Sunday Culture: Criminals Are Made, Not Born

The Raven

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore —
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“‘Tis some visiter,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door —
Only this and nothing more.”

 Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December;

And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; – vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow – sorrow for the lost Lenore —
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore —
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken, sad, uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me – filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating
“‘Tis some visiter entreating entrance at my chamber door —
Some late visiter entreating entrance at my chamber door; —
This it is and nothing more.”

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
“Sir,” said I, “or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you” – here I opened wide the door; ——
Darkness there and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, “Lenore?”
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, “Lenore!” —
Merely this and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
“Surely,” said I, “surely that is something at my window lattice;
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore —
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;—
‘Tis the wind and nothing more!”

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door —
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door —
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
“Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,” I said, “art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient Raven wandering from the Nightly shore —
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning – little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blessed with seeing bird above his chamber door —
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as “Nevermore.”

But the Raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing farther then he uttered – not a feather then he fluttered —
Till I scarcely more than muttered “Other friends have flown before —
On the morrow he will leave me, as my Hopes have flown before.”
Then the bird said “Nevermore.”

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
“Doubtless,” said I, “what it utters is its only stock and store
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore —
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of ‘Never – nevermore’.”

But the Raven still beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore —
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking “Nevermore.”

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom’s core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion’s velvet lining that the lamp-light gloated o’er,
But whose velvet-violet lining with the lamp-light gloating o’er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then, methought, the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by seraphim whose foot-falls tinkled on the tufted floor.
“Wretch,” I cried, “thy God hath lent thee – by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite – respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore;
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil! – prophet still, if bird or devil! —
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted —
On this home by Horror haunted – tell me truly, I implore —
Is there – is there balm in Gilead? – tell me – tell me, I implore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Prophet!” said I, “thing of evil! – prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us – by that God we both adore —
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore —
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore.”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

“Be that word our sign of parting, bird or fiend!” I shrieked, upstarting —
“Get thee back into the tempest and the Night’s Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken! – quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted – nevermore!

—Edgar Allan Poe

“The Raven” is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven‘s mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man’s slow fall into madness.

The lover, often identified as being a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further instigate his distress with its constant repetition of the word “Nevermore”. The poem makes use of a number of folk and classical references.

Poe claimed to have written the poem very logically and methodically, intending to create a poem that would appeal to both critical and popular tastes, as he explained in his 1846 follow-up essay “The Philosophy of Composition“.

The poem was inspired in part by a talking raven in the novel Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of ‘Eighty by Charles Dickens. Poe borrows the complex rhythm and meter of Elizabeth Barrett’s poem “Lady Geraldine’s Courtship”, and makes use of internal rhyme as well as alliteration throughout.

“The Raven” was first attributed to Poe in print in the New York Evening Mirror on January 29, 1845. Its publication made Poe widely popular in his lifetime, although it did not bring him much financial success. Soon reprinted, parodied, and illustrated, critical opinion is divided as to the poem’s status, but it nevertheless remains one of the most famous poems ever written.

“The Raven” follows an unnamed narrator on a night in December who sits reading “forgotten lore” as a way to forget the loss of his love, Lenore. A “rapping at [his] chamber door” reveals nothing, but excites his soul to “burning”.

A similar rapping, slightly louder, is heard at his window. When he goes to investigate, a raven steps into his chamber. Paying no attention to the man, the raven perches on a bust of Pallas above the door.

Amused by the raven’s comically serious disposition, the man asks that the bird tell him its name. The raven’s only answer is “Nevermore”. The narrator is surprised that the raven can talk, though at this point it has said nothing further.

The narrator remarks to himself that his “friend” the raven will soon fly out of his life, just as “other friends have flown before” along with his previous hopes. As if answering, the raven responds again with “Nevermore”. The narrator reasons that the bird learned the word “Nevermore” from some “unhappy master” and that it is the only word it knows.

Even so, the narrator pulls his chair directly in front of the raven, determined to learn more about it. He thinks for a moment in silence, and his mind wanders back to his lost Lenore. He thinks the air grows denser and feels the presence of angels, and wonders if God is sending him a sign that he is to forget Lenore.

The bird again replies in the negative, suggesting that he can never be free of his memories. The narrator becomes angry, calling the raven a “thing of evil” and a “prophet“.  Finally, he asks the raven whether he will be reunited with Lenore in Heaven.

When the raven responds with its typical “Nevermore”, he is enraged, and, calling it a liar, commands the bird to return to the “Plutonian shore”, – but it does not move. Presumably at the time of the poem’s recitation by the narrator, the raven “still is sitting” on the bust of Pallas. The narrator’s final admission is that his soul is trapped beneath the raven’s shadow and shall be lifted “Nevermore”.

Poe wrote the poem as a narrative, without intentionally creating an allegory or falling into didacticism. The main theme of the poem is one of undying devotion. The narrator experiences a perverse conflict between desire to forget and desire to remember. He seems to get some pleasure from focusing on loss. The narrator assumes that the word “Nevermore” is the raven’s “only stock and store”, and, yet, he continues to ask it questions, knowing what the answer will be. His questions, then, are purposely self-deprecating and further incite his feelings of loss.

Poe leaves it unclear if the raven actually knows what it is saying or if it really intends to cause a reaction in the poem’s narrator. The narrator begins as “weak and weary,” becomes regretful and grief-stricken, before passing into a frenzy and, finally, madness. Christopher F. S. Maligec suggests the poem is a type of elegiac paraclausithyron, an ancient Greek and Roman poetic form consisting of the lament of an excluded, locked-out lover at the sealed door of his beloved.

Poe says that the narrator is a young scholar. Though this is not explicitly stated in the poem, it is mentioned in “The Philosophy of Composition”. It is also suggested by the narrator reading books of “lore” as well as by the bust of Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom.

He is reading “many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore”. Similar to the studies suggested in Poe’s short story “Ligeia“, this lore may be about the occult or black magic.

This is also emphasized in the author’s choice to set the poem in December, a month which is traditionally associated with the forces of darkness. The use of the raven – the “devil bird” – also suggests this. This devil image is emphasized by the narrator’s belief that the raven is “from the Night’s Plutonian shore”, or a messenger from the afterlife, referring to Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld (also known as Dis Pater in Roman mythology).

