Rice: U.S. Not Entirely Safe From Attack

[Terri]

SF Gate

The United States is safer now than it was before the Sept. 11 attacks, but must not relent in fighting terrorism in Iraq and elsewhere, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday.

"I think it's clear that we are safe — safer — but not really yet safe," said Rice, who was President Bush's national security adviser when al-Qaida masterminded the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

More (http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/09/10/national/w074323D42.DTL)

[Bigdog]

The lady states the obvious, but watch some of the kooks sieze on this and say "See! They even admit they aren't protecting us!"

[thissong]

No country could ever be entirely safe from a terrorist attack. Sooner or later, we'll be hit again. If we pull out of Iraq; if we stop holding terrorist regimes responsible and allow them to carry on, as in the past, it will only serve to embolden the terrorists. It will be seen as a victory by the extremists, the islamofascists.
If the democrats have their way, that is what will happen. An emboldened enemy will increase their efforts to attack and murder America civilians. Our only real mistake in this war on terror (including Iraq) is our compassion that causes us to fight a "politically correct" war. The islamofascists see this as a weakness. They also view the democrat opposition to the Bush Administration as further proof that we are a paper tiger and will capitulate. The democrats cannot be trusted with national security and should not be allowed to regain their former political power. The result will be more 9/11s.

[steveh]

911 – Then and Now

As we all know, today is the five year anniversary of 911. Nearly 3,000 of our fellow citizens where massacred that day. Another 2,300+ were injured. My wife Linda and I have a friend who was in the subway under the World Trade Center that morning and barely escaped with his life – covered in soot and ash.

We also visited New York eight weeks after the tragedy. It was part of a trip Linda and I had planned for many months prior; visiting a number of our friends who lived in Manhattan. We were going to cancel our trip, but our friends wanted us to come anyway – part of our collective healing process I suppose.

During our time in New York, we spent a morning walking around Ground Zero. We saw and felt first hand what these terrorists are capable of. We heard the eerie silence. We smelled the smells. We felt the utter disbelief that this could happen to America. We saw the thousands of missing people posters. We saw New Yorkers in shock. Even 8 weeks later, the city was still holding funerals for it’s fallen firefighters.



As a result of the fateful day, we have gone to two wars and liberated over 45 million men, women, and children from the totalitarian rule of the Taliban and the brutal dictatorship of Saddam Hussein with his rape rooms, child prisons, and repeated use of chemical weapons against his own people.

We have lost thousands of young men and women in the conflict. We have a family member who has done 2 tours in Iraq and is schedule for one more in March. We pray daily for his safety.

What do we have to show for all of this? Democrats and Republicans politicize this issue incessantly, especially with the upcoming elections. The Republicans believe our current strategy, mistakes and all, is still the correct course of action. The Democrats have no strategy whatsoever except to complain about the Republican strategy. Some Democrats feel that we need to negotiate with the terrorists, while other advocate pulling out of Iraq altogether.

Remember Neville Chamberlain was convinced he had negotiated a lasting peace with Adolph Hitler? History shows that was one of the biggest blunders of the modern era since it allowed Hitler to strengthen his position, ultimately leading to the deaths of millions upon millions of people worldwide.

There is also a huge difference between then and now. Terrorists are entrenched throughout the world, many among us. They have no uniforms, use civilian homes for the weapons caches and have absolutely no compunction about killing innocent civilians, including women and children. How do you possibly negotiate with a group of people whose soul (not sole) purpose is to exterminate us?

Every day, I am amazed how Americans continue to forget what happened that fateful day. Our complacency is a tool the terrorists use against us. They are counting on it. Yet, a very large percentage of our population is more interested in Tom Cruise’s next tirade or the price of gas, rather than terrorism.

What is still frustrating to the majority of Americans from both sides of the political spectrum is that our borders are not secure. Daily, thousands of illegal aliens continue to cross our borders hoping for a better life. Others come across with more sinister intentions. Fifteen years ago, I would have never guessed private citizens would mobilize militias to try to stop this problem. Yet – here we are with Minutemen trying to convince our government to stop this insanity.

The good news is that in spite of our sieve borders, we have not had another attack on our soil. Our intelligence agencies seem to be doing a good job, and combined with other organizations worldwide, recently foiled another terrorist plot. The strategy seems to be working.

