The attacks of September 11, 2001 killed citizens from more than 80 nations and stunned the world by their scope and savagery. The quintessentially American ethos of national invulnerability was forever altered. The President declared, to thunderous applause, that, “we are a country awakened to danger and called to defend freedom. Our grief has turned to anger and anger to resolution.
Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done.”
As Operation Enduring Freedom began nearly a month later to drive the Taliban out of power in Afghanistan and take the offensive against the al Qaeda nerve center, Osama bin Laden released a video on al Jazeera which swore to the world that, “neither America, nor anyone living there, will ever enjoy safety until we can first see it as a reality in Palestine and before all the infidel armies quit the land of Muhammed.”
Seven years later, the record demonstrates that bin Laden underestimated American resolve and resilience, and has largely failed in his efforts to erode our domestic security.
The key architects of the 9/11 attacks are either dead or pending trial in the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay. An unknown number of significant attacks have been disrupted by the coordinated efforts of our national security apparatus in conjunction with our allies. Sleeper cells have been discovered and disrupted in a number of nations. The pool of financing, so essential for conducting terrorist acts, has been significantly drained.
Congress modernized our legal structure by allowing federal agencies to monitor terrorist cell phone transmissions and largely eliminated the legal loopholes that hindered counterterrorism efforts prior to that fateful day. The federal courts have been active in applying criminal law prohibiting “material support or resources to foreign organizations that engage in terrorist activities,” having charged some 257 defendants since 9/11 according to a recent report.
Pundits have postulated that ongoing operations in Iraq have undermined domestic security, to which I say, “prove it.” Thousands of Islamic fundamentalists have been killed by coalition forces. American losses in Iraq, which have touched me and my family and so many others, have still not equaled the battle deaths suffered during the last two weeks of December, 1944 as GI’s repelled German attacks in the Battle of the Bulge.
We have fought and suffered to inflict a devastating blow against al Qaeda as Iraqis of all tribes and regions have united to reject the jihadist mantra. Just like Americans, they have opposed bin Laden’s murderous minions to reinforce their own security. Al Qaeda is on the run in Iraq and around the world. Bin Laden bragged that “only steel breaks steel” and he has learned that he faces a united and galvanized America.
We cannot afford the luxury of complacency and we must eradicate any traces of bureaucratic ineptitude that could contribute to successful terrorist attacks in the future. At the same time, we cannot waiver in our determination to, “regain the road which alone leads us to peace, liberty, and safety” in Thomas Jefferson’s memorable admonition.
Media Contact: Amy Wolf, (615) 322-NEWS
amy.wolf@vanderbilt.edu
[Mike Newton is a professor in the practice of law at Vanderbilt Law School. This article was published in The Tennessean Sept. 11, 2008.]