Poe chose a raven as the central symbol in the story because he wanted a “non-reasoning” creature capable of speech. He decided on a raven, which he considered “equally capable of speech” as a parrot, because it matched the intended tone of the poem. Poe said the raven is meant to symbolize “Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance“.

He was also inspired by Grip, the raven in Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of ‘Eighty by Charles Dickens. One scene in particular bears a resemblance to “The Raven”: at the end of the fifth chapter of Dickens’s novel, Grip makes a noise and someone says, “What was that – him tapping at the door?” The response is, “‘Tis someone knocking softly at the shutter.”

Dickens’s raven could speak many words and had many comic turns, including the popping of a champagne cork, but Poe emphasized the bird’s more dramatic qualities. Poe had written a review of Barnaby Rudge for Graham’s Magazine saying, among other things, that the raven should have served a more symbolic, prophetic purpose. The similarity did not go unnoticed: James Russell Lowell in his A Fable for Critics wrote the verse, “Here comes Poe with his raven, like Barnaby Rudge / Three-fifths of him genius and two-fifths sheer fudge.”

Poe may also have been drawing upon various references to ravens in mythology and folklore. In Norse mythology, Odin possessed two ravens named Huginn and Muninn, representing thought and memory. According to Hebrew folklore, Noah sends a white raven to check conditions while on the ark.

It learns that the floodwaters are beginning to dissipate, but it does not immediately return with the news. It is punished by being turned black and being forced to feed on carrion forever. In Ovid‘s Metamorphoses, a raven also begins as white before Apollo punishes it by turning it black for delivering a message of a lover’s unfaithfulness. The raven’s role as a messenger in Poe’s poem may draw from those stories.

Poe also mentions the Balm of Gilead, a reference to the Book of Jeremiah (8:22) in the Bible: “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” In that context, the Balm of Gilead is a resin used for medicinal purposes (suggesting, perhaps, that the narrator needs to be healed after the loss of Lenore).

He also refers to “Aidenn”, another word for the Garden of Eden, though Poe uses it to ask if Lenore has been accepted into Heaven. At another point, the narrator imagines that Seraphim (a type of angel) have entered the room. The narrator thinks they are trying to take his memories of Lenore away from him using nepenthe, a drug mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey to induce forgetfulness.

The Bath School disaster is the name given to three bombings in Bath Township, Michigan, on May 18, 1927, which killed 38 elementary school children, two teachers, four other adults and the bomber himself; at least 58 people were injured. Most of the victims were children in the second to sixth grades (7–11 years of age) attending the Bath Consolidated School. Their deaths constitute the deadliest mass murder in a school in U.S. history.

The bomber was school board treasurer Andrew Kehoe, 55, who was enraged about a property tax levied to fund the construction of the school building.

On the morning of May 18, Kehoe murdered his wife by beating her to death, then set his farm buildings afire. As fire fighters arrived at his farm, an explosion devastated the north wing of the school building, killing many schoolchildren.

Kehoe had used a detonator to ignite dynamite and hundreds of pounds of pyrotol which he had secretly planted inside the school over the course of many months. As rescuers started gathering at the school, Kehoe drove up, stopped, and detonated a bomb inside his shrapnel-filled vehicle with his Winchester rifle, killing himself and the school superintendent, and killing and injuring several others.

During rescue efforts searchers discovered an additional 500 pounds (230 kg) of unexploded dynamite and pyrotol planted throughout the basement of the school’s south wing. Kehoe apparently had intended to blow up and destroy the whole school.

Telephone operators stayed at their stations for hours to summon doctors, undertakers, area hospitals and anyone else who might help. The Lansing Fire Department sent three men and the city’s chemical truck.

The local physician, Dr. J.A. Crum and his wife, a nurse, had both served in World War I, and had returned to Bath to open a pharmacy. After the explosion the Crums turned their drugstore into a triage center. The dead were removed to the town hall, used as a morgue. Private citizens were enlisted to use their automobiles as additional ambulances to take survivors and family members to area hospitals. By the afternoon some 13 ambulances were at the township hall to transport the dead to undertakers.

Hundreds of people worked in the wreckage all day in an effort to find and rescue the children pinned underneath. Area contractors had sent all their men to assist, and many ordinary people came to the scene in response to the pleas for help.

Eventually, 34 firefighters and the Chief of the Lansing Fire Department arrived on the scene, as did several Michigan State Police officers, who managed traffic to and from the scene.

The injured and dying were transported to Sparrow Hospital and St. Lawrence Hospital in Lansing. The construction of the latter facility had been financed in large part by Lawrence Price, Nellie Kehoe’s uncle and formerly an executive in charge of Oldsmobile‘s Lansing Car Assembly.

Michigan Governor Fred Green arrived during the afternoon of the disaster and assisted in the relief work, carting bricks away from the scene. The Lawrence Baking Company of Lansing sent a truck filled with pies and sandwiches, which were served to rescuers in the township’s community hall.

The bombing had destroyed the north wing of the school. During the search rescuers found an additional 500 pounds (230 kg) of dynamite, which had failed to detonate, in the south wing. The search was halted to allow the Michigan State Police to disarm the devices.

The State Police found an alarm clock timed to go off at 9:45 a.m., one hour after the explosion in the north wing. Investigators speculated that the initial explosion may have caused a short circuit in the second set of bombs preventing them from detonating. Then a sweep of the building was made and recovery work recommenced.

Police and fire officials gathered at the Kehoe farm to investigate the fires. It was not until the following day, May 19, that investigators identified Nellie Kehoe’s charred body among the ruins of the farm. The body was so disfigured it went unnoticed by hundreds who walked past it the previous day.

All the Kehoe farm buildings were destroyed, and the animals trapped inside the barn were killed. The amount of unused equipment and materials on the farm reportedly could have easily paid off the Kehoes’ mortgage. Investigators found a wooden sign wired to the farm’s fence with Kehoe’s last message, “Criminals are made, not born” stenciled on it.

;(

It Is A Matter Of Honor…

Early briefings on Libya strike focused on Al Qaeda, before story changed

Fox News -

Two days after the deadly Libya terror attack, representatives of the FBI and National Counterterrorism Center gave Capitol Hill briefings in which they said the evidence supported an Al Qaeda or Al Qaeda-affiliated attack, Fox News has learned.

The description of the attack by those in the Sept. 13 briefings stands in stark contrast to the now controversial briefing on Capitol Hill by CIA Director David Petraeus the following day — and raises even more questions about why Petraeus described the attack as tied to a demonstration.