Like most Americans, I am not happy with the war in Iraq. And with the situation in North Korea and Iran escalating, we may be headed for more trouble.

And who knows how many viable terrorist groups we are actually fighting. We relegated Bin Laden and Al Qaeda to temporary insignificance only to see Hamas and Hezbollah take center stage.

Standing around and doing nothing with our collective heads in the sand got us into this morass to begin with. Our government leaders had ample warning with 30 years of terrorist acts dating back to the Munich Olympics and did nothing.

Giving time for the terrorists to re-arm or get further entrenched is not the answer. Keep them on the run. Take as much of their funding as possible. And, establishing a democratic society in the Middle East certainly seems appropriate.

Complacency is as much of an enemy as the terrorists. I hope it doesn’t take another 911 to wake America up. Stay vigilant America. This issue is much bigger then our politicians and their desires to be in power. Do not let them distract you from the big picture – the security of our families now and in the years to come. This is, without a doubt, the biggest issue Americans are facing right now. Our safety is paramount.

God Bless America and God Bless our Service Men and Women!

Fly Old Glory Proudly Today. We are America!

[The Victim]

"Yet Democratic leaders said the Bush administration has gotten the U.S. bogged down in Iraq when there was no evidence of links to the Sept. 11 attacks, detracting from efforts against al-Qaida and other terrorist groups."

Now who in the world do the Democrats think our troops are fighting and killing in Iraq? Peace loving Muslims? We will never , ever be safe from terrorist attacks until we get rid of RINOs and AINOs(Americans In Name Only) as our "leaders" who sell us out on a daily basis. We need a housecleaning in our entire government. Just for an example of treachery in government, in 2005, 96,000 Muslims were immigrated into the USA. Unbelievable Treason!

[Billary2004]

London utilizes cameras throughout the city, yet they were successfully attacked; proof positive that a police state doesn't make a people any safer. Our safety lies in the hands of a vigilant people. If the Dems are voted back into office, I believe the attacks will be severe and frequent, as the Dems prosecute the attacks as seperate crimes rather than acts of war. Rice is correct and she is doing an excellent job in helping Bush prosecute this war.

[The Victim]

Adolph Hitler believed the bigger the lie, the more people would believe it. Now regarding American safety, The Big Lie told by some in the news media as well as on TV "Christians will be killed unless they convert to Isalm." That is the BIG LIE! More Muslims are killed by other Muslims as we see in Iraq then by any other group including our American warriors. Christians converting to Satan will have both physical body and soul killed. This leaves us with the only answer. Isalm Extremists have to be exterminated as you would termites to keep the foundations safe. Supporters of terrorism right here in America are as guilty as the terrorists themselves and must be treated accordingly.

[basssniper]

We are a lot safer with a Republican in charge than a jackass. The democrats picked an excellent animal to portray what their party stands for. If you have never tried to reason with them, it's almost a losing battle. You would sooner figure out complex asto-physics than try to understand a liberal. They sure are fun to poke fun at though. They sure don't have a clue to lead this country anywhere except down the sewer. The Clintons were a prime example of what not to do if you wish to accomplish our mission. While we will never be completely safe, we would definetly be hung out to dry with a demoRAT in the White House. That is putting it as polite as I can.

[Thundercat505]

duhhh Rice ya don't say and really believe that huh???? (full sarcasm intended!)

someone harped at me long ago with the saying "put your full faith in your government and it just might get you killed!!"

actually he was right. to hear one part saying that we are safer today than we were on 9/11, then you hear another part saying we aren't safer 5 years later and then you watch and see that the congress isn't doing anything to secure borders, provide more money for border patrol, put more officers out there, build a fence or do anything on immigration or anchor babies. then you read where countries have an amnesty program after a natural disaster which is good for 18 months, then they extend that to the point that the kids left behind are coming across the border illegally to join the parents who left them behind. then the courts have to decide whether the kids can stay because of extenuating circumstances.

then you see them still talking about giving millions amnesty for breaking our laws, and then hear reports that middle easterners are coming across the unsecured border for what ever purpose. those that are not caught could very well be up to something sinister, yet nothing is being done about it.

this is getting well beyond rediculous and all of it needs to be addressed by the government and they need to listen to what the people they represent--LEGAL Americans want which is jobs, less illegals to fill those jobs because americans won't do them, reduce spending on illegals in the way of medical, food stamps, housing, education and anything I can't think of right off hand because there are too many things being paid on for them.

we won't be safe until we start really monitoring all of the islamic communities and their mosques, close the border so they can't slip in, reduce the amount of so called "students", reduce the immigration from overseas "and" the U.S. returns to christianity and get back the morals that we have lost because of the liberal movements!!

