I'd like to take the opportunity of this 228th year of American =
independence to wish all Americans, and our many friends overseas who =
wish us well, a glorious 4th of July holiday.
America is once again at war, this time against a new enemy who is =
willing to murder anyone in the name of God, an enemy who is bent on =
achieving only one aim: the imposition of a theocratic regime on an =
unwilling peoples. Unlike the past, our new enemies come with new =
weapons in their arsenal.they attempt (and often succeed) in using the =
power of our own press to convince us that we are "evil" and deserving =
of the war imposed on us; they try to silence those who oppose them by =
the use of our own judiciary system against us; they demand special =
"rights" for themselves that they would deny others.and they march on =
our streets, insulting our great country.and what has our society done =
for them? We provide them with a willing phalanx of attorney's, ever =
ready to defend them and their followers from any charges. Our largely =
sycophantic press is ever-ready to give them the press they don't =
deserve, to elevate them, to show the world how "tolerant" and =
"understanding" they are.while suggesting that if only the peoples of =
the United States "understood" them more.why, we'd all get along just =
fine. =20
I have news for them: I don't want to get along with them. I believe =
the majority of my fellow Americans aren't interested in getting along =
either. The time for negotiation ended on September 11th, 2001.when we =
Americans saw the true face of militant Islam, up close and very =
personal. The tortured souls forced to choose between jumping to their =
certain deaths or being burned alive. In my worse nightmare, I cannot =
imagine ever being faced with such a choice and if I have my way, no =
other American will ever have to make that choice again. We Americans =
owe it to those who died to make it so. Let us never forget the awful =
vision of human beings jumping to their deaths.the planeload of hero's =
who said "Let's roll" and sacrificed themselves for what they must have =
known was a doomed effort: to stop their aircraft from becoming yet =
another missile used against their fellow citizens. =20
We have to face facts, we have been largely abandoned by our past =
friends and Europe is largely united in opposition to America. For =
daring to stand up and defend ourselves, we are vilified by those whom =
we thought of as allies. Can anyone doubt that if France or Germany had =
been attacked, that our country would have hesitated to send immediate =
support? No, if this had occurred, our people would have never asked, =
"What did you do to deserve the attack?".our people would have asked, =
"What can we do to help?".and the help would have been immediate and =
unconditional.
Many people who have written to ACAIR have asked why I fight this =
battle. I am only speaking for myself, not the other members of ACAIR. =
But one thing I do know for a fact: all of us love our country and have =
no desire to take the appeasement route in this war. As for me, I also =
lost a friend at the Pentagon. No, he wasn't a close and personal =
friend, just one of the many people I knew from my Navy career. But I =
remember him because he was a good person terror-murdered simply for =
being.an American. =20
Some who have written ACAIR ask "can we win this war?" My answer now, =
as before, is "yes". We will win. Why am I filled with confidence? =20
- When General Washington was camped at Valley Forge, he lost many =
troops who became disillusioned and went home. Yet, those brave =
soldiers who stayed went on to defeat a superior enemy in the dead of =
winter in the worse possible war fighting conditions. When I see the =
faces of our young troops (and they are young: average age is 19) in =
Iraq and Afghanistan, I see the same grim determination to tough it =
out.to get the job done. And who were, and are, these people? =
..Americans. =20
- In the immediate aftermath of the attacks on 9-11, I went to donate =
blood at the local mall. The line was literally out of the building, =
snaking into the parking lots. It was a very hot day, but nobody =
complained. No, there wasn't much smiling going on, just a grim =
determination to give something to the victims. When later it was sadly =
announced that there wouldn't be any need for the blood due to the lack =
of survivors, the line stayed. These folks could have said "we tried" =
and gone home. They didn't. Ordinary folks, your neighbors and =
mine.stayed to fulfill their commitment to donate. What kind of people =
are these? Americans.
- When Europe largely abandoned us, our president carried out his plans =
to strike the enemy in his lair. He could have said to us that we =
didn't have the support of the United Nations.that our "allies" in =
France and Germany had turned their backs on us.that maybe we should ask =
ourselves what we did to bring this upon America. He didn't. He could =
have taken the easy way out, lobbed a few bombs, sent a few cruise =
missiles into enemy camps and given speeches about how angry he was. =
No, our president was faced with a new threat, a new terror confronting =
us and he knew that if an immediate, overwhelming response wasn't =
carried out that our enemies would see this as weakness. With quiet =
determination, he spoke for the vast majority of Americans and sent off =
our troops to stop a fanatical enemy who doesn't understand that we will =
not be subjugated, that we have no desire to live in a world where we =
are afraid of shadows.
From Europe, I ask: "What is your answer to terror?" From France, I =
ask, "Where is the spirit of Lafayette? Where is the great French =
fleet, carrying brave French soldiers coming to aid us in our time of =
need?" I pray that neither France nor Germany is ever attacked the way =
we were on 9-11, but if they are.I know we will be on the phone =
immediately, asking "what can we do to help?" How do I know? Because =
we are.Americans and it's our way.
In closing, I'd like to thank those friends of mine who make up "team =
ACAIR". Many of you don't know that I have four friends who help in =
keeping the site up, and in putting out the "News & Analysis." They =
prefer to stay out of the limelight (they could be your next-door =
neighbor) and to them I owe a lot.they kept me going through the early =
stages when I didn't know if we were making an impact or not; they =
persuaded me to continue when CAIR first threatened their lawsuit =
against me.they could have folded their tents and turned their backs on =
me and they didn't. I will always remember that and be grateful. To =
those who have taken the time to write and share your thoughts, I want =
to say "thank you", you've made it all worthwhile. In your celebrations =
of this 228th Fourth of July, will you take a minute to remember all =
Americans, past and present, who have fought, and are fighting, for our =
freedoms? =20
God bless America,=20
Andrew Whitehead
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