GADI ADELMAN: IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP!
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.8900/pub_detail.asp
When I returned to the U.S. in 1981 all I wanted to do was enter law enforcement. The problem was I was way ahead of the times.
My resume, like all others in the early 1980’s, had a short and long term objective across the top:
“Short term objective: to secure a position with a law enforcement agency. Long term objective: to specialize in anti-terrorism.”
During an interview with the F.B.I. the interviewer read my objectives aloud and laughed as he said “this is America, we don’t have terrorism”.
I shot back with “wait ten years and remember the word Jihad”. Needless to say, the interview ended shortly thereafter and I did not get the job. Also, needless to say I was off by two years.
Interestingly, years later I was a guest on the Jerry Agar Radio talk show along with the former F.B.I. Director (I believe it was Director Louis J. Freeh) discussing 9/11. The former Director formally apologized to me on the air explaining “they only wish they had hired you or people with your knowledge when they had the chance”.
It wasn’t like America hadn’t experienced terror prior to 1993.It just wasn’t here so it didn’t seem too important.
1979– Nov. 4, Tehran, Iran: U.S. embassy seized taking 66 hostages. 14 were later released. The remaining 52 were freed after 444 days.
1982–1991– Lebanon: Thirty U.S. and other Westerners were kidnapped in Lebanon by Hezbollah. Some were killed, some died in captivity and some were released. Terry Anderson was held for 2,454 days.
1983– April 18, Beirut, Lebanon: U.S. embassy destroyed in car-bomb attack; 63 dead, including 17 Americans. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
Oct. 23, Beirut, Lebanon: Hezbollah suicide bombers exploded a truck at the U.S. military barracks at Beirut airport, killing 241 marines. Minutes later a second bomb killed 58 French paratroopers in their barracks in West Beirut.
Dec. 12, Kuwait City, Kuwait: Shiite truck bombers attacked the U.S. embassy and other targets, killing 5 and injuring 80.
1984– Sept. 20, east Beirut, Lebanon: truck bomb explodes outside the U.S. embassy annex, killing 24, including 2 U.S. military.
Dec. 3, Beirut, Lebanon: Kuwait Airways Flight 221, from Kuwait to Pakistan, hijacked and diverted to Tehran. 2 Americans killed.
1985– April 12, Madrid, Spain: Bombing at a restaurant frequented by U.S. soldiers, killed 18 Spaniards and injured 82.
June 14, Beirut, Lebanon: TWA Flight 847 hijacked to Beirut by Hezbollah terrorists and held for 17 days. A U.S. Navy diver was executed.
Oct. 7, Mediterranean Sea: gunmen attack Italian cruise ship, AchilleLauro. One U.S. tourist killed. Hijacking linked to Libya.
Dec. 18, Rome, Italy, and Vienna, Austria: airports in Rome and Vienna were bombed, killing 20 people, 5 of whom were Americans. Bombing linked to Libya.
1986– April 2, Athens, Greece:A bomb exploded aboard TWA flight 840, killing 4 Americans and injuring 9.
April 5, West Berlin, Germany: Libyans bomb a disco frequented by U.S. servicemen, killing 2 and injuring hundreds.
1988– Dec. 21, Lockerbie, Scotland: N.Y.-bound Pan-Am Boeing 747 exploded in flight and crashes into Scottish village, killing all 259 aboard and 11 on the ground. Passengers included 35 Syracuse University students and many U.S. military personnel. Libya formally admitted responsibility 15 years later (Aug. 2003).
After the 1993 World Trade Center bombing (February 26) I really thought that America had finally gotten its wake up call and had opened its eyes to the threat of Islamic terrorism. Although the U.S. did start to concentrate more on the threat of terror, it was nowhere what was needed.
The terror just continued with more incidents involving targeted Americans leading up to 9/11.
1995– Nov. 13, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: car bomb exploded at U.S. military headquarters, killing 5 U.S. military servicemen.
1996– June 25, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: truck bomb exploded outside Khobar Towers military complex, killing 19 American servicemen and injuring hundreds of others. 13 Saudis and a Lebanese all members of Hezbollah were indicted in June 2001.
1998– Aug. 7, Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: truck bombs explode almost simultaneously near 2 U.S. embassies, killing 224 (213 in Kenya and 11 in Tanzania) and injuring about 4,500. 4 men connected with al-Qaeda were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. A federal grand jury had indicted 22 men in connection with the attacks, including Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who remained at large.
2000– Oct. 12, Aden, Yemen: U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole heavily damaged when a small boat blew up alongside it. 17 sailors killed. Again, this was al-Qaeda.
So, after 9/11 I thought to myself “now America has to wake up, there is no way they will ignore the threat of Islamic terror any longer, even if our politicians do the American people won’t”. Boy was I wrong. Dead wrong! 9 years later and we are still sleeping.
Instead of learning from the past, America believed the rhetoric and blamed itself. This did not start on 9/11 due to “our foreign policies”; one look at the past proves this. So where did all this “guilt” come from? Why are Americans more concerned with blaming themselves than with securing the borders or their own safety? What in the hell has to happen for this country to wake up, a chemical/biological or nuclear attack on one of our cities?
Look at the above list; better yet, look at what has happened since 9/11. How many more have to die before you admit the obvious? We are at war, terrorism is real and it will happen again and again. I for one do not want to be writing about the next 9/11 or worse grieving for my own friends or family.
Do not let over 3000 American civilian or over 6700 military deaths be in vain. Wake up to the truth; stop believing that “we” are to blame.
The alarm will ring again; will we finally turn it off this time?
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Gadi Adelman is a freelance writer and lecturer on the history of terrorism and counterterrorism. He grew up in Israel, studying terrorism and Islam for 35 years after surviving a terrorist bomb in Jerusalem in which 7 children were killed. Since returning to the U. S., Gadi teaches and lectures to law enforcement agencies as well as high schools and colleges. He can be heard every Thursday night at 8PM est. on his own radio show “AmericaAkbar” on Blog Talk Radio. He can be reached through his website gadiadelman.com. This article appeared earlier on Family Security Matters. Gadi Adelman regrets that he is unable to submit a new article today as he is on a short vacation, but next Monday his column will be back as usual. – The Editor.
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