By Mary Mostert, Analyst, Banner of Liberty www.bannerofliberty.com)
October 12, 2001
Since September 11th, I've had quite a few letters from people who want to comment, vent their frustration or pour out their heightened sense of patriotism. A recent example from Bruce, a Utah reader, arrived yesterday in his "Open Apology" to the State of Israel. He wrote:
We, the People of the United States, in order to help our president form a more perfect coalition of countries to fight international terrorism, do issue the following apology to the people and nation of Israel. Knowing that our government is a government "of the People, by the People, for the People", we exercise that authority to issue this apology.First, we apologize for all our past presidents who have urged and demanded that you be 'patient' and 'understanding' when you have been assaulted by terrorists. The harm our presidents have done to you in the past years is unforgivable.
Now that we have seen the face of terrorism up close, we apologize for forcing you to look into that face as many times as we have. We were ignorant, but not any longer.
Bruce has noted an eduring American trait. We do have an unfortunate tendency to lecture others about being patient, but when confronted with the same problem, we rarely follow our own advice. He goes on:
Now that we are facing an Olympics that may be one of the next targets of terrorism, we apologize for consoling you in 1972 with the meaninglessly-muttered thought that your Olympians died bravely. We will not react that way if it should happen again.Now that our mothers and wives and sisters and children still lay beneath the rubble of the World Trade Center, we are very sorry for not coming to your aide as your markets and restaurants and dance halls and schools and buses in your country explode with alarming frequency.
Second, we apologize for not taking a stand against terrorism sooner. We apologize that it took the most horrible terrorist attack to date to wake us up. We have lived in comfort and without fear for so long that it has taken something very horrible to wake us up. But we are awake now.
Third, we apologize for our current president continuing the mistakes of former administrations by turning a deaf ear to the only country that has any real experience on the subject of terrorism.
We recognize that there is no other country on earth that has been so willing to assist the Untied States when it has been insulted by a warring country or organization, and yet has been turned down every time. This defies explanation.
We recognize that El Al Airlines, your national carrier, has not had a hijacking since 1969, and we are baffled as to why our Federal Aviation Administration turns a deaf ear to El Al when they volunteer to assist them. Perhaps this is the kind of pride that will force more of our airplanes out of the skies.
We recognize that your intelligence gathering rganizations are the best in the world, and yet our government continues to ignore them as if they were children making up lies to get a brother or sister in trouble. We too are baffled.
We recognize that our president, in a effort to gain support from the Arab-Muslim world, is actively courting those very same countries that have in the past and still do actively harbor and train terrorists to enter your country and kill you. As a nation, we are shaking our head in amazement.
We recognize that our president has not yet added the four terrorist groups that are actively dedicated to your extermination to his list of terrorist organizations to be dealt with. We recognize that these four organizations have caused more death and carnage than any other group, prior to September 11, 2001. We promise you that we will not remain silent on this matter.
Actually, this is not accurate. Our President was not the one not paying attention. WE just weren't listening. Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups determined to destroy Israel ARE on America's terrorist list. In fact, on May 10, 2001, then FBI Director Louis Freeh presented a statement before the United States Senate Committees on Appropriations, Armed Services and Select Committee on Intelligence entitled Threat of Terrorism to the United States. Freeh said::
"Loosely affiliated extremists, motivated by political or religious beliefs, may pose the most urgent threat to the United States. Within this category, Sunni Islamic extremists, such as Usama bin Laden and individuals affiliated with his Al-Qaeda organization, have demonstrated a willingness and capability to carry out attacks resulting in large-scale casualties and destruction against U.S. citizens, facilities, and interests, as demonstrated by the August 1998 bombings of U.S. Embassies in East Africa. Al-Qaeda is a well organized and financed criminal network comprised of structured, hierarchical cells in numerous countries around the world. However, the threat from Al-Qaeda is only part of the overall threat from the radical international jihad movement.This movement is comprised of individuals from varying nationalities, ethnic groups, tribes, races, and terrorist group members who work together in support of extremist Sunni goals. One of the primary Sunni goals is the removal of U.S. military forces from the Persian Gulf area, most notably Saudi Arabia. The single common element among these diverse individuals is their commitment to the radial international jihad movement, which includes a radicalized ideology and agenda for promoting the use of violence against the "enemies of Islam" in order to overthrow all governments which are not ruled by Sharia, or conservative Islamic law.
The accusation that President Bush has "not yet added the four terrorist groups" intent on destroying Israel is not accurate. Freeh warned in May:
The second category of international terrorist threat is made up of formal terrorist organizations. Typically, these autonomous, generally transnational organizations have their own infrastructures, personnel, financial arrangements, and training facilities. These organizations are capable of planning and mounting terrorist campaigns on an international basis. A number of these organizations maintain operations and support networks in the United States. For example, extremist groups such as the Palestinian Hamas, the Irish Republican Army, the Egyptian Al-Gama Al-Islamiyya, and the Lebanese Hizballah have a presence in the United States whose members are primarily engaged in fund-raising, recruiting, and low-level intelligence gathering. In July 2000, an FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation led to the arrests of 23 individuals alleged to be supporters of Hizballah in Charlotte, Concord, and Lexington, North Carolina. These individuals were charged with a variety of offenses, including providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, immigration and visa fraud, bribery of government officials, and money laundering.Hizballah is responsible for the deaths of more Americans than any other terrorist group, including the terrorist network of Usama bin Laden. Among the notorious acts committed by this group are the 1983 truck bombings of the United States Embassy and United States Marine Corps barracks in Lebanon, the 1984 bombing of the United States Embassy Annex in Beirut, and the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847, during which United States Navy diver Robert Stehem, a passenger on the flight, was murdered by the hijackers. To date, however, Hizballah has not carried out a terrorist act in the United States.
We can't blame President Bush. We need to blame ourselves and the American media which didn't bother to report Freeh's letter. Under State Sponsored Terrorism Freeh noted that the:
Department of State lists seven countries: Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Syria, Cuba, and North Korea. Of these, Iran represents the greatest terrorist threat to the United States. Despite a moderation in its public anti-U.S. rhetoric since the election of Mohammed Khatemi as president, the Government of Iran remains controlled by conservative clerics opposed to reform and normalization of relations with Western countries.The Government of Iran continues to target dissidents living outside the country and supports financially and logistically anti-Western acts of terrorism by others. Syria has not been directly involved in conducting terrorist activities for a number of years; however, the country still provides safe haven to international terrorist groups and rogue extremists. Cuba and North Korea appear to have significantly reduced their direct involvement with terrorism due to the rapidly diminishing capacity of their economies to support such activities.
We were told. We just didn't listen.
To comment: mmostert@bannerofliberty.com
Statement on Terrorism by FBI Director Louis Freeh May 10, 2001 -http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress01/freeh051001.htm