Ten years and counting:

Friday – September10, 2010

Ten years and counting:

Tomorrow, we will gather as a nation to observe the 9/11 tragedy. Tomorrow, we will gather to observe the day this country was attacked. We seem to forget that.

There is still a debate about the war on terror. There is still a debate on where to fight the enemy. In fact, there is now a debate on who the enemy is. There is still a debate on how to fight the enemy. Next year, these questions will still be unanswered.

A new dimension of the debate is whether a Muslim Mosque should be built at Ground Zero. A new dimension of the debate is whether a pastor in Florida should hold a demonstration and burn the Muslim holy book, the Koran. While bibles are being burned in Afghanistan and Christians are not allowed in areas of the Muslim world, we are asked to be tolerant. That is what this nation does. We tolerate abuse, insurrection and even assaults on our liberty and freedom.

You know the issues and I will not say if the Imam is right or if the pastor is right. What I do know is that both activities are senseless and do offend. So why don’t the Imam and the Pastor call it a day and back down. Culture and religion prohibit them. One side uses the Constitution for protection and the other uses the Constitution to prove a point. Both are wrong and both are dangerous provocations.

9/11 will soon be used as reason to provoke, instead of a reason to observe and become united.

The U.S. now has a rating of 4th place in the global economic report. The U.S. is ranked as 87th in Economic stability. Our own Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said, “Our rising debt levels undermine our capacity to react and it sends a message of weakness.” “We are not free to act, because we can’t afford it.” Hillary also said, “Our debt is a national security issue.” These were the same reasons, in the 70’s, while Jimmy Carter was president, that we became weak and that made and broadened the path to the attack on 9/11.

The Christian/Muslim debate, conflict, call it what you may, has been with us for generations. The decisions of the past always make a problem for current and future generations. The British government gave the Muslim land to the Jews. It was their land to give. Now it is an American problem. The Muslim question has been with the U.S. for all of our existence. The Barbary Coast Wars were fought to eliminate the Muslim who was holding our sailors and trade ships hostage. Thomas Jefferson created the Navy to fight the threat.

On 9/11 this country was attacked and provoked. Our Commander in Chief then went to an immediate war footing. This was the right thing to do. Our current Commander in Chief opposes a war footing and favors an apology based foreign policy. Our current Commander in Chief has put this country into a decline, just like it was in the 70’s. The result will be the same.

What has changed since 9/11? Iran has gone nuclear. There are 60 countries that are now trying to do the same. Our nuclear arsenal is diminishing. We have not improved our weaponry and most weapons have reached their shelf life. Terrorism is not being talked about, but it is on the rise and the threat is greater than ever. Our enemies number a greater part of the world. Our allies don’t trust us and will question our policies when ever an opportunity arises. Our economy is nearing the breaking point. Our debt has never been higher and our weakness is now our liability.

Yesterday, I wrote that Americans are not afraid to correct a wrong. I also wrote that bad decisions are what we hate. Americans hate to see the country in decline and we hate to see our unity threatened by the events that occur due to bad decisions.

Tomorrow, observe the unity and observe what that attack left us. Then ask yourself: who the real enemy is.

Today, I leave you with what was said by the President:
"Our enemies have made the mistake that America’s enemies always make. They saw liberty and thought they saw weakness. And now, they see defeat."- George W. Bush, President of the United States

These words are still true today, but they can also be viewed from the perspective of looking inward!

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: For last year’s observance of 9/11 please go to the archives on the FORUM page. Last year there was a year and 53 days to the Midterm. Today there are 53 days look at what has happened in one year. That should be reason enough to vote those who were in Congress then out now.