August 11, 2006

Ray of Hope in the War with "Is...."



Early last year I had the task of writing a descriptive essay for a college composition course, and the topic I chose was the Veterans Memorial here in our little burg on the Cedar. I was taken aback by the fact that someone decided to add a memorial for the "War on Terror"
In part I wrote.
"The American flag flies in the center of the site. Around it, eight larger granite monuments are arranged in a circle like the spokes on a wheel. Each engraved with what has become a symbol of that particular war, or the inspiring words of one of the leaders of the day. As you make your way clockwise around the site, starting at the Civil War, you pass the seven major wars of the last 140 years.
The last spoke in the wheel seems to stand-alone. A monument un-tempered by time, dedicated to those that have given their lives in a battle that has yet to be decided, with an enemy that we are unwilling to name."
Yesterday, for the first time, I heard the President use the "I" word.

"The recent arrests that our fellow citizens are now learning about are a stark reminder that this nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom, to hurt our nation,"
Of course the CAIR organization had a tizzy over the presidents speech. Joe Malchow has the press release and a response here.

I realize that a president has to be somewhat tactful so as not to offend the sensibilities of the "Arab Street" we know how ugly that can get, but as I have said before, the administration has been terrible at framing its positions in such a way as to convince the American people that we are at war, with whom, and the stakes involved.
This is leap forward.

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