It was 20 years ago this weekend when terrorists yanked us out of our anti-terror lethargy.
Two decades on and we’re still — at least I hope — on high alert about foreign terrorist organizations that want to harm Americans.
It was said not long after 9/11 that “there is no question about ‘if’ we get again, but only ‘when.'” We haven’t been hit in the manner we experienced on that gorgeous Tuesday morning in New York, in Washington and in Shanksville, Pa.
Guess what. We have more causes for concern now than perhaps we had on 9/11.
President Bush, on whose watch the 9/11 terror attack occurred, warned us anew over the weekend about the threat of domestic terror. We must remain vigilant, alert and ready to respond to the corn-fed, home-grown, right-wing (mostly) terrorists who lurk among us.
We saw evidence of the domestic threat on 1/6. Yep, those who stormed the Capitol Building, threaten to “hand” the vice president of the United States, sought out the speaker of the House of Reps and defecated on the floor of the halls of government were dangerous in the extreme.
What does mean in terms of lessons learned from 9/11?
It tells me we need to keep our eyes peeled not just offshore, but in our own backyard as well.
I am going to implore our members of Congress — specifically the men who represent my interests — to stand with the president in the event he is forced to respond to domestic, as well as international, terrorists. U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz and U.S. Rep. Van Taylor — all of whom are Republicans — need to adhere to the time-honored axiom that partisanship should end when our national security is threatened.
That means when threats arise from the heartland as well as from foreign lands. There can be no difference in the ferocity we respond.
