In this battle, we must look to history

From the earliest beginnings of our nation, when a United States of America was merely a dream for refugees from political and religious persecution, that dream, intangible as it was, became the glue that bound brave men into the strongest, most benevolent nation in the world.

Achieving that status hasn’t been without its price; we have given our youth, sacrificed in faraway foreign lands, on the high seas and, sadly, on the soil of their home, that we might remain a free people with the inalienable right of self-determination.

The battles fought are legend, the names, in many cases, only vaguely familiar: Tripoli; Lexington, Chapultepec, Fort McHenry, the Alamo, Gettysburg, Antietam, San Juan Hill, Chateau-Thierry, Pearl Harbor, Wake Island, Guadalcanal, Seoul, Vietnam and Iraq. These names are our history, and define us as a people who will place their lives and their fortunes in harm’s way to defend the rights and freedoms of not only our nation, but those of others worldwide.

Now, an enemy has committed to war on the continental U.S., a war undeclared, prosecuted against innocent and helpless civilians in an unimaginably barbaric manner. This event has brought to all Americans both a sense of horror and a sense of loss.

No matter our feelings, this is not a time to strike out in haste with hate and anger, but rather a time to reflect on our history and its lessons; that we are not condemned to repeat past mistakes; we cannot afford to feed our military and economic resources piecemeal into the effort to find and wipe out terrorism. To do so will require an unflinching commitment to expend all the resources, military and economic, that are necessary.

Additionally, we must use every nuance of statesmanship, diplomacy and military might to enlist the aid of the world community. To do otherwise would be to cheapen the sacrifice of the thousands of innocent victims.

Because we are a free, proud and civilized people, we will not stop searching for and investigating the suspected perpetrators until we are certain, beyond reasonable doubt, that they are in fact the perpetrators, and that they have paid for their crimes.

Now is the time to close ranks as Americans, without prejudice or politics, and stand united with our president, our Congress, our military and the United States of America.

God Bless America!

Sultan

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