Attack fails to destroy U.S.

Waking up to the news that the United States had just lost a major battle in the war on terrorism thrust many around the nation and the world in a state of shock.\nWe may never know the motivation of the attackers, but we can assume this: The hijackers were smart and highly motivated. They were not simple brutes but sophisticated terrorists who covered their tracks well.\nAuthor Tom Clancy in his works makes the argument that the world of a terrorist behaves in accordance with Darwinian principles. Only the careless terrorist cells have been taken out by authorities in Europe and the Middle East. The ones that still survive are highly skilled and highly motivated.\nThe hijackers have survived and learned from this evolutionary process. So have many others who pose a threat to both civilian and military targets around the world.\nMany Americans fail to realize that the threat of terror is a daily threat in most of the world. Great Britain has had to deal with sectarian violence of Northern Ireland spilling over in to the streets of London. Madrid faces Basque separatists, and in Africa, landless farmers now maraud. And these are only a few of the hot spots around the world where terror is a daily force.\nTerrorists have long targeted the United States. Proponents of terror have attacked the United States during the embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya, the attack of military personal Beirut, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.\nBusiness executives and engineers from the United States and Europe are routinely kidnapped in many developing economies.\nLet us not forget the U.S.-grown terror personified by Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing.\nIn my last column I urged readers to pay more attention to events happening outside the borders the United States. I then explained some of the reasons why this is necessary.\nI forgot to mention that many people around the world see the United States as "the Great Satan" and see it as their responsibility to bring this American devil to its knees.\nWhat appears to have happened in New York Tuesday is that a group of radicals took a shot at bringing the nation to its knees. Let us hope that they have failed.\nThe world now faces an old enemy with an evil and ugly face. Terrorists who have honed their skills in Europe and the Middle East have come to American shores. The hijackers' dedication leads me to believe this might only be the tip of the iceberg.\nOur prayers go out to all the victims of the attacks and their families and our gratitude to all the relief workers digging through the rubble to help the victims of the crime.