On Nov. 4, 1979, Iranian students seized the U.S. embassy after Iranian leader Muhammed Reza Shah Pahlevi was overthrown by an Islamic revolutionary movement.

For 444 days, 52 Americans were held in captivity. The prisoners endured sight deprivation (being blindfolded) and were bound for days at a time. America did nothing.

On April 18, 1983, the U.S. embassy in Beirut was attacked by a terrorist whose truck carried 2,000 pounds of explosives. Among the 63 dead were 17 Americans. America did nothing.

On Oct. 23, 1983, a Muslim fundamentalist drove his truck, loaded with explosives, into the Marine barracks in Beirut. In that attack, 241 U.S. Marines had their lives ripped away in a so-called political statement. Months later, the United States pulled out of the country. America did nothing.

On Dec. 21, 1988, Pan Am 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland. Aboard the New York-bound plane were 259 people heading to the United States for Christmas. The plane crash also killed 11 people on the ground. Two Libyan intelligence agents were directly responsible. America did nothing.

On Aug. 7, 1998, 258 people — including 12 U.S. nationals — were massacred in the U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. Another 4,500 people were wounded. Mohamed Rashed Raoud Al-Owhali said Al Qaeda had trained him and others in explosives, hijacking and kidnapping. He said the International Islamic Front, which included bin Laden and other “jihad groups,” believed it was proper to kill Americans worldwide. Another terrorist said, “based on the Marine [barracks] explosion in Beirut … and the American pull-out,” they thought they could get rid of the Americans easily if they bombed an embassy. America did nothing.

In February of 1993, six people were killed in the first World Trade Center attack. In June of that year, 18 U.S. rangers were killed in Somalia. In November of 1995, terrorists bombed a U.S. military training center in Saudi Arabia. Seven soldiers were killed.

In June of 1996, 19 people serving our country were slaughtered when terrorists bombed their barracks in Saudi Arabia.

On Oct. 12, 2000, 17 sailors were killed in the USS Cole, which was stationed at a Yemeni port. America did nothing.

And then there was Sept. 11, 2001.

When the economy was going well during ’90s, it was easier to push the Middle East’s problems to the wayside. We lost a few soldiers every once in a while and shook our fists at the TV. Then we continued with our lives.

Unlike our military, terrorists deliberately seek out citizens for their murderous plots. You see this in Israel where Palestinians gun down innocents on city buses, or bust into bat mitzvahs and murder as many people as they can.

If anyone wants to complain about our Taliban prisoners in Cuba, he should look at how our own military fared in Iraqi hands. Week after week during Operation Desert Storm, American pilots were beaten and raped and then forced before cameras.

In Cuba, they receive Fruit Loops and the Koran. In Iraq, Americans received daily torture, courtesy of the Iraqi military.

Just recently, Islamic militants in Pakistan slit the throat of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. Pearl’s last words were, “I am a Jew, and my father is a Jew and my mother.” According to the Boston Globe, “Many people [in Pakistan] believe the Sept. 11 terror attacks … were a Jewish plot to discredit Islam.”

And of course, no one will forget 3,000 civilians lost their lives because they went to work on time.

The loss of 3,000 is a tragedy, but a nuclear attack might claim 100,000 lives.

The barbarians who were behind 9-11 do not yet have their hands on nuclear weapons. If they did, they would have used them. After all, the objective is to kill as many people as possible. If they could, they would ram a nuclear bomb into a crowded Camp Randall.

Nuclear capability for these bastards might be five, 10, or even 50 years away, but it is coming. Saddam Hussein has not allowed weapons inspectors into his country for a number of years. We can only speculate as to what that tyrant has cooking. A solid defense and excellent intelligence are our only barriers from a very real catastrophe.

Sept. 11 followed a number of attacks on American citizens for which we did relatively nothing. The people of this country decided shooting a few missiles every now and then was preferable to confronting the growing mess in the Middle East. Little did we realize it was dangerous when our enemies realized America was easy to defeat.

We live in dangerous times. Americans should consider themselves warned.

Anna Gould ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in political science.