On Sept. 11, 2001 the world changed irrevocably.
No longer could nations sit around passively while terrorists plotted their demise.
No longer could terrorists be viewed as criminals, but rather as enemy combatants in a war — a war that they started.
The shock of seeing the world’s most powerful nation become the victim of such a horrendous attack compelled other nations to realize that the world was not a safe place for any nation.
Thus, for a brief while, other nations stood strong with us in our fight to rid the world of terrorism.
Unfortunately, some nations don’t seem to be able to maintain the same level of focus as the United States and have begun to cower at the feet of terrorists once again.
On March 11, Spain suffered a terrorist attack when bombs exploded, killing 190 and injuring up to 1,400 commuters traveling in trains.
Before this attack, Spain had been an avid supporter of the war on terror and the resulting war in Iraq, contributing troops and money on both fronts. In fact, the leadership of Spain went against the popular opinion of the citizens of Spain in supporting the United States, expressing its commitment to fighting terrorism worldwide.
However, this support will probably not last. Spain just held its national elections and the Socialist Party unseated the controlling Popular Party. As a result, President JosCB) MarCB-a Aznar was replaced by JosCB) LuCB-s Rodriguez Zapatero of the Socialist Party. Since his induction as the new president, Zapatero has pledged to remove all troops from Iraq unless the United Nations replaces the United States as the deciding authority by June 30. Apparently, he hasn’t done his homework.
That’s when the transition of power between the United States and Iraq will occur anyway.
Still, to remove Spain’s troops from the peace-keeping effort is a ridiculous proposition.
First, Zapatero knew he could only get into office by using anti-American rhetoric, which he has been spewing to the masses. The people of Spain have been leading a life of diminished logic regarding foreign policy and terrorism for quite some time now. Zapatero has only exacerbated this.
Second, the fact that Zapatero is a member of the Socialist Party should give you some idea of his political background. He operates in a world of political fantasy where the pursuit of unreasonable ideals is a regular practice.
Just like much of the rest of the liberal world, he believes that terrorists like Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden can be negotiated with or treated as regular criminals and not the tyrannical, diabolical, ideologically motivated warmongers that they are.
Third, by pulling Spain’s troops from Iraq, Zapatero has shown the terrorists that they can succeed through violence and intimidation. In the face of adversity, Spain must not cower in the corner. Zapatero should lead Spain in standing strong. Spain is acting like the proverbial storekeeper who gives up his store’s profits as soon as he is intimidated by the mafia boss.
In the face of potential violence, Spain’s resolve has crumbled. This sort of behavior must not occur. This sort of coercion and terrorism must not be allowed to continue. We can not expect to live in a peaceful world when we allow ourselves to be pushed around by the people that shoot the guns. Spain may not be able to maintain its fortitude in the face of danger, but America must. No longer will we let terrorists control our actions.
No one wants another Sept. 11, but the only way to ensure that it doesn’t occur again is to rid the world of terrorism through determined and sustained efforts against them — not by giving into their demands and waiting in the dark for their next attack.
