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 ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in
journalism and political science. He is in Washington, D.C. this
fall for an internship.