9-11-01 13th Anniversary / Plus Why Sending Combat Forces To Defeat ISIS IS A No Go

By Nathan Young on September 11, 2014

NOTE: This post reflects on the 9/11 attacks, and talks about my opinions on the ISIS threat, this is one of the few times I get political on Geek Alabama, enjoy!

On this exact day thirteen years ago, America and the world witnessed the worst terrorist attack in American history. When the entire event unfolded just about everyone was shocked. And it did change everything we think about our world today. I would like to say thank you to all the first responders or heroes I like to call them who risked their lives during the attack. I would also like to say thank you to all the people serving our country keeping us safe and our freedom intact. I would also like to say thank you to all the people who are volunteering their time to make our communities better. This is one day no one will forget ever again. And visiting the 9-11 memorials in New York City, Washington and Shanksville, PA on TV is one thing everyone needs to do.

Here is a 9-11 picture video memorial from Chris Cheatwood, it’s good to reflect and remember.

Here is an article that I wrote which was published in a newspaper on how I witnessed the 9-11 attacks on TV. This story is about our thoughts in witnessing the attacks on America. Never forget 9-11-01!

Most of us Began to Cry

“I was in school at Marion Academy, and our teacher said there is a huge event going on that could start World War III. We went to the library, though none of us there could believe what was going on. We were asking the other students that were already there what happened, and they said a plane went into the tower. Most of us thought this could be an accident until we watched the plane go into the second tower. Then we all believed this was a terrorist attack.

Most of us gasped and a few began to cry because we knew America was being attacked. Some students were talking about what is going on when someone yelled that one of the towers was starting to lean. Then one of the towers collapsed. Some in the library screamed, some cried, and some were silent and in shock. We were all stunned. Everyone knew people were getting killed; most of us in the library thought more than 10,000 were killed.

How could this happen in America, what is in store in the future, could things get any worse? We were high school students then and we were thinking about what could happen next. When I got home, I went immediately back to a TV to continue watching the non-stop coverage. I was still stunned and shocked about what happened that day.

I kept my little brother from watching any news coverage; he watched kid’s shows for the rest of the day. I just kept watching the coverage and reading stories on the Internet until I went to bed that night. The next morning at school, the entire school had a prayer and a talk about what happened. That is one day I will always remember.”

Now, while everyone is thinking about the 9/11 attacks, we have a new threat in the Middle East, ISIS. ISIS or the Islamic State Group has already beheaded two American Journalists, and threaten people inside Iraq and Syria. President Obama has already laid out a plan to deal with ISIS with air support and some troops going to train the forces in the Middle East and give them support. In no way I support sending American troops overseas again and be put on the ground to do combat. Somehow, some people think this will be the only way to stop ISIS, and I do not agree with that.

You see, where I live in the Anniston/Oxford area, many people are unemployed and the metro area has one of the worst economic problems in America, mostly thanks to military cutbacks. If some lawmakers see this ISIS threat as a way to send troops overseas, risking their lives. While military depots like the Anniston Army Depot can re-hire everyone laid off because they will have work to do repairing military vehicles and weapons, this is a no go! Who wants to see families suffer when their loved one is killed overseas while people get to earn a paycheck maintaining and repairing military vehicles, I don’t! Here is the proper way to repair the economic damage in the Anniston/Oxford metro area.

I really believe America will eventually have to put a permanent military base somewhere in the Middle East. Because when ISIS is defeated, another group will step up, and we will be back to square one once again. After World War II, America set up permanent military bases in Germany and Japan. And I think the only way we can keep the Middle East under control is to build a military base over there. There are military forces in the Middle East in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and other countries who can deal with this problem!

Yeah, my mother was laid off from a plant closing down here in Anniston who repaired military vehicles. My mom has found another job, but some others laid off have not found anything and have had to move. I just do not think going to war again is the best thing to revive the economy in the Anniston/Oxford metro. Having men and women in our military killed while people repair military equipment for a paycheck is un-American in my opinion. America needs to get off their military mentality. Yes, we need to do airstrikes and send support to help the military forces in the Middle East. But if we send combat troops, ISIS will find anyway possible to attack America, and we will have a repeat of 9/11, end of story.