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Home-grown Terrorism and Veterans Day

Today is the one day a year that my comrades in arms, either active duty, retired, reservist, or fellow veterans actually have strangers walk up to us and say "Thank you".  I normally don't talk about my personal experiences, except on rare occasions with fellow veterans-many of the memories are too painful to speak about.  Briefly, I want to thank all of those who are serving in the present conflicts, and all those who stood their post before, during, and after my time in the service-we all deserve more than one day of thanks from those who take their freedom, safety, and well being for granted.  Enough said.

As for the title of this post, I want to speak on home-grown terrorism tonight because recent events have developed which prove out the theories that terrorist activities need only one person to carry them out.  What I mean by this is that an act of terrorism doesn't necessarily mean a group, or cell, of people need to be involved.

Take a look at the recent Ft. Hood shootings.  The alleged shooter is of the Muslim faith-but is a U.S. citizen, otherwise he could not have enlisted in ANY branch of our military.  It has now been revealed by countless reliable news sources that he was OPENLY opposed to the war on terror, yet was NOT questioned by any sector of government intelligence about the statements he made to fellow soldiers prior to the attack.  I for one am severely disappointed by this fact-yet it only proves how complacent we have become regarding our vigilance and preparedness here at home.  Time magazine ran a report earlier today which stated that "the enemy is too busy worrying about where the next offensive strike is coming from to be concerned with carrying out acts of terror on a global scale.."....

How Unbelievably arrogant!

Are we so complacent that we have forgotten the lessons learned from the Oklahoma City bombing, the World Trade Center, the 9/11 attacks?  Unfortunately...yes.

The Ft. Hood shooter was shown to have been in contact with a radical Jihadist Muslim Cleric, who purportedly is a U.S. citizen, but has recently been released from a Yemeni prison.  This imam (preacher) was incarcerated for involvement with known terrorist groups.  The imam also praised the shooter as a "hero" and an "example to be held high, for all true believers to emulate".  It has also been revealed that the alleged shooter attended worship services with two of the 9/11 terrorists, had several electronic communications with the imam while the imam was in jail.  It was further revealed today that a prior investigation by the F.B.I. on the alleged shooter was dropped, because he was deemed to be a "non-threatening source".  Way to go, guys-nice call on that one!

Obviously the fact that he also held his mother's recent funeral at the same mosque, the comments to friends about his political views, his open praise of a Muslim leader to fellow soldiers, etc. were ignored because a fellow soldier "couldn't possibly be involved".  "He took an oath to defend the U.S. against all enemies-foriegn and domestic.  How could he have done what he allegedly did?  One word-complacency.

This is NOT a call to arms-it IS a message designed to restore the vigilance and preparedness of our country.  It IS a message meant to WAKE UP all those who have let a comment slide by, who ignore what is happening in the world outside their comfortable little bubbles, etc.  Even the slightest of comments in passing can hold a deeper meaning, an indication or "peek" into someone's psyche.  Consider this a warning-remain vigilant.  If you are not prepared-GET PREPARED.  If you are prepared-help those around you as soon as humanly possible. do not become complacent and ignore the warning signs of a troubled person around you!

That's all for now-

D.

What is WRONG with our Country?!?

Every day I wake up, decide that I must be doing something right because I don't see my name in the local obituary column, so I start out thinking it's going to be a good day.  Sure it is.   I'll spend the first 5 minutes making coffee, then a shower...etc...normal, right?  WRONG!

Then I turn on the news.

3 women shot while sitting in their car at a stoplight, in East St. Louis.  OK, I'm thinking this is bad enough.  Until I read the next sentence.  Not only were these ladies murdered while minding their own business...a one year old infant and an 8 year old were also in the car.  Apparently the perpetrators of this heinous crime didn't shoot them as well, thank God.

