Back in Time
I begin with a disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the following are those of the author, alone, and are not necessarily those of anyone affiliated with the Homeland Security Network, SSI or any of its subsidiaries. –R. Riggs
There have been some discussions regarding the necessity of determining what common characteristics those who have been guilty of acts of terror against the United States in the past have; so as, to identify those who might seek to commit acts of terrorism against the United States in the future. In other words, that are more succinct: if it walks like a duck… This has been given an inappropriately negative valuation under the now politically incorrect moniker of ‘profiling.’ Back in time, it was called ‘good police work.’
As a street police officer through the rather raucous 1970’s and 80’s, I had my share of good collars. Being a good patrol officer meant knowing your beat; whether that beat was a 10 block radius in a downtown or a three square mile population of a small town. If you could not, while sitting having coffee anywhere in town, be able to recite the position of each exterior lock mechanism at a strip mall set of stores to know when the door was locked or unlocked, you probably had not rattled enough doors in your career. You also knew which vehicles, vehicle types, individuals or individual types did not ‘fit’ in a given neighborhood at a given hour of the night. If you couldn’t, then why were you collecting a paycheck? Good cops knew their beats.
Back in time, good cops could recite an ‘articulable suspicion’ based on factors of what is known about their patrol area. So, when either someone did not fit in an area or a suspect car was seen that did fit the type known to be voted ‘most likely to be carrying a stolen television or bag of dope’, you made the stop and completed the F.I. card. (For those who never believed in their existence, in this computer generated age some thought they were an urban legend; I assure you that Field Interview cards, which really were 3×5 cards you filled out by hand, really did exist. And yes, we carried a pencil because ink pens didn’t write in the rain, and they would tear a wet card.)
Now there is a new breed of cop out there. He is the PC cop. He is the one always on the lookout for violations of political correctness. The PC cop would be quick to question why you singled out an individual to do an FI card on at 3:40a.m. in the back alley of the upscale leather shop just because the card says he is the member of some newly protected species.
Can you imagine a National Geographic special on these new endangered species? I can almost hear the narrator: “The (fill in any politically correct name of any PC protected species) is known for rapid flight at low altitudes –upon viewing a police officer. This species’ mating habits can be accelerated by introduction of a six pack of Milwaukee’s finest into the nest. The male of this endangered species is known to leave the female as soon as she becomes pregnant, to return at the same time each month, right around the 1st of the month, preceded by a visit to the nest by a local postal worker. He will leave the nest again as soon as another female of the species is visible on the horizon, usually a much younger version of the initial mate. This species has an inherent attraction to things of value owned by opposite species which are endangered only at tax time. The PC protected species will go to great lengths to enter the nest of the opposite species to remove items to which they are attracted and will be found within an hour of their hunt at a local watering hole, meeting other males of their species to exchange the items taken for hallucinogenic, naturally regenerated vegetation, (which is usually dropped by the species when in flight as described above.)” That is a National Geographic special worth watching!
However, our topic here is terrorists, although they too may be on the PC Protected Species list. Already certain terms related to Islamo-terrorism and jihad are facing extinction from U.S. government printed law enforcementtraining material on terrorism. Oh, that’s correct (politically correct), Islamo-terrorism and jihad are on that list also. (See Senator Joe Lieberman’s List of Seven Dirty Terrorism Words You Can’t Use in Literature) CAIR (Council on American Islamic Relations) and other pro-Al Qaeda groups have pushed for U.S. officials, including FBI Director Robert Mueller to direct what is printed in law enforcement counter-terrorism materials to be in line with PC Standards. (Thankfully, Congresswoman Sue Myrick, R-NC, has pushed back and the brakes may be on…[i])
Back in time, we could identify the enemy combatants against the United States so that every U.S. citizen knew who it was we were fighting, why, and how to help. Let me be clear: The U.S. should not be fighting a ‘war on terror.’ We should be waging an all-out war against terrorists and anyone who gives safe harbor or any type of assistance to a terrorist. In some of my earlier writing, I used the terminology of the day, ‘war on terror’ but it is time for a redaction and correction. If any country or government decides to give aid to our enemy, like a flotilla of ships with civilians to bring aid to someone with whom we are at war (including those who have attacked our allies*); they should also be considered an enemy combatant. Any civilians, who take part in such an operation, should be considered enemy combatants and if they are American citizens they should be arrested and tried for treason.
Back in time, people honored their commitments. American people, in general, I believe, still do even if our government doesn’t. We are at war. Just as we were at war on December 8, 1941 and just as we were on September 12, 2001, we are at war today. Terrorists like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have sworn to wipe us and our ally Israel “off of the map.” He runs a pseudo-army called Hezbollah from Lebanon which has individually, collectively and corporately killed American GI’s in Iraq and Afghanistan. He funds HAMAS and stockpiles for them and other Palestinian factions: mortars, rockets and weaponry that are fired at, and have killed, our allies living as peaceful civilians in the sovereign nation of Israel. Whether Ahmadinejad has currently the ability to put a nuclear weapon on the end of a rocket, or not, he has already gained the exclusive right to be blown right to his reward, whatever that might be. The Iranian people, although they should have stopped this madness themselves, deserve to be free from this tyrant who is putting their lives and the lives of their children in dire jeopardy every time he thumbs his nose at Israel and the United States. We are used to small people thumbing their noses at us, that is not the problem. The problem is that same thumb rests against the switch of major military weapons and enough is enough.
And for you, the street cop who is probably a United States military veteran, have patiently read my diatribe hoping that somewhere in here I will get to the point; are one of those that deserves to be the angriest. Your family and even your children’s children will be forced to live with the consequences of the action or inaction of us who now stand guard. The Bible says, “Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.” (Psalm 127:1) The reckless spending, the non-existent foreign policy, the political correctness that makes it nearly impossible for you to do your job effectively and especially the complete disregard for the Christian principles upon which this nation was founded are all reasons you deserve to carry a righteous anger. I hope you carry it all the way to the voting booths this spring and in November. I hope you carry it as you decide whether to support causes like safeguarding the Second Amendment. I hope you carry it with you and pass it to your children and your co-workers and anyone else who will listen. After over 230 years of American history, will we be the generation that allows our colors to come down from the ramparts of Fort Sumter and hundreds of other proud military bases around the world, a nation lost to the history books; devoid of any good thing? I don’t know about you, but I say, NOT ON MY WATCH!
Back in time, a man’s word stood for something and his Christian faith drove his honor. I hope and pray that we, as Americans, get our values straightened out and our country back – in time!
[Dr. Ross L. Riggs, Director Global Security Consulting – a subsidiary of Security Consulting Investigations, LLC your premier private investigative service internationally]
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(*allies – defined: A country, government or people group with whom we have sworn an allegiance to share mutual protection, an allegiance which cannot be broken by any one administration; old English term as in WWII – not known in the current vernacular, see United States, history of; Revised. See: Israel, history of; Revised)
