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------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ARTICLE 02 – It Is Time For Accountability For Sept. 11 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- By J. David Galland Many Americans were blissfully ignorant and therefore completely stunned by the horror of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11. But at the same time, a number of people responsible for defending the nation were not surprised at these tragic events. We had expected this kind of offensive operation against the United States for some time. Even as the U.S. military campaign against al Qaeda proceeds well in Afghanistan, and the federal government continues the difficult task of balancing internal security requirements with our constitutional liberties at home, I believe it is now time for us to confront some very unpleasant truths. Many people are not going to be happy with what I have to say, but at the end of the day, the truth is all we have – and must be the foundation of our future conduct as a nation. On Sept. 11, the amount and quality of military force and intelligence - collecting ability possessed by the United States – a level that subsequent events proved ineffective to halt mass murder on American soil – had been determined by American society through its elected representatives. In recent weeks, Congress has approved a multi-billion-dollar – billion – defense and security appropriation to serve as a "jump-start" for financing the war against terrorism. But only months ago, a multi-million dollar increase proposal for the U.S. Navy's operating budget – a scant fraction of the money we now plan to spend – was considered substantial, if not excessive. By whom? By the same leaders in the House and Senate: Reps. Gary Condit, Barney Frank, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and former President Bill Clinton (who reportedly has complained to friends that he is more qualified to manage the war against terrorism than President Bush). This is the same strain of "leadership" who prior to Sept. 11 inserted an $85-million budget item for breast cancer research into the Navy budget. This was business - as - usual prior to the terrorist strikes: Forcing non-defense mandates into the military budget while short-changing badly needed funds for buying more aircraft, ships, equipment, and missiles. And, of course, this particular incident went mostly unreported in the major news media except for the charges of "insensitive" and "irresponsible" hurled at the secretary of defense and secretary of the Navy by leaders such as Sen. Hillary Clinton when the defense officials had the moral courage to criticize the ploy. What an innocent time we lived in prior to Sept. 11. Those of you who watch government hearings on C-SPAN may recall how the people in charge of the military practically begged and groveled before our elected officials to get more money to fight terrorism and to maintain a strong defense. Top military leaders appeared before the defense and budget committees pleading for more funding to maintain an acceptable level of military readiness and to be given the money to conduct sorely lacking combat training. Generals and admirals were forced to beg for beans and bullets while social engineering projects within the uniformed services were given top priority. When the heads of the U.S. intelligence agencies appeared before the same elected officials, they vehemently declared that terrorism directed at the United States was the No. 1 threat we faced. These officials made it impossible for our elected elite to ignore that they did not have the funding to create and sustain intelligence networks that would preclude attacks on America. But again, this did not impress the elected body, nor average Americans distracted away from the warnings of terrorism by our rich panoply of television entertainment America's protector, its last line of defense, is its standing military force, supported by the U.S. intelligence community. To maintain the strength and vitality of the all-volunteer force, it is necessary for the services and intelligence agencies to recruit and enlist a constant stream of young volunteers out of our high schools and colleges. Again, the political landscape prior to Sept. 11 shows how deeply our nation slumbered as the terrorist threat grew near. The response for years by many American political leaders to the Pentagon’s manpower needs had been to close and prohibit ROTC programs at universities and high schools, and to bar military recruiters from campuses and high schools. I find it difficult not to conclude that many of our leaders simply did not want their sons and daughters to defend their own country and freedom, on the spurious grounds that the military incites violence and teaches children to use guns. The deaths of thousands of innocent Americans on Sept. 11 snapped America out of its long sleep. But as an active-duty soldier, I must ask, and ask vehemently: Why were the earlier deaths of American servicemen and women at the hands of al Qaeda downplayed, if not ignored altogether? Why did Americans remain generally indifferent to the attack on the USS Cole, where 17 sailors died? What about the bombing of the Air Force barracks in Saudi Arabia killed another 16 servicemen? How about all the hundreds of people killed and injured at the embassies in Africa? Why did Americans so quickly forget the deaths of 18 American soldiers and wounding of 70 others at the hands of al Qaeda-trained fighters in Somalia – and the grisly scene of several corpses being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu? The harsh legacy of Sept. 11 is that most American political leaders – and a majority of the nation itself -- ignored the obvious danger signs of the growing terrorist threat. This was not solely the fault of a political leadership fixated on narrow niche issues such as animal rights, ozone depletion and the agenda of the homosexual community. Each American should and ask why he or she did not want to be bothered with issues that seemed abstract and distant from daily life. Today, it is important that we remain unified as a nation in the continuing fight against terrorism. But we should also demand accountability for those whose inattention to the growing threat allowed terrorism to carry out such a monstrous attack on Sept. 11. J. David Galland, Deputy Editor of DefenseWatch, is the pen name of a career U.S. Army senior Non-Commissioned Officer currently serving in Germany. