What’s Next?

Now that the 5th anniversary of 9/11 has been fittingly observed – with moving memorial events and a presidential address to the nation – it’s back to business as usual with the football season, dove shoots and the November elections ahead of us. Most importantly, however, is the constant threat to our nation’s national security by the countless numbers of barbaric, fanatical Islamic terrorist groups located in many, many countries throughout the world.

The fact that our country has escaped further attacks for the past five years – as Vice

President Cheney reminds us – is not an accident. Our military forces operating in Afghanistan and Iraq, along with the SEALS, Special Forces, Green Berets, Rangers, Delta Force, CIA, NSA, Home Land Security plus many more security agencies – have all played critical roles in keeping us safe – so far.

Now, what do we have in store for the future – in terms of the war, national politics, immigration, the economy, etc? It’s anybody’s guess, but significant changes are needed, regarding all of the many key issues facing us.

As is almost always the case, it’s the leadership – or who’s in charge – that makes the difference in the ultimate outcome in any endeavor. My choice – in judging America’s

greatest leader is a “no-brainer” – George Washington, the father of our country! Other great leaders, in my opinion, include Andrew Jackson, Lincoln, Lee, Theodore

Roosevelt, MacArthur, George Patton and Ronald Reagan.

In judging George Bush, I give him a “B”- for his overall job performance. His positives include his integrity, his

appointments to the Supreme Court, his growth-producing tax cuts and his resoluteness in the fight vs. terrorism. However, his soft

prosecution of the war, his vacillating on the immigration issue, the huge budget and trade deficits and his failure to get more legislation passed in Congress – even with Republicans in control – are serious negatives.

In looking at the U.S. Congress – both the House of Representatives and the Senate – I give Congress a big fat “F.”

The partisan bickering that has been going on in both houses is the best reason one could ever imagine for term limits. Of course, the big issue currently, and for a long time to come, I fear, is the war on terrorism.

The Bush-hating liberals appear to be doing everything they can to undermine our efforts in the war – raising ridiculous issues about our treatment of terrorist detainees and the National Security Agency intelligence gathering. Even now, they complain about those detainee-terrorist leaders -who planned the 9/11 attacks – of being too harshly interrogated. On the other hand, they say nothing about our own captured soldiers being tortured and brutally murdered.

The Republicans are such a bunch of wimps. They don’t ever stand

up and fight back – in opposing the demonizing, name-calling subversive liberals – who have one objective: to regain power in all branches of our federal government. I have a bad feeling about the war and see no end in sight. The only answer to the immigration problem is to implement TOTAL BORDER SECURITY FIRST! For the economy to continue to improve, Bush’s tax cuts must be maintained. Also, the estate (death) tax

needs to be eliminated.

Further, I believe that the final solution concerning the Iranian nuclear threat is to deploy our military air power, targeting all of the known and suspected

nuclear sites. Terrorists everywhere have only one objective, and that is to kill all of us. Our only option is to kill them – before they kill us.

How do we do this? We search them out and do the job – through the use of overwhelming force. With this enemy, diplomacy doesn’t work!

REMEMBER 9/11!!

Byrd Looper is a regular columnist for The Times-Journal.