Our
View: Foiled L.A. attack brings questions,
concerns
Sept. 11 seems so long ago. Much of the world has been forever changed since
then. But many of us here on the West Coast felt somewhat unaffected or disconnected
by the whole ordeal considering it happened all the way in New York and not Los
Angeles.
Nevertheless, we told ourselves we shall never forget the indelible images of
airliners colliding into sky-high towers, people falling to their deaths from
the top floors and survivors covered in dust from the falling debris. But time
passed and those memories faded into the background — until last week.
President George W. Bush gave the nation, and especially those of us here in
the L.A. area, a strident reminder of the dangers of global terrorism last Thursday.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “With pressure mounting on the White
House to more fully explain its anti-terrorism strategy, President Bush offered
new details Thursday of a reported plot against downtown Los Angeles as evidence
of success in foiling attacks...they believed Al Qaeda operatives, in a West
Coast follow-up to the Sept. 11 attacks, had planned to hijack an airliner and
crash it into what was then called the Library Tower.”
Imagine that. New York’s World Trade Center tragedy could have been here
in our own Southern California bubble. Someone in the Bush administration working
hard to combat terrorism earned his or her pay, not to mention saved hundreds
of lives. We can’t be thankful enough.
But the real question is why didn’t the Bush team reveal this success,
say, soon after it was foiled? Why didn’t they tell L.A. Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa? Why did they not use this earlier as a massive, boastful public
relations boost to help things out?
Why didn’t they say to the nation and the world in some form or another, “Hey
look, people. We’re kicking some ass on this anti-terrorist business. Look
what we stopped. Take that, Al Qaeda.”
Now if only the Bush team could get anything else right (to list their wrongdoings
would be redundant), things might not be so bad. But it seems like a cheap shot
to reveal details of this plot so late after the fact. America deserves to have
known earlier.
By releasing this now, we know they are just trying to justify their anti-terrorism
methods like warrentless wire taps, methods some Americans think override power
boundaries.
But as Bush pleads or simply gets more power that may violate our personal privacy,
we ought to ask ourselves a few key questions before complaining.
Who else can possibly protect America against the very real and dangerous international
threats of global terrorism, if not the government?
Who else has the resources to combat those in this world determined to see our
flag burned, our buildings destroyed and our people dead?
The answer is not your mailman or your labor unions. The answer is not your favorite
legislators like Sens. Hillary Clinton and John McCain or activist groups like
the American Civil Liberties Union. The answer is not even the Washington Post,
New York Times or USA Today (as much as they would say otherwise). It’s
not even your humble Daily Forty-Niner.
The truth is the CIA, U.S. military and National Security Agency are the only
ones who can truly protect us from the dangers of the world abroad. It’s
one of the roles of government to protect in ways we cannot do ourselves.
We should give them the privilege, respect and means necessary to do so.
All must sacrifice a few personal liberties to defend ourselves against people
who don’t negotiate, don’t share our sense of compassion and will
not give up their aggressive efforts any time soon. Otherwise, L.A., or other
parts of this country, may see a new, even more destructive 9/11.
This isn’t a partisan issue. It’s an American issue.
Think about it this way. Even when Bush leaves the presidency and a Democrat
or less conservative Republican takes over, such methods
to combat terrorism may still be in place. The detractors, and even this newspaper,
won’t have Bush to kick around anymore.
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