War On Terror 1

I have mainly been writing about illegal immigration, but that is not the only subject that concerns me. Therefore I am posting a few articles I had written previously on other subjects. These first three concern our War on Terror.


Recently President Bush made his annual State of the Union Address. In it he asked for an additional 20,000 troops to deploy to Iraq so he can secure Baghdad. I am sorry Mr. Bush, but I would have to say no to your request. I am against your war in Iraq, and your War on Terror. I do support the men and women whom you are sending overseas to fight in your war though. I myself am a veteran of 13 yrs in the United States Air Force. I know what kind of sacrifices these brave men and women are making for their country. That still does not mean I agree with your war.

Many people have been called me unpatriotic, soft on terror, and a few other unmentionable names because of my feelings on this subject. The fact of the matter is that I have put aside emotions, examined the facts, and I have decided that things just don’t add up.

The question begs to be asked, why now Mr. Bush, why Iraq? In 1983 terrorists drove a truck full of explosives into the Marine compound in Beirut Lebanon killing 241 U.S. servicemen. On Feb. 26, 1993 The World Trade Center was attacked for the first time. In June of 1996 a terrorist bomb exploded outside Khobar Towers, Saudi Arabia, killing 19 Americans. In 2000 suicide bombers approached the U.S.S. Cole in a small craft detonating a bomb which disabled the ship, killing 17 sailors. All these events were aimed at terrorizing America. So again I ask the question, why now Mr. Bush, and why Iraq?

Mr. Bush, you claim we are in the middle of a War on Terror that began the day of September 11, 2001 when terrorists flew hijacked airplanes into the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. After all the previous attacks by terrorists, why wait until now to declare war? They have been at war with us for many years. Why are we suddenly fighting back?

There is something else that I find most peculiar. According to the FBI's list of the hijackers of the flights on Sept. 11, the terrorists were Saudi Arabian and Egyptian. There was not one Iraqi. Why did you choose to attack Iraq and not Saudi Arabia and Egypt?

Mr. Bush, you claimed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. None were ever found. You also stated Iraq had ties to Al Qaeda. That was never proven to be true. Both these claims turned out to be false, so you changed your story again. Now you claim we need to install a democracy in Iraq. Since when is it the job of the United States to invade a sovereign country, overthrow their government, and install a democracy? I find that clause nowhere in the U.S. Constitution under the powers granted the President or the Congress.

Mr. Bush, it is time we left Iraq. In 2002 the Congress passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public law 107-243, 116 Stat. 1497-1502). This resolution granted you the authority to use military force against Iraq under certain conditions. Two of those conditions were to defend the security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq, and to enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq. Iraq no longer poses a threat to us militarily. There were no weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein is gone. The threat from his regime is over. The conditions granting you the powers to use military force have been removed. Therefore our troops should be removed and brought home as well before another U.S. serviceman loses his life.

The only threat remaining is Iraq is of our own creating. The longer our military forces occupy Iraq, the more the animosity towards the U.S. in the region will grow. Time to bring our men and women home Mr. Bush, playtime is over.

When you first spoke to the American people about the War on Terror, you mentioned the Axis of Evil. Iran and North Korea were the other two countries, along with Iraq that constituted your Axis of Evil.

At the time we invaded Iraq Iran and North Korea were much further along in their nuclear weapons programs, yet we did not attack them, we attacked Iraq. Again, I ask why Iraq Mr. Bush?

Putting aside the fact that we invaded Iraq and we removed Saddam Hussein from power. What else has our War on Terror accomplished? Let’s look first at the situation in Iraq. We now have Sunni and Shia Muslims waging a civil war. The animosity between the Islamic factions in the middle east goes back further than the history of the United States. Do you honestly believe a democratic government in Iraq is going to cause people to forget that and live together in peace? If so you are far too naive to be President of the United States. At least with Saddam Hussein in power he kept the uprisings under control with his brutal Republican Guard. Now, we have opened Pandora’s Box and no democratic government is going to be able to close it.

