THE WORLD’S MOST WANTED MAN

September 11, 2001, otherwise known as 9/11 was the largest catastrophe in American History. Pearl Harbor was a horrible tragedy. But let’s face it, Hawaii doesn’t come close to New York City and Washington. 9/11 was a monumental moment in the war on terrorism. Terrorists had done many attacks before using many different methods, but this was the first time that any one flew airplanes into a building as a bomb.

On February 26th, 1993, Eight Years before 9/11 a truck bomb was detonated around the World Trade Center in an attempt to bring down the Twin Towers. This attack was the precursor to Islamic Terror around the World. It was also the moment that Osama Bin Laden became Public Enemy Number One. Osama Bin Laden had been on the United States radar, however this attack on our soil raised the level to extreme.

Osama Bin Laden had been involved in the War in Afghanistan against Russia. Our own CIA funded the Islamic Jihadists and helped them defeat Russia, who pulled its troops out in 1989. After the Gulf War, Bin Laden became enraged and was set on a mission to bring Global Terrorism to life.
In April 1993, the incident known as “Black Hawk Down”, a few American Helicopters were shot down in Africa. The people that carried out this mission were funded and trained by Al Qaeda. Eighteen Americans and thousands of African civilians were killed.

After this incident, President Clinton pulled our troops out of Somalia and Africa. By doing this, the United States showed that they were scared and that Al Qaeda could use their threats to beat superpowers, just as they had with Russia. At this point, the United States became more aware of Bin Laden and his reign of terror. In 1996, Osama Bin Laden was exiled from the Sudan and his refuge. He returned to Afghanistan and issued a decree against the United States in an interview. At this point, a declaration of war had been made.

Osama Bin Laden was like the “Master of Puppets” pulling the strings behind closed doors. He remained anonymous and hidden during this time. At this point, the US created a Counter-Terrorism Agency that was devoted to catching one person, one man, Bin Laden. Osama Bin Laden was like the “Godfather” of the Mafia. He was determined to destroy the United States until we vacated all of their Holy Lands. He also denounced America’s alliance with Israel.

During the decade from 1995-2005, Osama Bin Laden used the News and Interviews as well as all media outlets to lead his crusade. On August 7th, 1998 Al Qaeda bombs two American Embassies in which over 250 people were killed and over 4,000 were injured. This was the largest terror attack yet and Bin Laden was flexing his muscles.

This attack was another tank in Bin Laden’s armor, as Terrorism was becoming more and more prevalent. There were repeated warnings that a huge attack was coming, but somehow our Government Agencies were not able to “Blend” intelligence and the attack on 9/11 took America totally by surprise.

After 9/11, there were so many chances and close calls to catch Bin Laden, but all of these opportunities came and went. America was the Number One SuperPower and yet we failed to catch one man. The Manhunt for Bin-Laden was the largest and longest in US history.

Until he was killed in the famous raid on May 2nd, 2011, He was the World’s most wanted man. Bin Laden was extremely dangerous and relentless in his attempts to bring down the United States. The World had not saw a person of this magnitude since Adolf Hitler. Although Hitler and the Nazi regime killed many more people, him and Osama were very similar in their dedication to their cause. Of course, Hitler wanted to destroy the Jews, while Bin Laden wanted to destroy the entire United States.

After Osama Bin Laden was killed, the war in terror was not finished. Terrorism is still alive and well. So the question is…who is the World’s Most Wanted Man now? There are always dangerous people who may rise up to power and cause chaos around the World. Some people would argue that today our Government is our number one enemy. “Our own Worst Enemy.” What we have learned is that when someone had their mind set…it can take the World by surprise.

MEDIA DRAMA

This past December, one of the worst school shootings in US history occurred in Sandy Hook Connecticut at a small elementary school. 20 Children and adults were murdered in cold blood that day. I remember being at work and all of the employees rushing in to tell those of us at work the terrible news. During that week, it was hard to see anything on television or the news that was not dominated by gun debates and school violence and what measures should be taken.

Here we are…it’s almost the end of April. I mean, that day will never be forgotten, but just like September 11th, the media craze has fazed out. That’s the problem with our media today. The American media is like “up the stories ass.” Literally, our media is dangerous in my opinion. And you are hearing from someone who has very drastic political views and ideas regarding daily ideology. Sometimes, I even get obsessed with these news stories.

The ironic thing about these sad stories is that the majority of them involve evil of some sort. Why is the human brain drawn to evil and bad things. Why are our brains so wired to want to view “bad news.” Well, there is actually scientific evidence that the human brain is attracted to these kinds of tragedies and disasters. The reason we are attracted to violence is because we fear and want to be able to protect ourselves. Unfortunately, today’s media and news sector takes these “bad occurrences” and blows them up tenfold. It’s like the News Media is relentless to one up each other.

It’s the battle of the fittest with the news trying to capture as much footage on video as possible. Many times in today’s society, this footage is actually filmed live. Unfortunately, the overpowering media has a way of desensitizing we as humans towards violence. I mean, I can remember so many people blaming heavy metal, rap music, video games and movies for causing violence. However, I feel that the news media is more dangerous and has a more telling factor in adding to the growing violence.

