Why did Islamists attack America on September 11, 2001? They did not do it because they were poor and hopeless. These terrorists were all either from wealthy or middle-class Arab families. The attack on America came from a belief in Islam and their hatred for America.
Devout Islamists despise America’s Judeo-Christian values. Most offensive to them are the western values of freedom and tolerance. Islam cannot tolerate these things. It never has.
The United States is the guardian of freedom in the West. To Islam Western Civilization has to be brought down. The 9/11 attack they intend as a restart of that process. Restart because America has been at war with Islam since Thomas Jefferson was President.
The 9/11 attack was to show the world America is weak. America lacks the will to safeguard its liberties and people. Bin Laden calls America a “paper tiger.” Following the 9/11 attacks, the terrorist leader was strong in the belief he made his point.
His many supporters in the Muslim Middle East concur; he had proven his point. Mothers across the Muslim world named their babies “Osama.” Bin Laden’s face adorned posters in homes across the Muslim world. Kids in Pakistan wore bin Laden t-shirts.
Terror Attacks have consequences
On September 14th, President George W. Bush visited the still-smoldering wreckage of “Ground Zero.” That’s the site where the Twin Towers had stood. With megaphone in hand, made the promise: America will not be cowed:
He said “I can hear you… The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear from all of us soon.”
They soon did. America launched its War on Terror. We destroyed the terrorist leadership. Bin Laden was forced into a decade of running and hiding.
Within six months the kids in Pakistan were no longer wearing bin Laden t-shirts. Ten years later, the CIA locates bin Laden. A team of Navy SEALS put an end to the life of the terrorist leader.
America will always have its enemies. There will always be those who despise our freedoms. There will always be those who hate our democracy. These people want to see America buckle in the face of tyranny.
They hope for the day we are willing to sacrifice our way of life to appease those who despise it. America will always be faced with a choice. Do we surrender our freedoms, or do we fight to preserve them? May we never grovel before those who hate us.
America needs to remember: Why did Islamists attack America on September 11, 2001? We need to honor the lives of the nearly 3,000 Americans who died on 9/11. To do this we must honor the principles and values on which America rests. May this help young Americans learn what happened on September 11, 2001.