'24' Or 5 To 12
By Frank Salvato
January 19, 2007
Page 3 of 3
One element, polonium, (web site) used in conjunction with beryllium to form a functioning trigger, is rare and, incidentally, quite hard to come by. It is a highly radioactive metalloid that has a brief lifespan, a half-life of only 138.38 days. Coincidentally -- or perhaps not -- polonium was the substance used to poison former KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko. That this rare substance is "out there," along with the missing suitcase nukes, should send chills down the spines of every American.
I remember the days immediately after September 11th, 2001, how everyone was shaken to the core. I remember how police officers, firefighters and EMTs balanced their emotions between unbridled anger at the deaths of their brothers and sisters murdered at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and a sense of foreboding as they realized their jobs and their lives had changed forever.
I remember the disturbing feeling that came over me when I passed O'Hare International Airport only to see hundreds of planes on the ground and not one in the skies. I recall news reports of how people were stranded all around the world because the American airspace had been "closed."
The idea that our elected officials are playing political games with securing our borders and defending our nation against a vicious ideologically foe is infuriating. Securing our borders does not have to be married to immigration reform and with el Shukrijumah itching to turn an American city into a nuclear wasteland it shouldn't be. Democrats, Progressives, Republicans and Libertarians should be crafting laws that enable us to defend ourselves, not leaking classified information to the press so our enemies are alerted to our tactics before we get the chance to kill them. Our government is failing us in this fight and this time, if we lose, we lose it all.
As I watched the "make believe" nuclear mushroom cloud shooting skyward on my television, calculating those who would be murdered if it were real, I realized that the anguish and frustration I felt on September 11, 2001 would pale in comparison to the torment and anger I would feel at the devastation of a nuclear attack perpetrated on our soil. Sadly, if our government doesn't come together to fight this threat aggressively, it just may come to pass.
America. It's five to midnight. Do you know where the terrorists are?
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Frank Salvato is the managing editor for The New Media Journal. He serves at the Executive Director of the Basics Project, a non-profit, non-partisan, 501(C)(3) research and education initiative. His pieces are regularly featured in over 100 publications both nationally and internationally. He has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor, and is a regular guest on The Right Balance with Greg Allen on the Accent Radio Network, as well as an occasional guest on numerous radio shows coast to coast. His organization, Basics Project, is partnered in producing the first-ever national symposium series on the threat of radical Islamist terrorism. His pieces have been recognized by the House International Relations Committee and the Japan Center for Conflict. Mr. Salvato is available for public speaking engagements. He can be contacted at oped@newmediajournal.us
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Note -- The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions, views, and/or philosophy of GOPUSA. >> Back -- Page 1 2 3
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