This is a compilation of something I tweeted over a 20-minute period a couple of days ago. I have not edited it for content or spelling. It was inspired by a combination of things, including the attempted bombing in Times Square, what I perceives as national security mistakes by our current Administration, and meeting a large group of New York police officers whose mere presence reminded me of the massive sacrifice that was made on 9-11-2001, and of all of the pledges of “never again” that were made in the days and weeks that followed. Make of it what you will. Feel free to comment if you follow the rules.
Pearl Harbor after attack
Does it seem like only a matter of time? The last three attempted attacks were only stopped by good fortune or vigilance. Can't continue...
Border security seems to be only one, but an important piece of the solution to our security. What are the rest?
Are we all really united in desiring to protect our country from attack? Surely not. One "citizen" seems to have slipped through the cracks.
Do you fear, as I do, that these attacks will succeed in places where we are less aware, less vigilant? If you thought we had "police state"
... before a domestic attack succeeds, what will happen after? Will we all have to carry "papers?" What kind?
Some seem to think that I should "stick to martial arts" in my writings and keep my opinions to my self.
Some practical lessons I have learned from the practice and application of martial arts:
No one can "defend" indefinitely. If an attacker persists, we must counterattack, not defend, to survive. Entirely different mindset.
We must always have a Plan B. What if being polite or nice doesn't work?
We must face reality: there are those who would harm us for gain, or to spite our success. Or to take by threat or force what we have earned
We must hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
Only the strong and prepared can defend the weak or unprepared.
We train so that we DO NOT have to fight. If we are armed and trained, there is less chance of being victimized.
There is no substitute for victory.
Peace is a great and good state, but is the exception in this world. Prepare to deescalate, or to match and exceed. Prepare.
Not projecting strength is the same as projecting weakness. It invites exploitation.
The biggest or strongest don't have to fight; they can choose. Can you?
Should we disarm when our enemies are still armed? Should we turn our backs when those who want to kill us have their daggers out?
I know I could never forgive myself if my lack of preparation let my family come to harm. Could you? We are responsible for the vulnerable.
This ends my "martial arts" rant. I should stick to that, right?
2 comments:
Hi Nathan,
It is good to keep our awareness up. Complacency is our enemy. As I live on the Mexican boarder I have seen how easily a threat could come across but there is not the political will from either major party to do anything about it. Controlling our boarders would seemingly be a nations right - especially as you point out we are under attack from terrorists.
I really enjoy reading your perspective Nathan.
In the UK after the Al-Quieda tube and bus bombings there was a full on security alert and super vigilance led to many further attempts being thwarted in the following years. This has been due to counter-intelligence measures and I suppose luck has been involved often enough, but you make your luck in these cases, through being actively involved in counter-intelligence.
Not long after the bombings an innocent Brazilian man was chased and shot on the tube by counter-intelligence forces. Simple errors could've been avoided but the emotion of the time led to this tragedy.
IMO the counter intelligence is the way to control the terrorists. Attack doesn't work it just stretches resources and costs huge amounts of money.
In Britain we have the example of the 'troubles' in Ulster to learn from. The US has nothing like this to draw techniques from and so I can see that attack seems like an option. It doesn't stop terrorists, look at Afghanistan.
It's almost a cultural trait for them to resist, look at their history....
The entire strategy needs looking at IMO.
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