It was Sunday, Sept. 10, 2001. Our family was at McCormick Railroad Park in Scottsdale for our daughter's 3rd birthday party. I remember that it was really hot that day. So hot that we let the kids play in an oscillating spray head hooked up to a hose. Grandpa was there too. He was turning 79 the next day... on 9/11. We awoke the next morning to an urgent phone call from Grandma asking us to turn on the TV... a plane had just crashed into one of the Twin Towers. It was the end of the innocence.
The bad guys had not only shaken our immediate sense of personal safety, they had also knocked the wind out of the sails of our already faltering economy. Remember the empty skies, the vacated stores, the eerie silence that enveloped our country for days, weeks? The sum of this unprovoked attack on our country proved far greater than the obvious. It also impacted our self-image. People were flat-out acting strange... dysfunctional. In fact, I suggest that the housing crisis and the subsequent Great Recession were by-products of these terrorist attacks. The economy never really began to recover until 2004. There was so much pent-up frustration on behalf of the general public to start making money again that greed simply ran unabated fueled by the desire to put 9/11 as far behind us as possible.
These killers had really put the hurt on us. We wanted them tracked down and killed. Problem was, who were the bad guys and where had they fled?
Almost 10 years later, after 6,500+ of our troops having died, thousands more injured, hundreds of thousands of civilians killed or injured and $1 trillion spent we still hadn't got to Osama Bin Laden. The bad guys were never Iraqis nor were they ever harbored in Iraq. They were holed up in Afghanistan/Pakistan from the get go.
Shortly after becoming president, Obama focused our military efforts on Afghanistan and between he and his CIA director, Leon Panetta, they put together a plan to capture Osama Bin Laden dead or alive. Clearly, the president, his staff and the military have done the "hard stuff" necessary on the ground to locate and bring to justice the most despised criminal in the world since Adolph Hitler. It's a great day to be an American. Thank you President Obama. The mission, indeed, has finally been accomplished. You make us proud.
• Jon Beydler is a 32-year Valley resident and the former mayor of Fountain Hills who now lives in Chandler
Leon Ceniceros posted at 7:34 am on Wed, May 4, 2011.
Thank gawd for President George W. Bush who had the guts to water-board the bad guys to get the little pieces of information that led to Bin Laden's death.
Trying to make our..........."empty suit"....President.....look lik the ..."hero" his isn't is an exercise in futiltiy.
It would have been the right thing to appear with all of his War Room team behind him when he gave his announcement..............but..........Obama was never one to share the .........limelight.....or the....glory.
Well at least this story will have the ..........."Fountain Hills Hippies"....laying off..Sheriff Joe, Speaker Pearce and Governor Brewer for a while.......lol.
Dale Whiting posted at 8:52 am on Wed, May 4, 2011.
Professional interrogators all agree. Water boarding and other torture techniques have been, are, and will remain unproductive, even counter-productive. And US precident has held that water boarding is illegal. It was not W who had the guts to water board. Rather, it was W who did not have the guts to stand up to Cheney and the Cheney inspired lawyer who advocated water-boarding. Cheney ought to be tried in the Haag! The attorney was sanctioned by his bar association!
"Thank God for President Obama!" [Rush Limbaugh on May 2, 2011!
"his War Room team [standing] behind him when he gave his announcement?" you say. That room did not stand behind him. Rather many oppossed his choice. It took guts to do the right thing!"
"Well at least this story will have the ..........."Fountain Hills Hippies"....laying off..Sheriff Joe, Speaker Pearce and Governor Brewer for a while.......lol." Didn't you read the rest of the paper. Sheriff Babeau has characterized Mr. Arpaio's administration as corrupt. Pearce was a part of that adminstration. Brewer appears to have learned her lesson and now, rather than signing stupid bills into law is vetoing them.
Accuracy posted at 10:49 am on Wed, May 4, 2011.
Stand with us today and specifically recognize U.S. Navy SEAL Team 6, based in Norfolk/Virginia Beach under Rear Adm. Edward Winters [the head of the U.S. Navy SEAL Team – that is called the "tip of the spear"].
They risked their lives to take down the world's most wanted man, Osama bin Laden. Breaching his Pakistan compound under the cover of darkness, 40 men emerged after 40 minutes of fighting with the terrorist leader's body – without any American casualties.
A victory that sends an important message around the world . . . No matter how long it takes, America's resolve never waivers. Americans give their gratitude to, and salute, this elite group of Special Forces.
Slabside posted at 3:41 pm on Wed, May 4, 2011.
Jon I guess I need to educate yet another forgetful Lib:
"One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line."
- President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998
"If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program."
- President Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998
"Iraq is a long way from [the USA], but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risks that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face."
-Madeline Albright, Feb 18, 1998
"He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983."
-Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998
"[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
-Letter to President Clinton, signed by Sens. Carl Levin,
Tom Daschle, John Kerry, and others Oct. 9, 1998
"Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."
-Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998
"Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies."
- Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999
"There is no doubt that ... Saddam Hussein has invigorated his weaponsprograms. Reports indicate that biological, chemical and nuclear programs continue apace and may be back to pre-Gulf War status. In addition, Saddam continues to redefine delivery systems and is doubtless using the cover of a licit missile program to develop longer-range missiles that will threaten the United States and our allies."
- Letter to President Bush, Signed by Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL,) and others, December 5, 2001
"We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandated of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering them."
- Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002
"We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
"Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power."
- Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002
"We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002
"The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence
reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..."
-Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002
"I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force-- if necessary-- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a
real and grave threat to our security."
-Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002
"There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always
underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002
"He has systematically violated, over the course of the past 11 years, every significant UN resolution that has demanded that he disarm and destroy his chemical and biological weapons, and any nuclear capacity. This he has
refused to do"
- Rep. Henry Waxman (D, CA), Oct. 10, 2002
"In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has
also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members .. It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical
warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons."
- Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002
"We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction."
- Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002
"Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to
his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real ..."
- Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003
Dale Whiting posted at 6:47 am on Thu, May 5, 2011.
This Conservative never said he liked Bill Clinton's foreign policy. I definately did not like Hillary's foreign policy. In the limited choice between McCain, whose wisdom in picking Palin was seriously called into question, and Obama, whose pick of Biden made some sense, the choise, though limited, was clear.
Know this. In 2000, though obviously not likely to win the nomination, I voted for McCain over Bush. In 2000, in 2004 and again in 2008, who did you guys pick and why?
Slabside posted at 11:32 am on Thu, May 5, 2011.
I chose Bush in 2004 as Kerry was proven to be a liar and he turned traitor on his Vietnam brethren. Despite all of his faults, Bush was steadfast on his word to fight terrorism.
In 2008 I chose McCain for his experience. I did not want McCain, I wanted to see Fred Thompson in the WH.
Rich posted at 3:11 pm on Thu, May 5, 2011.
If you two and a lot of others don't stop limiting yourselves to the lesser of two evils, we will never stop getting an evil.
Slabside posted at 3:40 pm on Thu, May 5, 2011.
OK Rich, I'll bite. What's your solution?
Sunnytukee posted at 4:53 pm on Fri, May 6, 2011.
Nice opening story, now tell us what really happened, because as the rest of us know, September 11, 2001 was a Tuesday.