Think back to two Monday’s ago… The Boston Marathon Terror bombings. There was nonstop coverage from when the bombings occurred until Thursday and Friday when the suspects were nailed…one dying and one getting arrested in the hospital where he recovers from injuries sustained during a police standoff. Well, this just occurred two weeks ago and you are already seeing a media retreat from all of the epic footage and audio if the horrible tragedy.

On this Monday, two tragedies occurred on the same day. The Boston Bombings and the Texas Factory Explosion. It was almost like these were the only two stories being covered on television and “Nothing Else Matters.” It really was bad because children are wide awake at this time and If parents did not see them watching then they could be extremely traumatized by these events.

I respect the media and their quest to get us the most up to date news and keep us notified of what is going on around the world…especially locally. However, I feel that the media has become a dangerous avenue, almost like a cult. The media is extremely relentless and does not think of every persons different viewpoints when they cover these stories. They ask dumb questions like “Was being around the bombing scary?” This is just an outrage. Especially for someone who just dealt with this tragedy on a personal basis.

The Media needs to take a step back and go much slower with their coverage of these events. As I said, it’s like all or nothing. You are already not thinking about these bombings because the media did its damage already and now has retreated. Like if you also believe that our news media is dangerous. The media must realize this fact and look in the mirror. For all of our sakes. For the kids sakes. For the better benefit of society. God bless the people of Boston and Texas and God bless every other human that has personally been affected by all if These past tragedies…9/11, the Challenger Explosion, Hurricane Sandy, the school shootings, the shootings in the Denver Movie Theater, and all of the other tragedies if yesterday’s past.

TERROR, VIOLENCE, And The MEDIA

There are numerous definitions of Terrorism. In 1989, the United States instituted a definition which states that terrorism is premeditated, politically or religious motivated violence that is perpetrated against non combatant targets by sub national groups or Clandestine groups. After 9/11, it was added that a major characteristic of terrorism is the aim or ability to intimidate a population.

Early Terrorism included the Gun Powder Plot, which was an attempt to destroy English Parliament in 1605 and the Boston Tea Party, which was an attack on British property by the Sons of Liberty in 1773. Terrorism escalated with the invention of more affordable explosives including dynamite.

A very early form of Terrorism in the United States was the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) who used such ideas as white supremacy, anti-semitism, racism, anti-Catholicism, and nativism. In Europe the IRA (Irish Republican Army) used bombings and assassinations to try to free Egypt from British control. The first major terrorism act was the 1946 bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem killing 96 people and wounding 46.

During the 1980’s and 1990’s, Islamic militancy in pursuit of religious and political goals increased. In 1985, Air India Flight 182 was blown up killing 329 people, mostly of Indian descent. This was the beginning of terrorism through the air. On April 19th, 1995 the Oklahoma City Bombing was directed at the US government by Timothy McVeigh that killed 168 and wounded 800 people. During his trial, McVeigh cited revenge against the US government for his motivation.

Hezbollah, a Middle East group bombed the Beruit Barracks which killed more than 200 US Marines. The Muslim Brotherhood was formed and led by Abdel-Rahman who was responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. In 1988, Al Qaeda (Islamic Jihadist movement) was created by Osama Bin Laden.

Al Qaeda has been responsible for many terror attacks including the dual simultaneous bombing of two US embassies in Africa, which killed 224 people. In 2000, the USS Cole was bombed killing 17 US sailors. And in the most heinous act of terrorism ever committed, on the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 Hijackers affiliated with Al Qaeda hijacked four US commercial passenger jet airliners crashing two into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and one that was taken down by the passengers that may have been heading to another US city. In all, 2,973 people perished in those attacks, the worst terrorist attack to date.

Of course, on this past Monday two Russian immigrants set off two bombs at the Boston Marathon, which killed 3 people and wounded 176. The perpetrators went on a rampage after US security leaked pictures out to the public showing who was responsible. The older brother was killed in a Gun Battle after killing a police officer and the younger brother was taken alive and still remains in critical condition.

So this brings us to the major debate regarding terrorism. Since 9/11 the Patriot Act has made it easier to prosecute and charge groups with terrorism. However, what most people in the US do not understand us that not all terrorists are these Muslim Groups. In fact, today there are so many groups and subgroups of terrorists. Also, there are many homegrown terrorists that work alone. Remember the Beltway Sniper…now him and a not killed over ten people in a one month period of terror before they were caught.

Terrorism is a very real aspect of society today. But what really separates terrorism from just normal violence. Terrorism is violence. Violence is terrorism. When the Boston bombings occurred, everyone in America assumed that this had to be an Al Qaeda attack. Of course, the 24/7 media coverage does not help. I mean, the stories kept changing. Well, the perpetrators happen to be Chechnyan Immigrants that had been living in the US. Only time will tell if they were funded or affiliated by radical groups. It really does not matter…the people that are dead are not coming back. No matter what information is found, these families, town and community was devastated.