The Sept. 13 assessment was based on intercepts that included individuals, believed to have participated in the attack, who were celebratory — as well as a claim of responsibility.

FBI and NCTC also briefed that there were a series of Al Qaeda training camps just outside of Benghazi…

“Tanthim al-Qha’idah Yuhadiru Li’ilani Wujudihi Ghariban Fi Libya”

[Al-Qaeda is Getting Ready to Announce Soon its Presence in Libya]

The number of al-Qaeda militants in Libya remains unknown because of the secrecy surrounding its implantation. If the already-mentioned December 2011 CNN report is accurate, a few hundred al-Qaeda members must currently be operating in Libya. Most of them are likely connected with the three katibas—Ansar al-Sharia in Darnah, al-A’Hrar Libya in Sirt, and Dir’ Libya in Kufra—that have so far attracted scrutiny by their radical rhetoric and allegiance to the black flag, which symbolizes the commitment to al-Qaeda–type militant jihad. Dir’ Libya claimed to have more than seven hundred fighters in Kufra in southeast Libya in early 2012, according to its spokesman, Hayaka Alla.

Al-Qaeda is trying to expand its appeal through the use of front organizations, such as Ansar al-Sharia. Al-Qaeda operatives have returned from Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Europe, and elsewhere to help constitute a Libyan branch of al-Qaeda. Although foreign jihadists and al-Qaeda members are likely present, senior Libyan operatives are probably in command of the al-Qaeda associated network nodes in Libya. Al-Qaeda will probably refrain from using the al-Qaeda name and instead may use other names, such as Ansar al-Sharia, or simply mujahedin.

A March 2012 report in Elkhabar suggested that Libya has become the center of a network designed to send jihadists to Syria, where a jihad to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has been declared by the most influential Muslim clerics in the Arab Sunni world. The newspaper reported that a joint French and Algerian security services investigation has identified 21 Algerians and five French citizens of North African descent among al-Qaeda’s fighters in Syria.

All of them allegedly went through Libya for training before traveling to Turkey with fake Libyan passports and crossing the border between Turkey and Syria. The newspaper further stated that al-Qaeda has opened a least two training camps in Libya—one near the town of Houn in the center of the country and the other believed to be close to Sahl ‘Ajlah, south of Blue Mountain in eastern Libya. These facilities are designed to train volunteers for jihad from the Maghreb, Egypt, and Europe (Europeans of North African descent).

Other reports confirm Elkhabar’s allegations that al-Qaeda has used the lack of security to establish training camps in Libya. Indeed, al-Qaeda and former members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group have converged on Darnah to train and organize. Hundreds of Islamic militants are in and around Darnah, and there are camps where weapons and physical training are available to activists. Senior al-Qaeda operative Abd al-Baset Azzouz, sent to the region last spring by al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, is among them and has been operating at least one training center.

He sent some of his estimated 300 men to Brega to make contact with other militant Islamist groups farther west. Al-Zawahiri’s plan for him is to establish a base for al-Qaeda in Libya. Azzouz has been close to al-Zawahiri since 1980 and first visited Afghanistan in the 1990s to join the mujahedin fight against the Soviet occupation. There are two military camps at Darnah, both occupied by Islamists known as the Brigade of al-Nour, but they are now “linked” to the Libyan Ministry of Interior.

Al-Qaeda militants are using the countries that toppled their leaders in the “Arab Awakening” as bases to train radical Western youths for potential attacks. A small number of British would-be jihadists are also making their way to Arab countries to seek training and opportunities for militant activity, as they do in Somalia and Yemen.

Such an influx of fresh recruits will likely allow al-Qaeda to expand in numbers and capability, using training methodologies similar to those employed in Somalia and northern Mali. Key operatives such as Azzouz will provide training in overarching ideology and niche skills, such as improvised explosive device (IED) construction.

The presence of training camps in Libya for would-be jihadists in Syria and elsewhere is not surprising despite the Libyan transitional government’s denials, given the historical propensity of young Libyans for jihad and the lack of a strong central authority that could prevent such training from taking place.

The Libyan prime minister, ‘Abdel Rahim al-Kib, sternly rebuked Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin when the latter spoke of “a special training center for Syrian revolutionaries” who “are sent to Syria to attack the legal government” during a UN Security Council meeting in Libya. The prime minister did not, however, elaborate on the training-camp issue. Instead, he reiterated a pledge of political and financial support for the Syrian insurrection against President Assad’s dictatorship.

Source: LOC – Federal Research Division: Al-Qaeda in Libya: A Profile (August 2012)(PDF)

“AFRICOM is based in Stuttgart at Kelley Barracks. EUCOM is based at Patch Barracks in Stuttgart. It was EUCOM’s CIF that was sent to Sicily in preparation to be deployed to Benghazi.

So, this is another lie of omission. While AFRICOM still doesn’t have a CIF, EUCOM–right next door to AFRICOM–does, and they sent it to Sicily but it was ordered to not go in.

Also, Special Operations Command Europe (SOCEUR) has a CIF, and SOCEUR is based in Patch Barracks in Stuttgart, too. And I’m hearing that two CIFs were indeed deployed to Sicily. The second was almost certainly from SOCEUR.

So, saying AFRICOM doesn’t have its own CIF yet is a non sequitur. There were two CIFs available from the same source: Stuttgart.”

Blackfive Commenter Duck Bank

Chairmen Demand Answers from President on Libya Terrorist Attack

Eight senior members author letter seeking additional information

WASHINGTON- Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-CA), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, together with Rep. Ileana Ros Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) Chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee; and Representatives C.W. Bill Young (R-FL), Reps Frank Wolf (R-VA), Kay Granger (R-TX), respectively Chairmen of the Appropriations Subcommittees on Defense, Commerce, Justice and Science and Foreign Operations; yesterday sent the following letter to President Obama on the recent terrorist attack on an American facility in Benghazi, Libya.

In the letter, the Chairmen ask the President to provide answers to a series of questions sent separately in a classified format. The letter’s authors are committed to returning to Washington to be briefed as soon as the answers to these questions are ready.

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing to express grave concern about the events surrounding the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, that led to the murder of the United States Ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other U.S. Government personnel. We profoundly regret the loss of lives and seek to ensure all necessary steps are being taken to bring the perpetrators to justice and prevent similar future attacks. While we appreciate your willingness to provide the House of Representatives with an interagency briefing last week, many of the members’ questions were left unanswered. To that end, we are seeking additional information regarding the intelligence leading up to the attack, the security posture of our embassy, the role former Guantanamo Bay detainees may have played, as well as the way forward in Libya and, indeed, the region.

