What the majority of citizens in our nation had never learned was that the writing had been on the wall for years, but the great signals had been ignored and let go. On 9/11 families of our nation paid a price for closed eyes that should have been taking care of us against an enemy so radical and evil that its leader and followers vow to destroy America and her infidels unless we all bow to their beliefs.
My life has been touched greatly by these acts of terrorism. I have a friend whose Navy son's body was never found after the attack on our Pentagon and another whose Air Force husband died in the bombing of Kobar towers in Saudi Arabia. My husband went to the first Gulf War, our son to the second.

Since 9/11 our cities across America have owed much to our local heroes, the police and firemen on the job 24/7 to help give us a sense of safety. But globally, our men and women in uniform are holding the line and fighting terrorism not only in Afghanistan and Iraq, but areas of the world most have never heard of.

There's a great book "Imperial Grunts" by Robert Kaplan, a journalist who loves our military and follows special ops groups to places across the globe and tells their stories of battling extremists and representing our nation as a new generation of ambassadors. Our men and women in uniform not only carry arms, fight, and die for us, they also work to win the hearts and minds of those that have been taught to hate us, the infidel, the Great Satan, the pigs and dogs.

Our men and women in uniform are the ones who sit with elders and sheiks in provinces and communities thousands and thousands of miles away to negotiate and build trust. They help the wounded and sick, they build playgrounds and ask for soccer balls and school supplies for the children.

These men and women of the new greatest generation train and leave their home and families to sleep in mud and dust, endure draining heat, and road side bombs so we can sleep safe in our beds at night...a safety that will become slimmer and slimmer if our nation doesn't return to that unification we once had and support our military with words to the enemy that we will not tolerate their inhumane treatment of our nation or the world.

Our enemy today will not go away even if we were to with draw all our troops tomorrow from Iraq and Afghanistan. They would use what they see as our weakness and division to soon take control of Iraq, Afghanistan, and add them to the areas of Africa and other places where their strength has grown. Just as we gave Vietnam over to Communism because Ho Chi Min waited us out knowing that politicians and negative media would turn the tide of public opinion, so today by studying this history, our enemy has learned to feel that their chances are pretty good against us. From before 9/11Bin Laden said, America can't stomach the blood of 10,000, but he and his followers can.

In February, 2006 an Arab American Psychologist, Wafa Sultan debated a Musim cleric on Al Jazeera in Qatar. (I have a copy of the video) In her statements she said...

"The clash we see today is not of religions but a clash of two eras. A clash between the mentality of the middle ages and mentality of the 21st century, between barbarity and rationality, between civilized and backwardness, between civilized and primitive, between freedom and oppression, democracy and dictatorship. Between those who treat women like beasts and those who treat them as human beings. Civilizations do not clash, they compete. She went on to say: Muslims began the clash by using the terms Muslim and non-Muslim and carrying the belief of words that the prophet of Islam said, "I was ordered to fight until people believe in Allah and his messenger."

When ask by the show host if she was saying that the clash is because of the ignorance and backwardness of Muslims, she said yes. She said that to stop this war, the Muslims must reexamine their books and curricula that calls over and over for them to fight the infidels until the infidels believe as they do. She told her opponent that only Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches and blowing up embassies. That Muslims destroyed 3 Buddhists statues, but she's never seen a Buddhist in a mosque killing Muslims or burning embassies. And she spoke for the Jews saying the Jews have earned their right for respect through knowledge and not terror. That most 19th and 20th century scientific discoveries came because of Jews who work and do no cry and yell as Muslims do. She ended by saying that Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind before they can gain respect for themselves.

I'm sure our enemy is celebrating this day still as a great victory as they continue to strive to make the next 9/11 occur with more destruction and death. We owe so much to our community heroes for their work to protect us. But we owe more than can be conceived by most for our armed forces that deploy far from family and home, who see from the ground the progress they have made and who ask us to not let their work and the deaths and wounds of their comrades be a lost cause as in Vietnam.

None of us ask for 9/11/2001, and the prior attacks made on our embassies, naval ships, and trade center. But the enemy has been patient, waiting, making us forget, then bringing it on again. Let's not let this happen again. Let's work to bring our nation together as one to support the heroes who are working diligently 24/7 to keep us safe in our beds at night.

Fort Benning, near my home, is the greatest infantry training center in the world. The Columbus, Georgia economy owes a great deal to this installation and the men and women who call this area home. When you see one of our heroes in uniform, please thank them. Give them a hug or hand shake. And please never forget our wounded, our fallen, and their families. Do what you can to always show honor and respect because as my friend Ben Stein says, we can do without Wall Street, Hollywood, and high priced sports figures, but our country can never be without the men and women in uniform who serve each and every one of us even to death.

Today, we remember those who died on 9/11 and those who have since died in efforts to keep such an atrocity from happening again. May our nation find its unity again. May we somehow become one so that every enemy knows they can never stand against us and win.

By Deborah Tainsh
Copyright September 11, 2007

About Author:
Deborah Tainsh, Gold Star Mother of Sgt Patrick Tainsh KIA Baghdad, Iraq, 2/11/04, is the author of Heart of a Hawk - One family's sacrifice and journey toward healing, recipient of the Military Writers Society of America's Spirit of Freedom award.  Deborah is also a supporter of America's military and their families.  She is a national speaker, writer, and peer mentor for TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and Good Grief Camp for Young Survivors) located in Washington, D.C. She and her husband, USMC Sgt. Major (Ret) David Tainsh live in Harris County, Georgia, near Columbus and their son, Phillip.

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