On to Captain Obvious on the next channel... "...the alleged shooter in the Ft. Hood incident once required counseling himself, for a nervous breakdown following debriefing of soldiers returning from the Middle East..."..no WAY..REALLY?  (As if that wasn't already an issue?  Oh, wait, I forgot...his friends were quoted as saying "He was openly opposed to U.S. approaches in the present conflict".)  I won't go into the entire list of what is wrong with that situation, it would take eons, but here's a few minuscule things:  The suspect is of Jordanian descent (a country known to harbor terrorists), he is a member of our military with the responsibility for countless lives,and when told about about his impending deployment he decided to grab a high powered rifle and kill as many people as possible....and he needed COUNSELING?!?

Then I get a phone call from a friend, telling me that his 16 and 14 year old daughters, while on a bus trip for school, came home with some news.  Apparently, a good friend of theirs (a 14 year old female) who was also on the bus was RAPED by a 17 year old, IN a bus full of people, WHILE both teachers chaperoning the trip chatted away in the FRONT of the bus.  She was too afraid to shout for help...too afraid to say anything..and NO ONE SAW ANYTHING????  After informing her parents who notified the school, her folks receive a phone call from the principal, telling them the incident was not going to be reported to the authorities, but instead "would be handled internally".  THIS IS A JOKE, RIGHT??

WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR COUNTRY???

It seems to me that a dose of good old fashioned responsibility is sorely needed.  Obviously, we've forgotten all about being responsible for our actions, being prepared, teaching our children how to defend themselves, and decided that whatever happens around us doesn't matter, because "It doesn't happen here", "Wow, that sucks, but hey who cares, it wasn't me or my family".  Perhaps we need to re-evaluate our decision making paradigms? MAYBE?!?

My responses to the above?  Let's see..

1)  Let's re-examine gun control laws..I agree with the notion of not arming convicted felons, but how about arming our citizens with plans which PREPARE them to respond to a situation when it confronts them?  I was highly trained as a soldier to maintain discipline under fire..but these women didn't see anyone approaching their car?  The driver didn't have the foresight to step on the GAS and get out of there?  And no one around them shouted a warning or tried to help?

2)  When I entered the military, I was subjected to tests to ensure I could physically handle the training.  But I was ALSO required to provide PROOF of citizenship, submit to a BACKGROUND check, and a PSYCHOLOGICAL examination, then taught to RESPOND.   Did these practices stop recently?  Or is our military so under-manned that we just take warm bodies, and oops, we put a mentally unstable potential terrorist in a position of authority?

3)  To the parents of the 14 year old girl who was raped-CALL THE POLICE.  If you refuse to do so, you can be found guilty of negligent disregard for the well being of a minor (a FELONY), and will very likely lose your child. If the girl doesn't want to talk to the police, she is a MINOR-YOU are responsible for her well being and safety.

4)  To the principal of the school who is going to "handle the matter internally":  When did you receive the authority to obstruct justice, jeopardize the safety of your students by making them attend school with an alleged rapist, and lose your COMMON SENSE?  Last I checked with EVERY states' Board of Education, YOU are responsible for the safety, education, and well being of every student attending your school.  THAT is your job-not to cover up something that might tarnish the reputation of an inattentive teacher, or side-step your responsibilities.  You ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS.

That said, I also turned on the Weather Channel...and saw that the Governor of Louisiana declared a state of emergency BEFORE hurricane Ida actually hits the Gulf Coast.  WOW...it only took the loss of billions of dollars in real estate, thousands of lives, and the knowledge gained from hurricane Katrina to wake you up.

At least someone is learning.

Wake UP, America!!!

I am shocked, saddened, angered, and dealing with the loss of yet another friend and veteran after the events which occurred at Ft. Hood today. The levels of complacency I battle against EVERY DAY with educational programs designed to restore the resiliency and preparedness of our country have now infiltrated the lion's den-one of those placed in a position of leadership, a position of counsel, to those who uphold the greatest traditions of our country with their LIVES committed the foulest of acts of treason. For all those I encounter in my travels, for all those who take your safety and freedoms for granted, for all those who have said to me "It doesn't happen here"..I have only one statement...WAKE UP, AMERICA..it just happened HERE...WAKE UP..You've just been hit. The getting up is up to you.