Another thing, many countries in the region do not like us because of our support for Israel. Now we have invaded Iraq and are trying to install a democracy. The fanatical Muslims do not want democracy, they want to control the thoughts and actions of their people through religious propaganda. So instead of reducing the number of terrorists, we have increased their numbers by fueling the fire of hatred against America. You have basically poured gasoline onto the fire. Way to go Mr. President!

What else has the War on Terror accomplished? Well, we have a whole new government agency devoted to keeping us safe from future terrorist attacks. How well are they doing? On the surface it would appear they are doing just fine, we haven’t had any attacks on American soil since 9/11.

Are we actually safer though? Our country, even though we have entry/exit points on both borders, basically has an open border. Anyone who wishes to sneak in can do so. That is a proven fact! When we have thousands of illegal immigrants entering our country each day how hard would it be for a determined terrorist to sneak in if they wanted to?

On December 14, 1999, U.S. Port Angeles Agents assisted U.S. Customs Agents in the apprehension of an Algerian traveling from Victoria, British Columbia on a ferry to the United States. The man had two Quebec driver’s licenses under different names and was driving a rental vehicle. In the vehicle, Agents found 200 pounds of urea, 46 ounces of liquid nitroglycerin and four very sophisticated electronic timing devices to detonate explosives.

On December 22, 1998, U.S. Border Patrol Agents arrested two Afghanistan nationals who entered the country at Douglas, Arizona. Both subjects entered without inspection and claimed to be citizens from the Netherlands. Both subjects were listed on Interpol Red lists of Terrorists.

Who knows how many more suspected terrorists made it through and are now living among us, plotting their next attack? It is rumored that members of Hezbollah are already living in the United States. Do you still feel we are any safer? Mr. President, if you wanted to make us safer you would secure our borders. Instead, you leave them open and you imprison two Border Patrol agents who shot an illegal alien drug smuggler in the ass. This man was attempting to bring 750 lbs. of marijuana into the U.S. He was caught a second time with 1300 lbs of marijuana. He was granted immunity for his crimes to testify against the Border Patrol agents who were just doing their job. Why did you allow this Mr. President? You have left our borders open for drug dealers and terrorists, and you imprison those who are there to defend those same borders. Where is our security Mr. President?

Still Mr. President you are trying to make us safer. Let’s look at what else you have done. Our government, under pressure from you passed the Patriot Act. Now there is a bit of irony. The Patriot Act is anything but patriotic! For one thing, if you were a Congressman how could you justify voting in favor of a bill that you had never read? That is exactly what happened. The bill had not even made it out of the government printing office before it was voted on and approved.


So, what does this bill do? Let’s take a look at some of the powers it gives our government in their ‘War on Terror’. Did you know that I could be considered a domestic terrorist just for writing this article and expressing my views? Section 802 of the Patriot Act created a new crime category entitled ‘domestic terrorism’. Domestic terrorism means activities that (A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the U.S. or of any state, that (B) appear to be intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, (ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping, and (C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S.

According to definition B you or I could be considered a domestic terrorist if we attempt to coerce people into believing the war in Iraq, and all that goes along with it, is wrong.

Under the second revision of the Patriot Act, otherwise known as Patriot Act 2, the government would not be required to disclose the identity of anyone, even an American citizen, detained in connection with a terror investigation until criminal charges are filed. In other words you would just disappear until the government filed charges. (sec 201)

The government can obtain credit and library records without a search warrant. (sections 126,128, 129) and their organization could be wiretapped (sec120. 121) and their assets seized, (sec 428).

Americans could be extradited, searched and wiretapped at the request of foreign governments. (sections 321, 322).

Those are just a few of the liberties you have lost due to this wide ranging legislation which was passed. Under the guise of fighting terror the President has stepped all over the bill of rights and your personal freedoms. In fact the Patriot Act is in violation of the 1rst, 4th, 5th, 6th, and possibly the 8th and 11th Amendments to the Constitution. Therefore, according to the Constitution the Patriot Act is illegal.

So, now you know why I do not agree with the Presidents, so called, war on terror or the war in Iraq. Hopefully I have raised some questions that you might want to seek the answers to. Just speak softly, they might be listening to you.