We are also disturbed by the public statements made by members of the Administration that would lead the American public to believe this attack was a protest gone wrong, rather than what it truly was – a terrorist attack on the United States on the anniversary of 9/11. Decades after al Qaeda attacked our embassies in East Africa, which catalyzed a series of events that led to the attacks on 9/11, it appears they executed a highly coordinated and well-planned attacked against us again. Clearly, the threat from al Qaeda and affiliated groups has metastasized; yet we do not appear to be learning from the past. For example, although brave Americans were once more murdered by terrorists, it seems our response is to rely on a late-to-the-scene FBI investigation. Media reports indicate investigators were prevented from arriving in Libya until more than a week after the attack, but it is not clear that they have gone to Benghazi and have, therefore, been unable to secure valuable information, such as the Ambassador’s journal. The FBI has expertise in these situations, and they have a role to play.

However, this seems like a pre-9/11 mindset – treating an act of war solely as a criminal matter, rather than also prioritizing the gathering of intelligence to prevent future attacks. Moreover, given that violence in the region continues unabated, what actions are we undertaking to deter terrorists from capitalizing on the successful Benghazi attack, or launching similar attacks elsewhere in the region or in the homeland?

Thank you for your consideration of these concerns. We place significant weight on our constitutional responsibility to conduct appropriate oversight even when Congress is not in session and stand ready to return to Washington. Therefore, we respectfully request a joint briefing to respond to the questions enclosed, as classified Attachment A, at the earliest opportunity and would appreciate your commitment to continue to keep Congress informed even as the FBI investigation proceeds.

The Book of Honor

“The stars are what made this country great and their names should be in a Memorial book, not as signage on the wall.”

—Harold Vogel
Master Stone Carver

The Book of Honor—on display in front of the Memorial Wall at all times—contains the names of employees who died while serving their country. Each is next to a 23-carat gold leaf star. For reasons of security—to protect intelligence sources and methods—the names of some of those on the Wall must remain secret, even in death. Each of these officers is remembered in the book by a gold star alone.

Part of Vogel’s concept for the Memorial Wall included a display case to house the Book of Honor. The cover of the book, never seen by the public, displays a 22-carat gold embossed Agency seal. Vogel selected Levant leather—from Morocco—with a soft pebble-grain texture commonly found in fine book binding. The inside cover is light tan silk end sheets. The original book is small in size, 25 inches x 9 inches. Sadly, by 2004, the 83rd star had been added to the original book and it was poignantly apparent that a larger book and case were required. Vogel and his apprentice, Johnston, designed and built the current case out of Carrara marble (measuring 36 inches x 22 ½ inches), leaving a resting place for the original book to lie underneath.

The second book is almost double the size of the original, but in all other ways an exact duplicate. The outside of the book is 20 inches x 32 inches and the page size is 18 inches x 29 ¾ inches. The Arches paper—selected for its high archival quality and calligraphy receptive surface—has rough, deckled edges typical of handmade paper.

The book is a work of art thanks to the skill of a professional calligrapher—a CIA employee—who writes each name and draws each star. She uses a dip pen, not a fountain pen; black sumi ink is used for its ease and glossy finish; a Mitchell round hand square nib, size three and a half, is reserved exclusively for the book; the gold stars are hand drawn with a Gillott number 303 nib; the shell gold is made in France from a hundred-year-old recipe. The stars are polished using an agate burnisher.

The style of lettering was selected by the calligrapher for its functionality and readability. “The importance is in the names, not the lettering,” she said.

When a star is added to the Wall, the Book of Honor is updated concurrently.

SEAL Code: a Warrior Creed

Warrior creeds, such as the Ranger’s famous creed, have been around for over a century to guide the actions of operators on and off the battlefield. The creed is a code of conduct and inspirational daily reminder of the “reason we train and fight” for the men and women of these units. Many outside observers point to the mission of the units and preparation of the teams when describing who these people are. Warriors know better. It is the Warrior Ethos that best describes who they are, an ethos that has been shared, albeit with different words, with the Samurai, the Spartans, the Marines and other Special Operations forces around the world.

The SEAL Code was created just two years ago. Prior to this, the SEALs had an unspoken code defined by the culture, historical experience and training. “Leave no man behind” and “failure is not an option” are examples of cultural mantras that evolved as the unwritten “SEAL code” from the Teams battlefield experiences in WWII, Korea, Vietnam and elsewhere. We have held to this code, never leaving a teammate in the field, dead or alive. Recent experience in Afghanistan with Medal of Honor winner LT Murphy and his teammates exemplifies this code of conduct.

The SEAL code, however, was not recorded or “written in stone” and as the community grew, it needed some grounding. Would it be more powerful if it were more than a few mantras like “leave no man behind” and “Failure is not an option?” It became clear to the SEALs that they needed a more comprehensive creed that was not subject to interpretation and erosion over time. In 2005 a cross-functional team from all ranks was brought together to ponder the issue and come up with a durable, written, code. The team took input from all quarters, and did some serious community soul searching to penetrate the essence of what it meant to be a SEAL. The results are nothing short of extraordinary.

How do you think the SEAL Code stands up? Will it be powerful and durable enough to guide Naval Special Warfare operators into a chaotic future, much as the Ranger Creed has done for the Rangers?

We at NavySEALs.com feel that the SEAL Code stands tall with the greatest creeds of martial history and is one of the most succinct articulations of how a warrior culture is to conduct themselves in war and peace. Read for yourself and decide:

The SEAL Code

• Loyalty to Country, Team and Teammate
• Serve with Honor and Integrity On and Off the Battlefield
• Ready to Lead, Ready to Follow, Never Quit
• Take responsibility for your actions and the actions of your teammates
• Excel as Warriors through Discipline and Innovation
• Train for War, Fight to Win, Defeat our Nation’s Enemies
• Earn your Trident everyday

United States Navy SEAL

In times of war or uncertainty there is a special breed of warrior ready to answer our Nation’s call. A common man with uncommon desire to succeed.

Forged by adversity, he stands alongside America’s finest special operations forces to serve his country, the American people, and protect their way of life.

I am that man.

My Trident is a symbol of honor and heritage. Bestowed upon me by the heroes that have gone before, it embodies the trust of those I have sworn to protect. By wearing the Trident I accept the responsibility of my chosen profession and way of life. It is a privilege that I must earn every day.

