Don't forget 9/11, or about bin Laden
On the sixth anniversary of Sept. 11, as with every anniversary of the horrible act of war on that day, the airwaves and print media were thick with stories of remembrance.
This is how it should be, for we should never forget that terrible day. We can never forget that horrible day.
I'd be willing to bet that many, like me, paused in their reflections to wonder: "Why haven't we gotten Osama bin Laden yet? Why haven't we found that rabid cur and rid the face of the earth of him?"
Every year bin Laden throws it right in our collective faces when he releases yet another videotape spewing his acid rhetoric. And every year our government holds press conferences stating that we think we know the region where he is located.
If that is true, then why don't we put a stop to bin Laden and others of his ilk by showing them that the United States cannot be cowed and go in there and bomb them all into eternity and handle the diplomatic problems later. If ever there was a time to use nuclear, it's now. I am tired of the United States sending American soldiers to Iraq while the real target who started all this insanity in the first place goes free.
Stop wasting time. Let's use the topnotch intelligence assets that the United States supposedly has to find Osama bin Laden and his cowardly murderous clan and go in there and send them all to the place where they all deserve to go...and it isn't with Allah.
C'mon United States. We're big enough. Let's show bin Laden we're tough enough. Get him.
Richard Reuter
Naperville
Not a time to be proud of the flag
I'm responding to Elizabeth Pearson's Sept. 6 letter to the editor. She writes, "Wouldn't it be great if all Americans would 'fly the flag' on Sept. 11 as a tribute to the great sacrifice our country made on that day six years ago..."
What sacrifice did the U.S. make that tragic day? The people who were killed by terrorist acts did not sacrifice their lives. To sacrifice means to offer something up to a deity in homage or for consideration of something greater. These people died for no purpose. They were not sacrificed.
It is true that the rescue workers sacrificed their lives to try to save people, but if that is what is meant, then it needs to be clearer. Perhaps we should have a national day to honor all police, fire, and other emergency workers who are willing to sacrifice their lives to help people every day.
Pearson also writes, "Let's be proud of the red, white and blue and especially all those who are fighting valiantly even now to protect us!"
Again, whatever is she thinking? Who is fighting to protect Americans? Certainly not the armed forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Our involvement in both countries has only increased the threat of terrorism and has put us at greater risk.
The time to be proud of the red, white and blue is not now. It's time people start thinking about reality and what is being done in the name of the United States. It certainly does not make me proud -- nor am I proud that so many of my fellow Americans seem so oblivious to what is going on in the world. I suggest they stop listening to Fox, to talk shows, and start reading international news.
Barb Lightner
Arlington Heights