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- ARTICLE 03 – War and Religion: Islam’s Embrace of Violence ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- By Robert G. Williscroft Remember the old story about the Emperor? His tailor presented him with a marvelous new outfit, telling him that the cloth was so special that only a righteous person could see it. The Emperor saw nothing, of course, but in order to save face, admired the quality and cut of the material he could not see. His acquisition was promoted throughout the land, and on his next public procession through the city, the population, also seeing nothing, of course, openly and enthusiastically admired the invisible material. That is, until one young lad who didn't know better exclaimed, “The Emperor has no clothes!” We hear daily that Islam is not our enemy; instead we are told that Islamic fundamentalists – religious fanatics who don't represent any part of Islam – threaten our safety. While I agree that the vast proportion of American Muslims probably wish us no harm, we are hugely mistaken if we believe the same is true for worldwide followers of Islam. Examine for a moment the tenants of Judaism. The ancient Israelites were a warring people, of this there is no doubt. The Torah and other holy writings of Judaism, however, do not prescribe violence against anyone. Judaism does not contain the seeds of Holy War. Vocal supporters of modern Palestine try to couch the current conflict between Israel and Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups as a righteous reaction by the Palestinians against marauding Israelis, but the simple fact is that the Israelis are reacting to terror attacks by the Palestinians. Judaism fundamentally is a peaceful religion. Examine the tenets of Christianity that differ from those of Judaism, in particular the New Testament. The command is to turn the other cheek. There is no call to battle under any circumstances. In the Middle Ages, Christianity found a way to justify violence against non-Christians, but this concept has long since ceased to be a part of Christian dogma. In effect, Christian scholars determined that there was a better way to accomplish the Christian mission, and they changed the basic understanding of Christianity to conform to this benign view. Bottom line: Holy War is proscribed; “Christ comes in peace.” Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Ba'hai: Holy War is absolutely not contained in any of these faiths. True, from time to time in the past, violence has played a part in the development of some of these religions, especially among the Hindus. Even today, there are some elements of Hinduism that turn to violence, but generally, a Hindu is identified with non-violence. Holy War is not a part of these world religions. A myriad of lesser-known beliefs support the faith of millions of followers around the world – but none of these contain a call to Holy War either. Now examine Islam: While it is true that the Koran teaches it is evil to do violence to innocent people, the Koran contains a general call to arms against Infidels. Unlike any other world religion, Islam encourages the Jihad – the Holy War. Only Islamic clerics can call the faithful to arms in defense of the faith. Jewish rabbis cannot do this, Catholic priests and Protestant ministers cannot do this, Buddhist monks cannot do this, nor Hindu holy men, nor any of the others. Only in Islam can this happen. When we speak of Christian fundamentalists, what commonly comes to mind is someone who believes in the literal words contained in the Judeo/Christian Bible. This individual will generally appear as a proselytizer for his faith, perhaps strong-willed, with a desire to make his faith a general part of his society. What you do not find, however, is a person who advocates violent actions against those with different beliefs. When a rare Christian fundamentalist crosses over this line, as has happened in the struggle over abortion rights, nearly all other Christian fundamentalists condemn such actions, especially the Christian fundamentalist leaders. Islamic fundamentalists, on the other hand, are all identified by their universal calls to violence against non-believers – Jihad, Holy War. Unlike Christian fundamentalist clerics who go to great lengths to eliminate violence in their ranks, Islamic fundamentalist clerics are the very ones fomenting this violence. As the Western world moved from the Middle Ages into the Renaissance, the Catholic Church, which represented organized Christianity, went to great lengths to distance itself from the violence of the Crusades. In effect, Christian leaders restructured the tenets of Christianity to eliminate violence as a righteous means to a religious end. Any argument that points to past Christian violence as justification for current Islamic violence misses the point. Although not so ancient as Christianity, Islam has been with us for a respectable one-and-a-half millennia. Unlike Christianity, however, Islam has not left its violence in the past. Islamic violence is as real today as it was twelve hundred years ago. It's time to call it like it is: The Emperor is a Terrorist. Islam is inherently and fundamentally a threat to world peace. You can't argue away the Jihad; it is built into the system. You can only rid the world of Jihad by ridding the world of the system that creates Jihad. It is time for Muslims of good will to change their system. Christians did it. Muslims must do it as well. Muslim clerics of all Islamic persuasions must renounce violence. Jihad must become a thing of the past. The bottom line is that if Islam won't change itself, eventually we will have to. There is no doubt in my mind how such a Holy War will end. Robert G. Williscroft is DefenseWatch Navy Editor. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! 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