My loyalty to Country and Team is beyond reproach. I humbly serve as a guardian to my fellow Americans always ready to defend those who are unable to defend themselves. I do not advertise the nature of my work, nor seek recognition for my actions. I voluntarily accept the inherent hazards of my profession, placing the welfare and security of others before my own.

I serve with honor on and off the battlefield. The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from other men.

Uncompromising integrity is my standard. My character and honor are steadfast. My word is my bond.

We expect to lead and be led. In the absence of orders I will take charge, lead my teammates and accomplish the mission. I lead by example in all situations.

I will never quit. I persevere and thrive on adversity. My Nation expects me to be physically harder and mentally stronger than my enemies. If knocked down, I will get back up, every time. I will draw on every remaining ounce of strength to protect my teammates and to accomplish our mission. I am never out of the fight.

We demand discipline. We expect innovation. The lives of my teammates and the success of our mission depend on me – my technical skill, tactical proficiency, and attention to detail. My training is never complete.

We train for war and fight to win. I stand ready to bring the full spectrum of combat power to bear in order to achieve my mission and the goals established by my country. The execution of my duties will be swift and violent when required yet guided by the very principles that I serve to defend.

Brave men have fought and died building the proud tradition and feared reputation that I am bound to uphold. In the worst of conditions, the legacy of my teammates steadies my resolve and silently guides my every deed. I will not fail.

Bravo! Let’s all try to live up to this wonderful code of conduct in our daily pursuit of excellence. I believe you would see some serious results.

Mark Divine
NavySEALs.com founder

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• SOS Hillary Takes A Rain Check On Benghazi

• Benghazi: Three Months Later And Still No Answers…

• Benghazi-Gate: Amateur Ambassadors, Chess Players, And Notable Conquests

• Benghazi-Gate: Sex, Lies, Twins, And Shirtless G-Men

• Personal Choices: A Higher Standard Of Accountability?

• Benghazi-Gate: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, Over

• Benghazi: CBA Authority, Smoking Guns, And BUBs Final Flight Home

• Falcon Wings To Benghazi?

• Benghazi-gate: America Demands The Truth…

• Benghazi: The Truth Is Coming Soon…

Related Links:

Howie Carr interview with Col. Hunt On The Newest Libyan Revelations (Audio)

Blackfive: Former Delta Operator on “The Panetta Doctrine” or also known as “The Dumbest Shit I Ever Heard!”

BigStory (AP): Libyan witnesses recount organized Benghazi attack

Newsweek: Was Benghazi Attack on U.S. Consulate an Inside Job?

NYT: Libya Warnings Were Plentiful, but Unspecific

Wash Times: Jihadists plot to take over Libya (September 2011)

Vice: Al Qaeda Plants Its Flag in Libya (October 2011)

Onislam: Exiled Islamists Fuel Libyan Revolution (July 2011)

Ground Report: Libyan Rebels Led by “Former-Mujahedeen” from Guantanamo Bay (April 2011)

Townhall Radio:  Senator McCain Talks (Audio)

Hotair:  Former Pacific Fleet chief: We need full disclosure on Benghazi — now

President Zero: Naive, Arrogant, Misguided, And Dangerous

The United Nations Should Not Recognize an Apartheid, Judenrein, Islamic Palestine

Hudson NY – By Alan M. Dershowitz

…The draft constitution for the new state of Palestine declares that “Islam is the official religion in Palestine.” It also states that Sharia Law will be “the major source of legislation.” It is ironic that the same Palestinian leadership which supports these concepts for Palestine refuses to acknowledge that Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people. Israel, in contrast to the proposed Palestinian state, does not have an official state religion.

Although it is a Jewish state, that description is not a religious one but rather a national one. It accords equal rights to Islam, Christianity and all other religions, as well as to atheists and agnostics. Indeed, a very high proportion of Israelis describe themselves as secular.

The new Palestinian state would prohibit any Jews from being citizens, from owning land or from even living in the Muslim state of Palestine…

Perry says Obama Mideast policy ‘naive and arrogant’

By JPOST.COM STAFF

US Republican candidate and Texas Governor Rick Perry said Tuesday that US President Barack Obama’s Middle East policy was “naive, arrogant, misguided, and dangerous,” and encouraged the Palestinian Authority to petition the UN for statehood recognition.

Speaking at a meeting of American and Israeli-Jewish leaders in New York, Perry said he was “indignant of the Obama administration and their Middle East policy of appeasement that has encouraged such an ominous act of bad faith.”

 The Republican candidate criticized what he said was Obama policy of “moral equivalency” which gave “equal standing to grievances of Israelis and Palestinians – including the orchestrators of terrorism,” adding that “America should not be ambivalent of Hamas and the security tactics of the legitimate and free state of Israel.”

“PROVEN LEADERSHIP” – PERRY’S NEW AD: Rick Perry’s campaign is launching an epic new bio spot today. The first 40 seconds attack “PRESIDENT ZERO,” juxtaposing eerie images of national stagnation with footage of Barack Obama taking responsibility for the economy. A tornado siren playing over the president’s voice creates a palpable sense of alarm. The last minute of the web ad introduces Perry as a job creator and veteran who believes America’s best days are ahead, rotating sunny images of the country at its best with footage from the Texas governor’s announcement speech. Lucas Baiano, who produced the spot, has signed on with Perry after working for Tim Pawlenty. Politico – By JAMES HOHMANN

Obama Repeats Call for Palestinian Statehood

The Daily Beast

Despite Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu’s furious reaction to Barack Obama’s call for a return to pre-1967 borders between Israel and Palestine during his Middle East speech Thursday, the president reiterated his position Sunday in remarks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the nation’s foremost pro-Israel lobbying group.

“I said that the United States believes that negotiations should result in two states, with permanent Palestinian borders with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and permanent Israeli borders with Palestine,” said Obama.

“The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states.”

The president further emphasized that “1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps” means Israel and Palestine “will negotiate a border that is different than the one that existed on June 4, 1967.           New York Times May 22, 2011

Sunday Culture: The Persistence of Memory

The Duchess stands up to her son James and his daughter

the son of Cayetano, upset with the distribution of inheritance

El Pais – By MÁBEL GALAZ

Cayetana de Alba, in her 85 years, no punches. She says what she thinks and sometimes clarity opens up new battlefronts in the family. It was the duchess who has revealed herself to the happiness that lives on the eve of her wedding, scheduled for October 5 in Seville, only tarnishes the problems with her son James Fitz-James Stuart and his wife, Inka Marti, she calls a “liar, bad and envious.”

