Vigilance and "Some Sort of War"

Today marks the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and the beginning of the end of World War II. I know, why would anyone want to remember that day? It was horrible. The allies figured that the Japanese would fight to the last person losing countless ally lives. They opted for a new bomb that they had just developed. I’m not sure they completely understood the power they were unleashing and how it would affect the world. True to the Japanese pride, they would not surrender under the ally terms which were complete surrender. So the U.S. dropped a second bomb on the secondary target of Nagasaki because of weather conditions. Kokura was the primary target. Can you imagine? Because of weather you and your family were spared being vaporized in a nuclear event. Anyway, after the 2nd bomb was dropped Japan realized it was not going to stop. And as we see memos that were passed 3 more bombs would have been ready for September and 3 more for October. I’m not sure there would have been anything left by October.
Why do I bring up such a horrible event? Because, this shows that an enemy with almost fanatical tendencies is difficult to deal with. The Nazi’s knew they were beat and surrendered. Japan would have never surrendered without something as extreme as an atomic bomb being dropped on them. Twice.
Terrorism seems like it’s far away. This only happens in France or a middle eastern country or maybe an African country. The U.S. has seen its fair share of home grown and foreign terrorism. So, we can’t live our lives letting the terrorist win and staying behind closed doors. We should enjoy the freedom that many countries hate us for.
To keep terrorists from winning we need to use caution in our everyday lives. Using this caution and situational awareness will also steer us away from crime which this country has an abundance of.
In February of this year I saw some caution come from the mainstream media (MSM). When the MSM mentions something like that I take notice because they are so out of touch with reality it’s hard to get them excited about anything but scandal and reality shows. The first one comes from Newsmax, a Republican leaning magazine.
“A terrorism expert just made a controversial statement about Muslim groups within the United States — but he may have a point.
Former CIA operative Wayne Simmons recently appeared on Fox News and stated that creating profiles of Islamic mosques is a necessary step in fighting Islamic terrorism.
“Without profiling, we are never going to be able to stop this the way we should,” Simmons said.
“I’m going to get hammered for saying this, but we need to do this to the mosques,” he told host Neil Cavuto. “The mosques are the breeding ground. We know they are breeding grounds for terrorism, for fundraising.”
The former intelligence operative explained that although the word “profiling” often alarms people, the tactic is frequently used by the CIA toward its own members, “just to make sure they’re not up to no good.” ( Feb 27, 2015 Newsmax)”
This is something that every single terrorist task force, and terrorist training instructor knows but does not voice. It’s not politically correct and it would end up hurting people’s careers.
The next little clip is from USA Today. A newspaper of dubious background.
“USA TODAY February 22, 2015
The secretary of Homeland Security warned shoppers at Minnesota's iconic Mall of America and similar venues to be vigilant in the wake of new terrorist threats.
"I'm not telling people to not go to the mall," Secretary Jeh Johnson said Sunday on NBC's Meet The Press. "I think that there needs to be a awareness."
He said, "I'm saying that the public needs to be particularly vigilant."
Hours later, department spokeswoman Marsha Catron said in a statement, "We are not aware of any specific, credible plot against the Mall of America or any other domestic commercial shopping center.''
Mall of America heightened security after a video threatening a terror attack was released purportedly by a Somali militant group with ties to al-Qaeda. The group, al-Shabaab, took responsibility for an attack in 2013 at the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, that left more than 60 people dead.
The experts are telling us that we should “remain vigilant” because terrorism will come to our shores again. There is an Army of law enforcement doing all they can to ensure that will never happen again.
The problem is, there is no way for them to do this forever. So we as citizens must “remain vigilant”.
What does this mean?
Dictionary.com says this about vigilant
Keenly watchful to detect danger; wary
Ever awake and alert; sleeplessly watchful.
Being vigilant is all those things. But I think it’s also the mindset that another attack is possible. It’s also the belief that it can happen to you. I’m pretty sure most of those who perished in 911 did not think about terrorism that morning. There also is a difference between vigilance and wringing your hands with paranoid worry. Preparation is the key. We do all we can, have faith in God, and keep our head up.
I don’t know what the future will bring. But I’m afraid, like extreme Japan, we will have to take the fight to them. Recently President Obama said this:
“Let’s not mince words: The choice we face is ultimately between diplomacy and some sort of war — maybe not tomorrow, maybe not three months from now, but soon,”
I have not, nor ever will, win a Nobel peace prize. It doesn’t take winning that award to see that you can “diplomacy” Iran or Syria or even Saudi Arabia forever and still not get anywhere with them. Diplomacy in the middle-east is just postponing the inevitable. I’m not saying go to war with any of these countries. I’m not saying drop an atomic bomb on them. What I am saying is, Islam is not a religion of peace. I apologize to the peace-loving Muslims that do live good, decent lives, but that’s the way it is. Making a “deal” with a country that does not allow anyone to speak out against their leader, but allows “death to America” rallies is going to be at conventional war with us eventually. Up until now these countries “tolerate” us. Give them any upper hand and the U.S. would be the recipients of mass destruction. I think Israel understands this. But not the arrogant U.S. And certainly not a President and other leaders who think, to paraphrase 2 Nephi 28:21, “All is well. The U.S. prospers, all is well.”
I’m afraid, Mr. President we are already in “some sort of war.” You just are living in denial. You seem to be out of touch with a lot of reality, like most “progressives”.
Remain vigilant. Watch your family. Watch your children. The government can’t. The President won’t. Nor should he I guess. You are the only thing standing between the actors in “some sort of war” and your family’s safety and security.
Semper Paratus
Check 6
Burn