9/11 Was Declaration of War

On this 10th Anniversary of the September 11th attack on America we’ll hear politicians and pundits wringing their hands over the “tragic events” of that morning. They’ll wonder aloud whether we’ve “learned anything” in these past ten years and whether we’ve achieved the correct level of “tolerance” and “understanding” that is so desperately needed to solve our worlds problems.

From our president we will hear a call to community service and a plea to find volunteer opportunities in our neighborhoods, because, you know… the real message behind 9/11 is to plant a garden at the local welfare office.

What we won’t hear enough of this momentous day is the truth about 9/11. The truth about what happened that day. The truth about why it happened.

The truth is that on September 11, 2001 war was declared on the United States of America. Our ideological opponents on the left (as well as some of the more troubling supporters of Rep. Ron Paul) will tell you that it 9/11 wasn’t an act of war because the perpetrators were not acting on behalf of any nation. As if in some way the fact that our attackers didn’t have a flag on their sleeves while demolishing our financial and military headquarters some how re-defines the act as merely a “crime”.

The liberals and libertarians mired in their denial of the reality of the world we live in are dangerous and must be answered with vigor. 9/11 was not a “criminal act”. And, despite what President Obama might say, we are not in a war against Al Qaeda. By narrowing our focus and pretending that we must only respond against those whose fingerprints can be found on the 9/11 attack is an invitation to our enemies around the world to wage war on us through proxies like Al Qaeda. A Commander-in-Chief Ron Paul, with his pathetic call for Letters of Marque and Reprisal, would allow enemies like North Korea, Iran and Venezuela to send hundreds of organizations like Al Qaeda toward our skyscrapers all under the protective banner of “rogue criminal act”.

9/11 was war. War was declared on the United States of America, and very soon after, on many of our allies, Great Britain Australia and Spain. At the time we had a leader who recognized the fact that we were at war, whether we liked it or not. And he struck back. Effectively and with gusto. The Afghan government, which had aided and abetted our attackers, fell within months.

By not being obsessed with one man, Osama bin Laden, and instead focusing his aim at nations that were supporting, funding or giving refuge to terrorist groups, our President effectively and wisely declared that our world cannot be at peace until the day comes when nations will not risk their own destruction by playing footsie with madmen who do their dirty work for them.

Three years ago our country dozed off. We thought that if we elected a man who talked nice to our enemies (take a look at what candidate Obama said about unconditional talks with North Korea, Iran and Venezuela) and pronounced “Pahk-eee-stahn” like a local we’d somehow steer clear of terrorist attacks. The fact is the world is much more dangerous now than it was three years ago. We are less popular in the Arab world than before we hired citizen of the world Obama to be our Commander-in-Chief.

And as President Obama implores Americans to heed the call of 9/11 and volunteer at a soup kitchen, our enemies are plotting their next devastating attack on us.

9/11 was a declaration of war. We answered. Then we turned our back. What will happen next?