The Duchess addressed the issue no one will ask her. It happened in Telecinco, which she called the chain to clarify information that had nothing to do with heredity. Cayetana de Alba took the opportunity to drop the bomb.

In circles close to the family of James knew of discomfort with the distribution of the estate by his mother in early August. He corresponded in something as diffuse as “several rural estates.” In his plot, his mother did not leave any family home, as he did with his brothers.

Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, the eldest, will receive the Liria Palace and Monterrey. Alfonso, the estate of the former castle of the roof (fourteenth century), which has been rehabilitated, in Calzada de Don Diego (Salamanca). Fernando, the mansion of Las Cañas in Marbella. Cayetano, Arbaizenea Palace in San Sebastian and the farm’s streams, which was when she married Genoveva Casanova. And Eugene, the home of Ibiza and La Sa Aufabaguera Pizana, a farm of 600 acres in Gerena (Sevilla), which gave the duchess when she married bullfighter Francisco Rivera Ordonez.

According to family sources, James hoped that the house of Ibiza was for him. She asked her mother, who decided to leave it to his only daughter. The Duchess argument is that once helped James to ride and buy the publishing house Siruela Ampurdan in which he lives. However, James has made it clear this summer: “Not a penny, a penny I got. I went out alone, with loans and work.”

Jacob’s anger has strained relations between siblings. Eugenia is in the midst of family feuds, as she was the one who has been the home of Ibiza. It so happens that James has always been close to both Cayetano as Eugenia, but relations have been cooled somewhat over the years and distance, as the little family frequents editor and prefer to take refuge in the Empordà.

“I am very pleased with my children and Alfonso … [problems] are just jealous and very bad. James and his wife, and,” It was a statement that reveals the conflict between family Dearuba Cayetana.

‘Contagion’: When Person To Person Is A Bad Call

‘Emotional’ phones simulate hand holding, breathing and kissing

September 11th: Have You Forgotten?

A sea of Flags for the Fallen: New York City prepares to remember

The Falling Man

The 9/11 victims America wants to forget: The 200 jumpers who flung themselves from the Twin Towers who have been ‘airbrushed from history’

September 12, 2001; 19:34 hours

The following is the text of a letter from Expedition Three Commander Frank L. Culbertson (Captain, USN Retired), reflecting on the events of September 11.

I haven’t written very much about specifics of this mission during the month I’ve been here, mainly for two reasons: the first being that there has been very little time to do that kind of writing, and secondly because I’m not sure how comfortable I am sharing thoughts I share with family and friends with the rest of the world.

Well, obviously the world changed today. What I say or do is very minor compared to the significance of what happened to our country today when it was attacked by …. by whom? Terrorists is all we know, I guess. Hard to know at whom to direct our anger and fear…

I had just finished a number of tasks this morning, the most time-consuming being the physical exams of all crew members. In a private conversation following that, the flight surgeon told me they were having a very bad day on the ground. I had no idea…

He described the situation to me as best he knew it at ~0900 CDT. I was flabbergasted, then horrified. My first thought was that this wasn’t a real conversation, that I was still listening to one of my Tom Clancy tapes. It just didn’t seem possible on this scale in our country. I couldn’t even imagine the particulars, even before the news of further destruction began coming in.

Vladimir (Dezhurov- Russian cosmonaut) came over pretty quickly, sensing that something very serious was being discussed. I waved Michael (Tyurin – Russian cosmonaut) into the module as well. They were also amazed and stunned. After we signed off, I tried to explain to Vladimir and Michael as best I could the potential magnitude of this act of terror in downtown Manhattan and at the Pentagon. They clearly understood and were very sympathetic.

I glanced at the World Map on the computer to see where over the world we were and noticed that we were coming southeast out of Canada and would be passing over New England in a few minutes. I zipped around the station until I found a window that would give me a view of NYC and grabbed the nearest camera. It happened to be a video camera, and I was looking south from the window of Michael’s cabin.

The smoke seemed to have an odd bloom to it at the base of the column that was streaming south of the city. After reading one of the news articles we just received, I believe we were looking at NY around the time of, or shortly after, the collapse of the second tower. How horrible…

I panned the camera all along the East Coast to the south to see if I could see any other smoke around Washington, or anywhere else, but nothing was visible.

It was pretty difficult to think about work after that, though we had some to do, but on the next orbit we crossed the US further south. All three of us were working one or two cameras to try to get views of New York or Washington. There was haze over Washington, but no specific source could be seen. It all looked incredible from two to three hundred miles away. I can’t imagine the tragic scenes on the ground.

Other than the emotional impact of our country being attacked and thousands of our citizens and maybe some friends being killed, the most overwhelming feeling being where I am is one of isolation.

Next day….

I guess the fatigue and emotional strain got the best of me. I couldn’t stay awake and continue to write. Today was still difficult, but we started getting more information, plus we had the honor of talking directly with the Center Director, Roy Estess, who assured us that the ground teams would continue to work and ensure our safety, as well as the safe operation of the Station.

We also heard from our Administrator, Mr. Goldin, who added that the partners in the Program are all totally committed to continuing safe operations and support. These were never questions for me. I know all these people! The ground teams have been incredibly supportive, very understanding of the impact of the news, and have tried to be as helpful as possible.

They have all been very professional and focused though I can’t imagine the distraction of this type of news coming in and the thought that government buildings might be at risk. They never skipped a beat, even when relocating control centers. And a group of senior personnel and friends gave us a pretty thorough briefing on what was known and what was being done in the government and at NASA on Tuesday afternoon, which was very helpful and kind of them to do in the midst of all the turmoil. The Russian TsUP has also been supportive and helpful, trying to uplink news articles when our own assets were inoperable, and saying kind words…

My crewmates have been great, too. They know it’s been a tough day for me and the folks on the ground, and they’ve tried to be as even keeled and helpful as possible. Michael even fixed me my favorite Borscht soup for dinner. And they give me plenty of room to think when I needed it. They are very sympathetic and of course outraged at whoever would do this.

