Our Failure of Imagination

"It happened in 1941 at Pearl Harbor. It happened in 2001 in New York and Washington. If we don't wake up, it WILL happen again..."

It seems odd that I am going to pull a key phrase out of the 9/11 Report on this the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. But there is a reason for me doing so. Historians who have dissected events leading up to the Pearl Harbor attack, saw many different warning signals that something sinister might be brewing. And even with that, we had a good part of our Pacific fleet parked in the same vulnerable spot. The lessons learned after the 1941 attack were replete with "would haves" and "should haves". Bottom line - we failed to think like a potential enemy. Or as we say today - outside the box.

Even though we all know the adage about not learning from history, a version of Pearl Harbor happened again in 2001. Once again, the lessons learned in the form of the widely published and read 9/11 Report, showed many of our intelligence professionals got caught napping. Even though the terrorists had tipped their hand in 1993 with the truck bombing of the World Trade Center (who could ever forget the "Blind Sheik?), we collectively missed their inkle. We all know the net result of that miss. It changed the world as we know it. 

Last night, we saw what might be the opening act for the next attack. The President talked about being nice to Muslims, gun control, the weather, everything except a strategy on how to keep our HOMELAND safe. Yes, yes, we know we are bombing targets in Iraq and Syria. But the Islamic State has already reached their diabolical tentacles into just about every state. Every state including ours. And I don't give a rat's butt how their followers become "radicalized" in this country. If one of our citizens is killed in our homeland by a terrorist, that is one too many.

My biggest fear is this. The American people are far from being stupid. Just about everyone, on both sides of the aisle, know the game the President is playing. He is not protecting us. True or false, that is the perspective. If we suffer another attack, and if it is significant (like Paris or worse), the President's fears will become reality. People in this country will start protecting themselves from who they perceive is the enemy. Yes, I am talking about vigilantism. And that would be bad for everyone.

Bottom line - people in this country are scared. They don't know who is who. Who is friend and who is foe. The War on Terror has already resulted in going through TSA screening being as pleasant as a colonoscopy. And now some are calling for TSA type screening at sporting events, traveling by train,by bus, or even going to a movie. And every time we have to give up a single ounce of our freedom, it is a victory for the terrorists.

Someone asked me a while ago when I was bitching about our tepid response to terror what I would do. In other words, how do you fight a group who not only does not fear death, but welcomes it? Well, we faced something similar in World War II. In our battles in the Pacific. The "true believers" in the Japanese forces were ready to die for the Emperor. To take their own life. To fly suicide missions into our ships. And yet we were able to prevail. And how would we do that today one might ask?

Now I get to the icky part. A marital arts professional told me years ago that no matter how tough and invincible an opponent is, everyone has an Achilles heel. Even the Islamic State. They may not value their own lives nor the lives of their family, but they do value territory. Territory which has significance to their faith. Territory like the ancient Levant. Territory like Mecca. I think you can see where I am going with this.

We needed use extraordinary measures to bring World War II to an end in the Pacific. We may need to do the same today to end this War on Terror.