Special Report: September 11, 2001

Terrorists Draw First Blood

	In a day of infamy being compared to Pearl Harbor, the Twin Towers of New York's
landmark World Trade Center crashed to the ground about an hour after airliners crashed
into each of the 110-story buildings at around 9a.m. Eastern time.
	The Pentagon continued to burn out of control after a hijacked airplane crashed into it
at 9:30, about a half hour after the World Trade center assault.
	A high-ranking New York police official said thousands of people could be dead or injured
at the World Trade Center.
	A fourth hijacked aircraft crashed in western Pennsylvania.  It has been speculated to
have been en route to Camp David.
	The Pentagon, the nerve center of the nation's military, burst into flames and a portion
of one side of the five-sided structure collapsed when the plane struck in midmorning.
	The West Wing of the White House was evacuated amid threats of terrorism.  Authorities 
in Washington immediately began deploying troops, including an infantry regiment.  The 
	Situation Room at the White House was in full operation.  Authorities went on alert from
coast to coast, halting all air traffic and tightening security at strategic installations.
	President Bush, flown from Florida to Barksdale Air Force Base in Northern Louisiana, said
the nation's military had been placed on "high-alert status."  Two warships were
dispatched to New York Harbor to assist in the rescue.
	"We will do what it takes, whatever's necessary to secure America and Americans,
" Bush said."Freedom itself was attacked this morning and I assure you freedom
will be defended.  Make no mistake.  The United States will hunt down and pursue those
responsible for these cowardly actions."
	Afghanistan rejected suggestions that Usama bin Laden could be behind the attacks.  Reliable
sources indicate otherwise.
	In June, a U.S. judge had set this Wednesday as the sentencing date for a bin Laden
associate for his role in the 1998 bombing of a U.S. embassy in Tanzania that killed 213
people.  The sentencing had been set for the federal courthouse near the World Trade Center.
	In the West Bank city of Nablus, thousands of Palestinians celebrated the attacks, 
chanting "God is Great" and handing out candy.
	The White House, the Pentagon and the Capitol were evacuated along with other federal
buildings in Washington and New York.
	Authorities had been trying to evacuate the 50,000 people who work in the Twin Towers,
but many were thought to be trapped."I have a sense it's a horrendous number of lives
lost," Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said.  "I don't know yet.  Right now we have to
focus on saving as many lives as possible."

	The attacks were well planned, well-thought-out and had substantial financial backing.
It is well agreed upon that if a terrorist group wanted to make a statement, this was the way
to get the world's attention.  
	The zealousness exhibited by the terrorists is very misguided.  Muslims believe that God
smiles upon them and that such attacks are successful because God favors them.
	Anyone who has witnessed these tragic events and has not become sympathetic to the Israeli
plight, should consider taking a reality check.  Everyone asks "what kind of person would
commit such an act, or why?"  One look at the Palestinians' jubilation should amply
answer that question.

	Unfortunately, there are other questions that are harder to answer such as "Why do we
have such lax security in airline travel?" and "...how an aircraft is allowed to even
get close to the Pentagon, let alone damage it?"  Furthermore, "Why did we not have
advanced intelligence to prevent such a tragedy?"
	Perhaps instead of holding fundraising tea parties at the White House for the last several
years, more emphasis should have been placed on seemingly less significant issues such as
national security.
	Hindsight is always twenty/twenty, but the anti-American sentiment and acts of terrorism
have been mounting for years.  Perhaps now, instead of the last administration dabbling in
"politically correct" international politics with ineffective foreign policies, the
Bush administration needs to restore the United States to a pre-eminent power that sets
policies for the world, rather than follow the international will of others.
	Unfortunately, as seen with Pearl Harbor, first blood has to be drawn against us before
the reality of non-Democratic counter-forces can truly be experienced.
	The prosperity of the United States since the completion of World War II, thru the
self-indulged financial gluttony of the nineties, has created a complacency giving way to
a dangerously false level of security.
	Since 1776, continued freedom has always come at a price.  Let us make sure that today's
events serve as a reminder to be ever vigilant and united behind our unique way of life.