New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani discusses the 10th anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks and considers the lessons of that day and the decade since.
Mayor Giuliani says, "On the 10th anniversary of the attacks, we must take stock of what we've learned. The attacks had two purposes. The first was to kill as many Americans as possible. The second was to destroy America's spirit.
"As we remember the thousands of lives lost on that day, there's no doubt that the terrorists achieved their first goal and will leave us with a deep wound forever. When it comes to destroying our spirit, however...as we consider the rescue and recovery effort we witnessed at the time of and in the aftermath of the attacks, it's clear that the terrorists failed."
He says, "People often ask me, 'Is America safer now than it was before September 11?' The answer is: 'Yes, but not as safe as we should be.' We're safer because we faced a difficult truth. A danger that we allowed to fester and grow without confronting properly, was suddenly staring us in the face. The engagement of Islamic extremist terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan is an important part of our having prevented additional large-scale attacks. We've made significant improvements in intelligence gathering and in airport security. But much work remains."
Mayor Giuliani warns, ""Perhaps the most dangerous impulse we've developed since September 11 is impatience demonstrated by the calls to put our armed forces on timetables. It's a re-emergence of a dangerous historical pattern that sometimes afflicts America -- a desire to demilitarize by minimizing the dangers we face and that's led to catastrophes in the past, including the 'peace dividend' taken in the 90's as Islamic extremist terrorists were attacking us regularly. American security requires a long-term military presence in the part of the world where people and organizations are plotting to kill us. The timetable should not be based on a politically expedient calendar, but on when we've eliminated the threat of domestic attacks being generated in that particular part of the world. We must not allow impatience to prevent our military from achieving its objective in Iraq and Afghanistan and the objective is the elimination of the threat to our nation."
"Finally," he says, "America must take care of those who were harmed during the difficult and dangerous recovery effort. We must not forget what it meant to the country to watch these brave men and women work toward recovery and they shouldn't be abandoned now. If they become ill, we are responsible for taking care of them. After all, they took care of us."
He concludes, "We must rediscover our unity. We must never forget what we witnessed on that day, both the incomprehensible face of pure evil and the depth of love and compassion. Today, ten years later, the fight continues and the memories remain etched into our national character."
Tags: Rudy Giuliani, Mayor, New York, replections, September 11, 9/11, 9-11, Terrorist Attacks, Al Qaeda, Americans, military, first responders, firemen, paramedics, American Unity To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
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