I know so many people in Washington, so many people who travel to DC and NYC, so many who are pilots, that I felt sure I would receive at least a few pieces of bad news over the next few days. I got the first one today when I learned that the Captain of the American Airlines jet that hit the Pentagon was Chic Burlingame, a classmate of mine. I met Chic during plebe summer when we were in the D&B together, and we had lots of classes together. I can’t imagine what he must of gone through, and now I hear that he may have risen further than we can even think of by possibly preventing his plane from being the one to attack the White House. What a terrible loss, but I’m sure Chic was fighting bravely to the end. And tears don’t flow the same in space…

It’s difficult to describe how it feels to be the only American completely off the planet at a time such as this. The feeling that I should be there with all of you, dealing with this, helping in some way, is overwhelming. I know that we are on the threshold (or beyond) of a terrible shift in the history of the world. Many things will never be the same again after September 11, 2001. Not just for the thousands and thousands of people directly affected by these horrendous acts of terrorism, but probably for all of us. We will find ourselves feeling differently about dozens of things, including probably space exploration, unfortunately.

It’s horrible to see smoke pouring from wounds in your own country from such a fantastic vantage point. The dichotomy of being on a spacecraft dedicated to improving life on the earth and watching life being destroyed by such willful, terrible acts is jolting to the psyche, no matter who you are. And the knowledge that everything will be different than when we launched by the time we land is a little disconcerting.

I have confidence in our country and in our leadership that we will do everything possible to better defend her and our families, and to bring justice for what has been done. I have confidence that the good people at NASA will do everything necessary to continue our mission safely and return us safely at the right time. And I miss all of you very much. I can’t be there with you in person, and we have a long way to go to complete our mission, but be certain that my heart is with you, and know you are in my prayers.

Humbly,
Frank

September 14, 2001; 22:49

An update to the last letter… Fortunately, it’s been a busy week up here. And to prove that, like our country, we are continuing on our intended path with business as usual (as much as possible). Tonight the latest addition to the station, the Russian Docking Compartment will be launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. On Saturday night (US time), it will dock with us, at a port never used before on the nadir side of the Service Module. This new module will give us another place to dock a Progress or Soyuz and will provide a large airlock with two useable hatches for conducting EVA’s in Russian Orlan suits, which we will do a few of before we come home.

The problem before in dealing with this week was too little news. The problem now is too much. It came all at once when email was restored, and there’s not enough time to read it all! Plus it’s too hard to deal with all of it at once. But I appreciate getting it, and I really appreciate the great letters of support and friendship I am receiving.

We are doing well on board, getting our work done, and talking about things. Last night we had a long discussion over dinner about the significance of these events, the possible actions to follow, and what should be done. After dinner, Michael made a point of telling me that every email he received from friends in Russia said specifically to tell me how sorry they were that this happened, extending their condolences, and asking how I was doing. Vladimir taught me the Russian word for “condolences” after talking to the previous CDR, Yuri Usachev, on the phone in Star City. (Both the Russian and the English words are much too long to pronounce easily.) Very kind people.

For the last two days, the Russian MCC has been good enough to transmit live broadcasts of radio news about the event and associated stories, to make sure I was well informed. Every specialist who has come on the line to discuss a procedure or a problem has at some point extended greetings to me with kind words. Tonight the Russian capcom told us that because of the special day of remembrance in the US, all day people had been bringing flowers and lining all the walls of the US embassy in Moscow, and this evening they were lighting candles in the street outside the embassy. How the world has changed.

People everywhere seem to recognize the senselessness and horror in this attack. And the tremendous loss. Moscow has dealt with these kind of problems in the last few years with apartment and subway bombings, so they are as anxious to get rid of this threat as we are. But the bottom line is that there are good people everywhere who want to live in peace. I read that a child asked, “America is so good to other countries, we always help everyone, how can they hate us so much?”

I hope the example of cooperation and trust that this spacecraft and all the people in the program demonstrate daily will someday inspire the rest of the world to work the same way. They must!

Unfortunately, we won’t be flying over the US during the time people are lighting candles. Don’t know if we could see that anyway. We did, however, see a very unusual and beautiful sight a few minutes ago: the launch of our Docking Compartment on a Soyuz booster. We were overtaking it and it came into view about three minutes after its launch from Baikonur as the sun hit our station, so it was still in the dark. It looked like a large comet with a straight, wide tail silhouetted against the dark planet beneath. Despite some bad lighting for a while as the sun hit our window at a low angle, I managed some video of it as first we passed the rocket, and then watched it begin to catch up as it gained altitude and speed. I filmed until main engine cutoff and booster separation occurred just as we approached sunrise on the Himalayas. An unforgettable sight in an unforgettable week…

Life goes on, even in space. We’re here to stay…

Frank

Project 2996: Remembering the lost of 9/11

Excerpts of Remarks by Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, David H. Petraeus, at the 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony

Well good morning, and thank you all for being here for this very special occasion.

Let me begin by noting, as I did the other day, how privileged I feel to carry on the mission directed so ably over the past decade by a distinguished line of Agency leaders.

Each day when I enter my office on the seventh floor, I see on the wall behind my desk the flag that was recovered from the wreckage of the Twin Towers, the flag that Director Tenet displayed as a constant reminder of our most pressing mission—and the flag from which Director Panetta drew inspiration as he led this great Agency in the effort to rid the world of Usama Bin Ladin.

I suspect that that flag will be there long after al-Qa’ida is defeated.  And that it will continue to remind us of the solemn responsibility that we bear and of the great capability that this Agency possesses.  For every occupant of the Director’s office—indeed, for all of us at the CIA—that flag will forever be testament to how our Agency rallied in the wake of one of the most terrible days in America’s history.

Nearly ten years ago, the world watched in horror as the enemies of freedom, tolerance and decency struck our nation—its people, its institutions, its symbols.  The tragedy of September 11^th, 2001 shocked humanity.  For those of us working to defend this country at the time, it was particularly devastating.

In the moments after the attacks, the men and women of our Agency and our colleagues throughout the Intelligence Community—just like people in every walk of life, in every part of our country—reached out to family and friends for solace and strength.

And then, with a sense of urgency and determination, Agency officers turned to the task at hand.  As the fires still smoldered—in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania—our experts, along with many officers who volunteered en masse for the counterterrorism mission, went to work, tracking the perpetrators of this monstrous crime and helping our nation come to grips with a world that had changed forever.  As always, the CIA responded with courage, creativity, and commitment.

Indeed, the Agency met adversity with the spirit Americans have always demonstrated during the darkest moments of our country’s history—exhibiting an attitude that recalled the response and words of General Grant after the terrible first bloody day of the Battle of Shiloh.

