OPINION & EDITORIAL
Sept. 11, 2001: A look back and the fight ahead
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Also by Matt Modell:
- Taking responsibility for your decisions (April 24, 2003)
- Fixing the problems of ASM (November 25, 2003)
- The key word is 'illegal' (December 4, 2003)
- Feingold-McCain 'Incumbent Protection Plan' fails (November 13, 2003)
- A fond farewell to UW (December 11, 2003)
Related Stories:
- Good from evil (March 11, 2002)
- Can the United States unite? (September 14, 2001)
- Fear, begone (September 13, 2001)
- Day of Innocence ... Lost (September 13, 2001)
- National unity gives way to discord (September 12, 2005)
by Matt Modell
Thursday, September 12, 2002
At 8:45 a.m. ET Sept. 11, 2001, America felt safe. Many of us were still happily sleeping, since it was only 7:45 a.m. in Madison.
A minute later, the United States and the world would be forever changed. The sweet dreams from the night before turned into a nightmare filled with shock, tears and, eventually, rage.
Islamic radicals declared war on America that day. Over 3,000 innocent people going about their lives were murdered.
Our lives changed. We began to question our safety, our way of life. But even in Madison people came together as they never had before.
We held candlelight vigils and sang patriotic songs, such as “God Bless America,” on the Capitol steps. The bars were empty, and the bickering had stopped on campus as we questioned the importance of it all in the grand scheme of what had just occurred.
Thousands attended a rally held on Library Mall supporting America. A subsequent rally was even held supporting our war against terrorism.
Sept. 11, 2001 showed the world why Americans are filled with pride. The men and woman of the New York City Fire and Police Departments died trying to save others. People like Tom Burnett died trying heroically to stop the hijackers from attacking Washington, D.C.—for a second time that day.
These Americans put America first. The selfless acts by many Americans and the men, women and children who died must always be remembered.
One year later, the war on terrorism continues. President Bush warned the war may take years, but said America would not waver. America has not wavered.
Our success in Afghanistan came faster than anyone expected. But the war is not over. Our resolve must continue. While the Taliban has been defeated, Osama bin Laden and other high-ranking al Qaeda members are believed to be alive and, according to American, British and Swiss intelligence, they are regrouping.
These terrorists fight without honor. They do not aim to hit military targets. Terrorists only care about killing. The more people that die, the happier the terrorist organizations are and the more attacks they will attempt.
We must use different tactics to protect against terrorism. We must hunt the terrorists down, wherever they may hide, and get them before they get us—again.
To achieve the protection we demand, we need to continue to gather intelligence and act immediately as threats arise. Pre-emptive attacks against terrorists are the only way to protect America.
We cannot continue a policy of containment as we have since 1947. Containment worked for the United States because our enemies could not reach us. Sept. 11 opened our eyes to reality—we can be hit.
Saddam Hussein supports terrorism. Saddam Hussein is a terrorist. The world must stop him. He encourages terrorism, paying the families of Palestinian homicide bombers $50,000 for killing innocent Israeli citizens.
All intelligence indicates Hussein is attempting to obtain weapons of mass destruction, and if he achieves this goal, few people doubt he would hold back from using these weapons against America or our allies.
If we forget, history will repeat itself. Saddam has invaded neighboring Kuwait, and even after agreeing to U.N. sanctions calling for him to disarm and to stop oppressing his own people, he has not stopped.
Every year he is permitted to sell billions of dollars worth of oil, with the agreement that the money he makes off these sales is spent to buy food, medicine and other necessities for the Iraqi people. Instead, Hussein is funneling the money to buy weapons while innocent Iraqi civilians are dying.
Our choice is simple—take out Saddam before he can use weapons of mass destruction, or wait and risk him obtaining these weapons and killing thousands or maybe millions of people.
It has been one year since war was declared against the United States. We should mourn all the innocent lives lost and honor all of the heroes who gave their lives that day and in the war against terrorism since 9/11 in order to protect our freedom.
However, we must face a harsh reality. We are not safe yet. The war is not over. Until we arrest or kill the evil people trying to kill us, we will live knowing that at any moment we may be attacked again.
Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein have all openly spoke of their desire to destroy America. These must be our first targets in this war. Just as the world had an obligation to future generations to destroy Hitler and Nazism in World War II, we have an obligation to root out terrorism. It is our generation’s time to step under history’s spotlight and protect this country and the world for the next generation.
Matt Modell (mmodell@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in journalism and political science. He is in Washington, D.C. this fall for an internship.