[STEELMAN]

Yes indeed fellow Americans we are at WAR! What's it going to take for the entire nation to WAKE UP! I pray not aonther 9/11. It's exasperating to know that so many people are so pre-occupied.They appear to have selfish motives that cloud their perspective of reality. How some people can ignore the facts when it's about to run over them is beyond belief. I think they believe it will never happen to them. When it does they are the ones who scream the loudest! Why did this happen to me? Where is my protection? What is the government doing about it and on and on!

I hate to repeat myself...but..."Failure to prepare is preparing fail!" That includes a complete national effort to avoid diaster and if it hits to be totally prepared to handle it. Sadly, our history, so far, shows too much restraint and procrastination. We can no longer afford to follow this path. The rules have been changed, not by us, but by the enemy. We have no other choice but to change our tactics in order to win the war on terrorism. They play down and dirty with no rules. Okay, so they want to play games with us huh? Then we have no alternative but to play lower down and a lot dirtier in order to rid this world of the mindless killers of inocent mankind! But we can't sit around wondering what to do next! Wait for another disaster? I think not! We must hit them first and hit them hard! Wipe them out! Or the next thing we'll be hearing is another challenge from Iran, North Korea, or Syria! Dead terrorists cannot harm anyone! Our leaders must stand up and bark right back at these mongrels and tell them to back off or be blown off the face of the earth! Just remember this folkes... WE are the ones who have the greatest psychological advantage against the whole world as the only nation to use nuclear weapons not once but twice. I would ram it down the throats of our enemies on a daily basis that we are not tolerating anymore threats, delays or empty promises! If we continue to speak with them in terms of appeasement you can take it to the bank they will capitalize on our stupidity and beat us to the punch! I don't know about you but I'm not in the mood for putting up with anymore threats from these morons! Who came down from heaven and made them overseer? Not now, not ever!

[silversword63]

The right to keep and bear arms.

After what we saw happen in New Orleans, this concerns me. In New Orleans, the police removed guns from lawfully armed citizens, leaving the bad guys with their guns. The police were ill-equipped to protect the citizens and had to call in the National Guard.

Our armed citizens are a line of defense. Hopefully, the last line. The enemy should not get through the soldiers, the guardsmen, the police, etc. However, if they should, the private citizen is our last line of defense and their rights should be protected and respected.

[The Victim]

silverswords63: "Our armed citizens are a line of defense. Hopefully, the last line. The enemy should not get through the soldiers, the guardsmen, the police, etc. However, if they should, the private citizen is our last line of defense and their rights should be protected and respected."

By all means. Because each state's group of Legislatures differ on concealed weapons permits it is necessary to have a Federal law. A firearm does no good locked up in the closet when one is out in public. Carrying a rifle or hand gun openly is not allowed so there has to be a Federal law where a concealed firearm is available when needed or a Federal law that makes it mandatory for every state to recognize other states laws regarding self protection. If the pilots or flight attendants were armed, 3,000 people would still be alive and with their families as well as the econmy would not have suffered. Sometimes our representatives are the worst enemy.

[Bucks Beefs]

I have often said that a purse snatcher would think twice before snatching an old ladies purse if the possibility existed that she might be packing a 38 snub nose on her person.Concealed weapons ahould be allowed and the carrier needs to have the weapon registered to them.If stolen or lost just reported.Better than that all high school students should have a compulsory course in firearms and the proper handling of them taught before graduation.
In light of the fact that there is no police capability and never will be that will protect all the citizenry from harm,self preservation is becoming a needful requirement in todays society.The world is changeing and we need to change with it.The outlaw carries the gun so at least give the legal citizen an equal footing