Let me recall the scene for you.  Grant was sitting in the rain under a tree late that night, that first night at Shiloh, his army having nearly been driven into the Tennessee River by the Confederate force, his men having sustained very heavy losses.  All around in the dark could be heard the cries of the wounded.  Then, his most trusted comrade, General Sherman, appeared out of the dark and sat down next to him.  Sherman could sense Grant’s mood, and he let a few minutes pass before speaking.  Finally, he spoke.  “Well, Grant,” he finally observed, “we’ve had the devil’s own day, haven’t we?”

“Yep,” Grant replied, taking a soggy cigar out of his mouth, “Lick ‘em tomorrow, though.”

“Lick ‘em tomorrow”—a response that reflected an attitude that was both relentless and determined.  Our officers—in operations, analysis, science & technology, and mission support—have truly embodied those qualities.  In fact, only fifteen days after September 11^th, our people were on the ground in Afghanistan.  Al-Qa’ida’s leaders were soon learn, as others had before, that they had gravely miscalculated the strength and resolve of our nation, and of our Agency.

Honoring their memory has summoned the very best from our Agency.  The progress that we have made against al-Qa’ida and its affiliates should be a source of enduring pride.  You have carried out difficult missions with daring and skill.  Together with our Community and military partners, as well as with liaison services, you have tracked down terrorist plotters and disrupted their operations.  Your actions have, without question, saved countless lives around the world.  We have not suffered another major attack here at home—and your tireless devotion to duty has been key to that.

Along the way, you’ve transformed how our Agency does business, drawing people and resources more closely together than ever before and breaking down barriers to cooperation.  You’ve raised the bar on tradecraft.  You collect, analyze, and produce intelligence that, by any measure, is more timely, more accurate, and more effective than ever before.  And our ability to act on it has never been stronger.

One of the greatest tributes to your success has come from the enemy himself.  We know now that Bin Ladin considered what he called the “intelligence war” to be the greatest threat to his organization.

We will, of course, do everything humanly possible to make our actions an ever-greater threat to al-Qa’ida and its affiliates.  The tactics and methods that took Bin Ladin out of action will, with rising frequency, do the same to his successors and sympathizers.  The pressure on al-Qa’ida and its affiliates will be relentless.

But given the enemy’s fanaticism, the fight is far from over.  Our nation still faces serious danger, and difficult days undoubtedly lie ahead.  We at the CIA, along with our partners throughout the Intelligence Community and government, have the responsibility of meeting that challenge.  I know that I can speak for all of us in saying that we accept that responsibility with an enormous sense of duty and solemn purpose.

We must, of course, be ingenious and thorough in gathering intelligence, rigorous and precise in evaluating it, bold and imaginative in planning and executing operations, and agile and resourceful in conducting these missions.  And, like the nation we defend, we must be resilient in the face of setbacks and resolute in bringing the fight to the enemy, wherever we find him.

On this tenth anniversary of the attacks on the United States—as we pause to remember the victims and heroes of that day, as well as those who have died in this global conflict—we rededicate ourselves to the vital work entrusted to us by our fellow citizens:  to protect America from those who threaten it, to help advance our nation’s interests in the world, and to conduct our mission in a way that is worthy of the values of our great Republic.  It is my honor and privilege to join you in this great campaign.

Thank you very much.

Our Reaction To 9/11 Wasn’t Over The Top

By CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER

The new conventional wisdom on 9/11: We have created a decade of fear. We overreacted to 9/11 — al-Qaida turned out to be a paper tiger; there never was a second attack — thereby bankrupting the country, destroying our morale and sending us into national decline.

The secretary of defense says that al-Qaida is on the verge of strategic defeat. True. But why? Al-Qaida did not spontaneously combust.

Yet, in a decade Osama bin Laden went from the emir of radical Islam, jihadi hero after whom babies were named all over the Muslim world — to pathetic old recluse, almost incommunicado, watching shades of himself on a cheap TV in a bare room.

What turned the strong horse into the weak horse? Precisely the massive and unrelenting American war on terror, a systematic worldwide campaign carried out with increasing sophistication, efficiency and lethality — now so cheaply denigrated as an “overreaction.”

First came the Afghan campaign, once so universally supported that Democrats for years complained that President Bush was not investing enough blood and treasure there. Now, it is reduced to a talking point as one of the “two wars” that bankrupted us.

Al-Qaida Humiliated

Yet Afghanistan was utterly indispensable in defeating the jihadis then and now. We think of Pakistan as the terrorist sanctuary. We fail to see that Afghanistan is our sanctuary, the base from which we have freedom of action to strike Jihad Central in Pakistan and the border regions.

Iraq, too, was decisive, though not in the way we intended. We no more chose it to be the central campaign in the crushing of al-Qaida than Eisenhower chose the Battle of the Bulge as the locus for the final destruction of the German war machine.

Al-Qaida, uninvited, came out to fight us in Iraq, and it was not just defeated but humiliated. The local population — Arab, Muslim, Sunni, under the supposed heel of the invader — joined the infidel and rose up against the jihadi in its midst. It was a singular defeat from which al-Qaida never recovered.

The other great achievement of the decade was the defensive anti-terror apparatus hastily constructed from scratch after 9/11 by President Bush, and then continued by President Obama. Continued why? Because it worked. It kept us safe — the warrantless wiretaps, the Patriot Act, extraordinary rendition, preventive detention and, yes, Guantanamo.

Perhaps, says the new conventional wisdom, but these exertions have bankrupted the country and led to our current mood of despair and decline.

Related Previous Posts:

Counter-Terrorism: An Affront To American Values-Undermines National Security-Intellectual Narrowness???

Afghanistan: Unity Of Command, The Hazaras, And Poppy Fields

Obama’s New World View Of The Middle East: Disaster Of Bibilical Consequences?

Iraq: The Forgotten War

Related Links:

TruthUSA

History Channel: Flight 93 National Memorial dedication

CBS NY: Remembering 9/11/01: Ten Years Later

Sept 11th World memorial - http://www.world-memorial.org

National Sept 11 memorial - http://www.national911memorial.org

Pentagon memorial – http://www.whs.mil/memorial/

Flight 93 memorial - http://www.nps.gov/flni/index.htm

Sept 11 Day of Service – http://www.911dayofservice.org/

Sept 11 Patch Project – http://www.9-11patchproject.org/

Television Archive - The September 11th Collection