Tell it to the Marines

Terrorism a "nuisance"? Well, tell it to the Marines.

Thankfully, the Marines still remember 9-11 and always will. A new USMC anti-terror battalion was activated last Friday. The image to the left is their unit crest.

The crest clearly evokes the memory of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, the fields next to the Pentagon represent the fields of Pennsylvania. The Roman numerals are also a clear reminder of the purpose of the AT Battalion. The four arrows represent the 4 aircraft that went down on 9/11 and are also a symbol of military readiness. The clenched fist is a sign of aggression and a symbol of leadership, strength and unity.

I, for one, am glad that some hard charging Marines (and sailors, soldiers and airmen, for that matter) are keeping the memory of 9-11 in the correct perspective and that someday a terrorist will find himself at the pointy end of one of those arrows.

Comments

[Kate]

Kerry never said terrorism is a nuisance. Look up the context of the quote. He said that he wanted to get the US back to the point where terrorism was such a small problem to us that we only considered it a nuisance.

Get your quotes right and quit trusting pundits that are not telling you what was really said.

Are you honest enough of a conservative to apologise for misquoting the man?

[Strange Dog]

Kate,

OK, I'll accept that I wasn't clear enough.

Here's the exact quote (got it from a CNN article):

''We have to get back to the place we were, where terrorists are not the focus of our lives, but they're a nuisance. As a former law enforcement person, I know we're never going to end prostitution. We're never going to end illegal gambling. But we're going to reduce it, organized crime, to a level where it isn't on the rise. It isn't threatening people's lives every day, and fundamentally, it's something that you continue to fight, but it's not threatening the fabric of your life.''

My point is, that unlike John Kerry, I don't see how we combat the terrrorists if we view them a nuisance criminals as opposed to combatants. W and his government recognize that 9-11 made this struggle against Islamofascism a war. The dramatic policy changes that followed reflect that. The Marines' patch is just a symbol of that change.

I think we can end terrorism. The root cause of terrorism is the repressive governments in the Middle East that rely on religious fundamentalism to govern. We can change this and we are. Not ony via combat operations, but by assisiting Iraq and Afghanistan to develop in their own right.

[Kate]

No, you can't end terrorism. It's a method of attack, just like bombing, or sneak attacks, or spying. We used it ourselves against the British when we threw tea into the Boston Harbor.

You betray your extreme naivity if you think you can end terrorism. Terrorism is the weapon of the powerless against the powerful and there will always be people who are unhappy with the powerful and see this as their only resort.

At any rate, you have totally missed Kerry's point. And even with the quote in front of you, you still think he thinks terrorism is a nuisance. He said sometimes it's horrible and sometimes it's just a nuisance. It's always possible and always there. We can never totally relax, but we can get to the point were the use of it has been quelled so we just have to deal with the common safeguards like going through metal dectors at airports.

Even Bush has said terrorism can never be completely vanquished.

You still need to apologise.

[Strange Dog]

If it will make you feel better, especially in light of the election, consider this my apology.

[Strange Dog]

OK Kate, that last comment was a little crabby, but I get the impression that you won't be satisfied by whatever I say, so I'm inclined to just give up.

Let me just say this. Yes, I realize that John Kerry doesn't think terrorism is simply a nuisance. Nobody who was alive on 9-11 could possibly think that. My point is that Kerry and Bush have decidely different opinions of how the threat of terrorism should be addressed. I don't think that Kerry's approach takes it seriously enough. No doubt, he would disagree, but that's my opinion.