Going to war

Had it not been for the atrocity of Sept. 11, I would have been writing this column about my second voyage with the U.S. Navy. But the trip was cancelled, at least my part of it, and the ship and its crew are somewhere, in readiness for their real job: the defense of this country.

A year ago, just before Fleet Week in San Francisco, I was honored to have my first trip, on board the aircraft carrier USS Constellation.

The second trip, more complicated and intense, on a different ship, was to have concluded this week with the annual Fleet Week. I would have been honored to have such an opportunity but it didn’t happen.

No trip for me and Fleet Week was cancelled. The world has changed and so have we. The horror of Sept. 11 is burned into our memory and now we’re at war. Not with a country but with an elusive, dangerous and evanescent evil we call terrorism.

The San Francisco Examiner minced no words in its headline on the day of the attack: “BASTARDS.” They got that right.

So where are we now? It’s quite an amazing situation. The military is in action and bombing continues. President Bush has come into his own and even liberals concede he is doing a good job.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair also surprised people – in this case, probably conservatives, who thought he was a clone of Bill Clinton. But no. Under that liberal mask was a Brit of the old school who came out swinging with a strength and intensity that reinforced the need for us to fight together against a common enemy. Shades of WWII!

The country is awash in patriotism with flag sales at an all time high, Old Glory flying everywhere with pride and even patriotic songs being heard on the radio.

Yet. Yet. This is different. It’s not a “normal” war in that you recognize the enemy. See that guy in a Nazi uniform? See that Zero plane? They’re the enemy. See them and shoot.

Things started changing with Korea and were especially clear in Vietnam. What did the enemy look like? Everyone looked the same. Since when are women dangerous? Why should we be afraid of an old person or a little child?

We found out. The rules had changed and everyone was suspect. We learned that an old person or a child could be carrying a bomb. They could and did. It was a hard lesson.

Now, it’s a new chapter. Not only do we not have a uniform or a specific nationality to look for – this time the enemy is among us, in our own backyard. This enemy pretends to be us and we’ve allowed it to happen. We thought we were safe.

You’d think after two World Wars, other wars and sadly named “police actions” and after a long and costly Cold War – that we would have learned that our country, our freedoms and our way of life are unique and worth protecting from those who hate us. If those who died in uniform for our freedom didn’t teach us that, then what did we learn?

Our borders are like sieves and we’ve cut the border patrol off at the knees – not allowed to do their jobs. We’ve opened our immigration doors too wide, to a point where it’s virtually uncontrollable. Despite available technology, we lose track of people here under student or visitor’s visas. In reality, those visas are a free pass to U.S. largesse.

Despite threats and clues, our intelligence agencies seemed to have missed the legitimacy of the dangers to our country. Now they tell us!

Airport security is still laughable. As I write this, the news is reporting that 33 security guards at the Oakland, Calif., International Airport were discovered either sleeping or missing from the job! Another news report said numbers of airports have turned off the x-ray machines that scan checked luggage!

Put me in charge and I’d shut down those airports immediately and fine them so much their bankers would cry!

We’re told there’s extra security at locations that might be targets. Yet, at a possible bridge target in San Francisco, workers who climb in and on the structure are not subject to criminal background checks. The state transportation department tells us that outside contractors conduct only regular employment checks and the FBI says it doesn’t have the authority to order criminal checks. Oh. OK.

Americans are told to live life as usual but to be more alert since we’re told another attack is imminent. Yet children who put flags or slogans on their lockers or clothing are suspended for possibly “offending” someone.

I’ll tell you what’s offensive: the cruel, deliberate and unprovoked murder of at least 6,000 innocent people. It’s offensive to me that the “feelings” of self-centered morons come before the right of citizens to openly show support of their own country.

Put that offensive story on the front page of my newspaper, and I’d use the same headline the Examiner used: “BASTARDS!”