Participants in New York

[B.Myrick]

Hi Ted. I don't have any word from anybody yet. I am glad to hear that David and others we know are OK. I am a bit busy as you can guess at this point. I don't know what we are going to do, or who we are going to target. Not that I would say if I did, you understand. I have been through a similar, though lesser situation a few years back. I was about twenty miles from the bomb site of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. Having just been back from participating (lots of participating) in the Persian Gulf Conflict, I can tell you that I was inundated with dozens of calls from my subordinate soldiers about making sure they were on active duty when we retaliated against the Middle East. Imagine our shock when we found out that it was an American citizen who perpetrated this evil. Imagine our embarassment when we found out that McVeigh had been a soldier assigned to a unit we operated with in the Persian Gulf. A member of the 1st Infantry Division who was decorated for his (and his units role) in the war. I want to take this opportunity to say that as a nation, we need to pull together and say a prayer that we find those who are responsible for the planning and harboring of the criminals. What we don't need to do, is start blaming a certain race, religion or even terrorist cell, because we don't (at least not publicly) know who is responsible. To any of our Mid-Eastern readers, let me say that I personally nor as soldier harbor ill feelings towards any nation, group or individual (other than those who have already perished in the plot) for the actions of others. It is common for people to make threats and take adverse actions against someone because of their race, colour, religion, etc when it is different from their own. I will not participate in these equally unlawful actions, I will not tolerate participation or discussion of these actions from my subordinates and I ask the same of the rest of the United States and the world governments and the world leaders. As a soldier however, I shall volunteer to seek out and with deliberation, methodically remove from the face of the earth, those responsible for the planning, execution, financing and harboring of the perpetrators of this evil act upon the United States of America. Bret Myrick

[Guest.Visitor]

Participants in New York

The idea that this was able to happen in our country is an outrage. The people responsible and those who support them must be punished swiftly and decisively. "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds" --Albert Einstein In war there is no subsitute for victory -- General Douglas MacArthur

[frankgw@adelphia.net]

Participants in New York

Ted - Thanks for letting us know about David Abramowitz and Tim Prickett Morgan.

[David Abramowitz]

Participants in New York

There is a skymarshall program that does this already. Unfortunatly for all, it is on a limited basis. One of the first things that was done here, was to expand the skymarshall program. You will not know who a skymarshall is, or where they are sitting, but from this point on you can expect this more often. Dave

[B.Myrick]

Participants in New York

Hi All. I have to say that I am not suprised that such an act ocurred. I am however suprised that it was so well coordinated and executed. The Sky Marshal program has been severely limited in the past few years because as a nation we and the airlines have become complacent in our belief that the hijacking of a large plane were a fad which came and went in the 60s through the early 80s. Myself included. What we have seen is that we are vulnerable in some situations. What we learn depends on the level headedness of our leaders. I hope that we can develop and implement a plan to ward off such attacks in the very near future without undue hardship on travelers of any nation. I am already hearing (from John Q. Public) that we should restrict airlines to not allow certain foreign nationals the ability to fly on our aircraft, not to obtain travel visas etc. In reality, if we allow the above sentiments to prevail, then we have lost the war against terrorism by allowing ourselves to disregard and shelve the basic principles on which this country was founded. As a soldier, I want to strike out at a target. As I have expressed earlier, I am not so hot headed (now that I'm nearly 40) as to want to hit just the sterotyped targets. This is what we need. My prayers are with everyone. Not only for those in the US, but also the civilian and innocent population of the nation or nations which may be involved in, knew of and did not act, or who financed the operation. I have other ideas in mind for those who are not innocent, but I'll not speak of such 'cause it ain't pretty. -Bret

[nycsusan@hotmail.com]

Participants in New York

LEONARD PITTS JR. appears most Wednesdays and Fridays in the Free Press. Reach him at the Miami Herald, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, FL 33132 toll free at 888-251-4407. BY LEONARD PITTS JR. They pay me to tease shades of meaning from social and cultural issues, to provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting................ disbelieving eyes, the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addressed to the unknown author of this suffering. You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard. What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn? Whatever it was, please know that you failed. Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause. Did you want to make us fear? You just steeled our resolve. Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together. We are a family. Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family rent by racial, cultural, political and class division. We're frivolous, yes. We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the ready availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain sense of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though -- peace-loving and compassionate. And we are, the overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God. Perhaps you think that any or all of this makes us weak. We are not weak. Yes, we're in pain now. We're still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to make ourselves understand that this isn't a special effect from some Hollywood blockbuster. Both in terms of the awful scope of its ambition and the probable final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of terrorism in the history of the United States and indeed, the history of the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before. But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to its bitter sorrow. When roused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any cost in the pursuit of justice. Sad, but determined. In days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened security, misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined. You see, there is steel beneath this velvet. That aspect of our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this day, the family's bickering is put on hold. As Americans we will weep, as Americans we will mourn, and as Americans, we will rise in defense of all that we cherish. Still, I keep wondering what it was you hoped to teach us. Maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange: You don't know my people. You don't know what we're about. You don't know what you just started. But you're about to learn.

[Guest.Visitor]

Participants in New York

Powell said: ``The American people have a clear understanding that this is a war. That's the way they see it. You can't see it any other way, whether legally that is correct or not.''

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[T.Holt]

Participants in New York

David Abramowitz is OK. I have heard that Tim Prickett Morgan is also OK. I was trying to think who else we all might know that lives in NYC. I think Ira Shapiro is also in NYC. Does anybody else have news about people we know in the places that were hit today?