Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

How far are we willing to go?

Are we, as a nation and Americans, willing to do what it takes to end terrorism both here and abroad, no matter what measures we have to use?

This is a question we as a people must ask ourselves during this time of crisis. Our leaders talk of retaliation and retribution, but, aside from sending troops to the Middle East, will they do what needs to be done on the home shores.

Terrorist cells still remain within the borders of the United States, of this there can be no doubt. Anyone thinking otherwise is either naive or foolish.

Terrorist organizations have had almost 30 years to set up shop within the confines of the U.S., with our government doing literally nothing to stop them.

Why? Because we are a peaceful nation. A nation preferring to trust others and lend assistance than being watchful and suspicious.

Here's the deal, folks. We, as a nation and a people, cannot show mercy to terrorists, no matter where they are. And, yes, there will be instances where people who aren't terrorists are hurt or killed.

The measures we need to take inside the U.S. are harsh and extreme. In fact, they're the same measures the government took against the Japanese following the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

After Pearl Harbor was attacked and America declared war on Japan, thereby entering World War II, one of the first things Franklin D. Roosevelt did was to round up ALL Japanese people inside the borders of the U.S. and put them in what amounted to concentration camps. There was even one here in Arkansas.

All Japanese, meant ALL Japanese at the time. The only exceptions were those of Japanese descent who joined the U.S. military and fought against Emperor Hirohito and the Nazis.

The others, regardless of their being born in America and being naturalized citizens, were rounded up. They surrendered their homes and businesses, basically losing everything they'd worked for  and they hadn't done anything. In fact, America's borders were untouched as Hawaii wasn't a state at the time.

These measures should be taken NOW with those having Middle East ties, even if they were born in the U.S. Yes, it's harsh. Yes, it's cruel. Yes, it's not what we stand for in America. But we are at war and the rules have been changed.

Consider this. Was the attack on the World Trade Center not harsh and cruel? Was the hijacking of a plane filled with Americans and flown into the Pentagon not harsh and cruel?

We are not dealing with rational people, but zealots. They hide behind the religions of Islam and Muslim, but use these as to mask their terrorist agendas. No religion in the world calls for deliberate cruelty or murder.

Every Middle Eastern person in America is a potential terrorist. This is the way things are right now. Rounding them up and putting them in camps is also a means of keeping them safe from harm.

Right now, American citizens are mistrustful of all who look to be from the Middle East. This is nothing more than human nature, as we've been attacked by Middle Eastern zealots for no reason other than their hatred of America, Americans and American freedom. Or, to be more blunt, they hate us because we're different in how we live, think and believe.

We cannot show our enemy mercy, and while deliberate cruelty goes against what America stands for, in this instance we have little choice. For it we don't take appropriate measures, such as freezing the assets of all Middle Eastern people inside the U.S., with the exception of Israelis, who are about the only ones we can trust from that part of the world.

There have been reports of emergency vehicles being targeted by terrorists. The idea is to fill them with explosives and set them off at such places as schools, police stations, fire departments and hospitals in the hopes of crippling the nation and breaking our spirit.

Think, for a second, about the sheer possibility of lost lives should terrorists set bombs at college and professional football games, or NASCAR events.

An attack at NASCAR races would be devastating, as the average attendance is in excess of 70,000. What makes the potential for destruction greater is the fuel on hand, and other flammable materials used in maintaining the race cars, along with the parking lots being jammed with vehicles the fans drove.

Therefore, to protect ourselves, we must take measures we may find distasteful and contrary to what we believe and stand for.

This is war. Our enemies are zealots who have no concern for their lives or the lives of others. We have no choice.