Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Difficult task remains

THE PEOPLE IN THE WHITE HOUSE and the American people should have learned by now that we don't set the schedule for terrorists. The terrorists set their own attack schedules and they have the flexibility to change the hour, day, month and even the method of attack. The entire plan can be cancelled in the last hours. A terrorist group that doesn't take advantage of these strengths soon goes out of business or is destroyed by the people it has targeted.

Osama bin Laden is an accomplished professional in the business of terrorism and he hasn't been easy to apprehend. This shouldn't surprise Americans, and critics of the Bush administration can find more legitimate issues to complain about. The voices from the White House and our president should avoid pointing to possible times and dates that we can look forward to his capture or even the capture of Saddam Hussein. Very simply, we don't need any more statements from aircraft carriers about the end of major combat in Iraq or challenging the terrorists to engage our troops in that country.

During recent weeks it appears that this message has finally seeped through to both the White House and Pentagon. A more somber president addressed our nation last Sunday night when he told us of the tax dollars needed to complete our mission in Iraq. Two days before his address, the Pentagon quietly extended the length of stay in Iraq for thousands of reservists and National Guardsmen.

Eventually the people running this war may have to admit that we don't have enough active duty troops available to face the threat of North Korea and finish the fighting in Afghanistan. There is no doubt our military forces are stretched very thin in a dangerous world despite what Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld proclaims.

Our president is dedicated and determined in this war against terrorism. The attack against America two years ago today put fire in the belly of our president and every American. That fire remains and shouldn't cool until justice has been dealt to those who triggered those attacks. I can't believe that our military leaders are surprised by the acts of terror our troops are experiencing in Iraq. An Israeli soldier and scholar in March predicted that Hussein's government would collapse and then our soldiers would experience car bombs, suicide bombers and snipers. He spoke from 50 years of experience in the Middle East.

From my own observations there are doubts that Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda is in Iraq in any great numbers at this time. In March I reported the large numbers of Hezbollah terrorists from Lebanon and Palestinian terrorists entering Iraq. "I am going there to kill Americans," was their reply when asked why they were boarding vehicles at the border of Syria and Iraq. I came back home from Israel when the Hussein government fell but have doubts that those terrorists returned to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and the West Bank.

So where is al Qaeda striking back? Lisa Hoffman in the New York Post writes the opinions of some analysts. Included in the article is the following paragraph:

"Al Qaeda already is filtering back into Afghanistan, where its operatives are helping train disaffected Afghans in terror tactics. An escalating number of hit-and-run attacks on U.S. and Afghan government targets in recent weeks is believed to be the work of al Qaeda and Taliban agents who have slipped back from the Pakistani mountains, where they regrouped after the United States ousted them from Afghanistan."

Terrorism is a deadly and slippery enemy that is difficult to catch and behead. Americans and Israelis are a long way from having all the answers because we find it difficult to think like terrorists. The war we had declared on us two years ago will remain a problem for future presidents and our children and grandchildren. We not only must have strength but also much patience.

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