling drills. We were about to do a man overboard when we got a call from the LUTJENS(D185), a German warship that was moored ahead of us on the pier in Plymouth, England. While in port, the WINSTON S CHURCHILL and the LUTJENS got together for a sports day/cookout on our fantail, and we made some pretty good friends.
Now at sea they called over on bridge-to-bridge, requesting to pass us close up on our port side, to say goodbye. We prepared to render them honors on the bridge wing, and the Captain told the crew to come topside to wish them farewell. As they were making their approach, our Conning Officer announced through her binoculars that they were flying an American flag. As they came even closer, we saw that it was flying at half-mast. The bridge wing was crowded with people as the Boatswain's Mate blew two whistles- Attention to Port- the ship came up alongside and we saw that the entire crew of the German ship were manning the rails, in their dress blues. They had made up a sign that was displayed on the side that read, "We Stand By You".
Needless to say there was not a dry eye on the bridge as they stayed alongside us for a few minutes and we cut our salutes. It was probably the most powerful thing I have seen in my entire life and more than a few of us fought to retain our composure. It was a beautiful day outside today. We are no longer at liberty to divulge over unsecured e-mail our location, but we could not have asked for a finer day at sea. The German Navy did an incredible thing for this crew, and it has truly been the highest point in the days since the attacks.
It's amazing to think that only a half-century ago things were quite different, and to see the unity that is being demonstrated throughout Europe and the world makes us all feel proud to be out here doing our job.
After the ship pulled away and we prepared to begin our man overboard drills the Officer of the Deck turned to me and said, "I'm staying Navy."
I'll write you when I know more about when I'll be home, but for now, this is probably the best news that I could send you.
Future widows of America: Write your congressman
AFTER the World Trade Center was bombed by Islamic fundamentalists in 1993, the country quickly chalked it up to a zany one-time attack and five minutes later decided we were all safe again. We weren't. We aren't now. They will strike again. Perhaps they will wait another eight years. But perhaps not.
The enemy is in this country right now. And any terrorists who are not already here are free to immigrate. The government has been doing an excellent job rounding up suspects from the last two attacks. But what about the next attack? We thought there was only one murderous Islamic cell in America the last time, too.
Congress has authority to pass a law tomorrow requiring aliens from suspect countries to leave. As far as the Constitution is concerned, aliens, which is to say non-citizens, are here at this country's pleasure. They have no constitutional right to be here.
Congress has it within its power to prevent the next attack, but it won't. When the Sears Tower is attacked, the president is assassinated, St. Patrick's Cathedral is vaporized, anthrax is released in the subway systems or Disneyland is nuked, remember: Congress could have stopped it, but didn't.
Pious invocations of the Japanese internment are absurd. For one thing, those were U.S. citizens. Citizens can't be deported. So far -- thank God -- almost all the mass murderers of Americans have been aliens.
But even more blindingly obvious: There was no evidence that the attack on Pearl Harbor was staged by Japanese saboteurs living in California. The Japanese internment was a pure land grab implemented by liberal politicians -- President Franklin D. Roosevelt and California Gov. Earl Warren (later the namesake of the infamous Warren Court). The internment was vigorously opposed by J. Edgar Hoover.
This time, the very nature of the enemy is that they have infiltrated this country and pass themselves off as law-abiding, quiet immigrants. The entire modus operandi of this enemy is to smuggle mass murderers to our shores.
But the country refuses to respond rationally. Rather, Congress is busily contemplating a series of "anti-terrorism" measures most notable for their utter irrelevance to the threat. What precisely would a national ID card accomplish?
The hijackers were in this country legally! A few may have overstayed their visas by a few days -- a minor bureaucratic oversight that they surely would have remedied had they not been about to commit suicide in a monstrous attack.
Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., has bravely proposed that we take the aggressive step of asking aliens in the country to register periodically with the government so we know where they are. That's already the law in Germany. Several of the hijackers in this attack lived in Hamburg; they obediently complied. The mastermind of the most vicious terrorist attack in the history of the world, Mohammed Atta, was in Florida on a "vocational status" visa (in order to attend flight school). Let's say Atta had registered. Now what, Joe?
As the entire country has been repeatedly lectured, most Muslims are amazingly peaceful, deeply religious, wouldn't hurt a fly. Indeed, endless invocations of the pacific nature of most Muslims is the only free speech it is safe to engage in these days.
This is a preposterous irrelevancy. Fine, we get it. The New York Times can rest assured that every last American has now heard the news that not all Muslims are terrorists. That's not the point. Not all Muslims may be terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslims -- at least all terrorists capable of assembling a murderous plot against America that leaves 7,000 people dead in under two hours.
How are we to distinguish the peaceful Muslims from the fanatical, homicidal Muslims about to murder thousands of our fellow citizens? Are the good Muslims the ones who live quiet lives, pray a lot and obey the law? So did the architects of Bloody Tuesday's mass murder. Are the peaceful Muslims the ones who loudly proclaim their hatred of Osama Bin Laden? Mohammed Atta did that, too.
The only thing we know about them -- other than that they live among us -- is that they are foreign-born and they are Muslims. The government has been remarkably tight-lipped about precisely how many Muslim visitors we are currently accommodating, but from unofficial estimates, there appear to be more than a million. Even if the attorney general instigated latter-day Palmer raids, it will take years and years to investigate and infiltrate every potential terrorist cell operating on our shores. The investigations should not be conducted while the enemy continues residing here, plotting the next attack.
It's an extreme measure, but we face an extreme threat. It is suicidal naivete to think we can simply seal off every water supply, air vent, food supply and crop duster from now until the end of time. We cannot search every truck, every passenger, every shopper, every subway, every person entering every building -- every American every day.
It is impossible to stop Islamic fundamentalists who believe that slaughtering thousands of innocent Americans will send them straight to Allah. All we can do is politely ask aliens from suspect nations to leave -- with the full expectation of readmittance -- while we sort the peace-loving immigrants from the murderous fanatics.
More benefits of the plan next week, but the beauty part of the Terrorist Deportation Plan can't wait. There will be two fail-safes: (1) Muslim immigrants who agree to spy on the millions of Muslim citizens unaffected by the deportation order can stay; and (2) any Muslim immigrant who gets a U.S. senator to waive his deportation -- by name -- gets to stay.
This is brutally unfair to the Muslim immigrants who do not want to kill us. But it's not our fault. It is the fault of the terrorists who are using their fellow Muslims as human shields. So far, America's response to a calculating cold-blooded enemy has been to say, "Excuse me, you seem to have dropped your box-cutter."
Well guys Until next month..keep a smile on your face and your skids out of the TreesJ--Ron