In my opinion, the media actually propels American thinking and makes people assume the worst. As evidenced by this weeks events, the 24/7 coverage of the bombings and fallout was in excess. Some of the video and audio was disturbing. And what’s worse is that now the Right Wing Gun Movement is stating that the lockdown in Boston is just another example of why guns should not be banned. Even worse, anti-police blogs were arguing that the Government should not have searched all the homes that they did. C’MON…are you kidding me. People need to have respect for all of the people including first responders that were affected by this terror attack. Wether these bombings are labeled “Terrorism” or not is not important. What is important is that we learn from each type of violent incident that occurs in our nation. The Media needs to use more caution while covering these issues as well. More to Come.

IN THE FACE OF TRAGEDY

Ok…during this week that is not over yet, we have already suffered 2 Tragedies on American Soil. First of all, we were all shocked and appalled on Monday when Boston became the site of the worst tragedy to hit the US since September 11th, when two bombs were detonated injuring 176 people and killing 3. Then on Wednesday, a deadly explosion rocked the town of Waco, Texas. A fertilizer plant exploded killing at least five people and possibly more than twenty and leaving virtually the entire town homeless. Eyewitnesses stated that the blast was like a “Nuclear Bomb” and that it mimicked a Tornado in how it leveled houses and buildings.

Wow…these are two horrible tragedies that have occurred in three days. The Boston “Massacre” part two is being investigated as an act of terrorism. The tragedy in Texas is not believed to be a terrorist plot, however that has not been ruled out at this time. I think it’s important to note that terrorism can have many forms as well as many repercussions. No matter what the facts are, what does it really matter if these tragedies are really “terrorism” or not. Is it really that important to put a label on either of them. Does it change the circumstances? Will it bring back those people who died? Will it make any of the survivors cope better? Will it make those who lost loved ones feel any better.

We have become a society of mass news media and getting the best story. Everything is micro analyzed in today’s society. The Boston tragedy appears to be an act of terror…wether domestic or home grown, or that of foreign perpetrators such as Al-Quaeda. The explosion at the fertilizer plant in Texas appears to be accidental in nature, however, foul play has not been ruled out which I am sure will come to light in the following days after the scene is investigated.

The purpose of this post is to stress the non importance of wether or not these tragedies are acts of terror. It really does not matter. The fact is…people have lost lives and loved ones and friends, some have lost limbs and have been affected by bodily injury, most will be affected by post traumatic stress syndrome, and the entire United States will be affected by how the media handles the aftermath.

In the face of tragedy, we must remain strong and resilient. I myself am not a fan of the Obama administration…nor am I a fan of our current political state, however, CMoN! We cannot use either of these tragedies or even past ones such as the school shootings in Sandy Hook to push political agendas. I am disappointed in the Republican Party for using these tragedies as forms of political doctrine. One report had a US senator saying that Obama is using the families of the “Sandy Hook Shootings” as well as Gabrielle Giffords as “PROPS” to push the Gun Control Agenda. This is bullshit!!!! Do you not have any heart Politicians, Republican or Democratic!

When tragedies like these occur we must join together and be resilient as a country. This is not the time to blame ourselves, security, terrorists, political parties. We must stand strong, just like the town of Boston…”Boston Strong”. Lets face it, any time there is a national tragedy it brings chains of misery to us all. We must not lose sight. These political factions can be just as dangerous as the terrorists we all have become familiar with after 9/11. Terrorism can take so many forms and can come from any agenda wether political or personal.

When these incidents are all said and done…they will fall to the way side just like many other tragedies that have occurred in our country in the past. Lets face it, the Sandy Hook shootings occurred less than five months ago but they are hindsight 20/20 now. Besides the ongoing gun control debate…this incident is not discussed. Even 9/11…think about it. Yes, we still have a moment of silence every year to mark the anniversary of the tragedy and to pay homage. However, do we really put ourselves in the shoes of anyone that was personally affected by the attack???? There have been movies, documentaries, trials, the Osama Bin Laden assassination, the pointless invasion of Iraq, and countless other hypocrisy that has happened since the devastation more than 12 years ago.

The true heroes are the First Responders and the millions of people who dedicated their lives to volunteering and helping, even in the face of danger. The same holds true in the Sandy Hook, Boston, Texas, and all other tragedies. We need to focus more on the real heroes and real victims. We focus too much on the Perpetrators, terrorists, and the Criminals as well as the inadequate safety standards instead of focusing on the victims and helpers and those truly affected. These are the people who should be praised and followed. Does it matter if tragedy is the result of terrorism or just random violence or just an act of nature…really?! They are all horrible and saddening.

Please pass this along too all of your friends, maybe we can make a difference. Maybe we can Show all these idiots and non intelligent bigots why this country is really going down hill. The Government is faltering in the face of adversity. They are failing to help our own people. They are failing to give credit and honor those people who deserve to be honored. They are failing in the health care industry. Please, if you are one of the guilty party (you know who you are)…look in the mirror and stop this hypocrisy. Hypocrisy and treason are just as bad as lying cheating or murder. Ignoring the truth can only lead to more violence and tragedy. In the face of tragedy we must unite and stand tall AMERICA! Please like and Share if you agree!