Lessons learned from Pearl Harbor

''Yesterday, December 7, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.''

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– Franklin D. Roosevelt, addressing Congress the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.

A noteworthy 65th anniversary

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This Thursday commemorates the 65th anniversary of that surprise attack by the 1st Air Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy and its midget submarines.

This week also culminates a multiple-day celebration, ''A Nation Remembers'' on the very Hawaiian turf that ushered our nation into World War II.

Nine of our warships, eight battleships and 188 aircraft were either severely damaged or completely destroyed.

Gravest of all, of course, were the American casualties.

I can be easily moved to tears as I think about the 1,178 service members who were injured that day, and especially the 2,403 service members and 68 civilians who gave their lives, for merely living near and protecting our own shores.

Could Pearl Harbor have been prevented?

I am a firm believer in commemorating such battle anniversaries and commending those who sacrificed for them.

But wouldn't we all wish the attack on Pearl Harbor would have never happened?

When the war broke out, Roosevelt sought to keep the U.S. out of it, yet at the same time to build up nations endangered by it.

Of course when France fell and, then in 1940, England was under attack, Roosevelt sent our allies every possible help short of our actual military participation.

Back home U.S. intelligence had good reason to believe Japanese aggression was increasing. However, there were no specific indicators of an attack on Pearl Harbor.

Unfortunately, we were unprepared for the attack: air patrols were not airborne, ammunition was under lock-and-key, and anti-submarine and anti-aircraft machinery were unmanned or disengaged, etc.

Will there be other terror anniversaries?

Of course hindsight is always 20/20.

But sometimes I, like most of you, wonder if days of terror (like Pearl Harbor or even 9/11) had to take place?

Could we have been better prepared? Yes. Can we learn from such events in hope of averting future ones? Yes. Will we? I hope so.

We must not allow our guard to drop again, because the next domestic act of terror could be even more catastrophic than Pearl Harbor or 9/11.

Declaring a moratorium on terror anniversaries

I don't know if Pearl Harbor could have been prevented, but I am still optimistic enough to believe that we can still avert future terror anniversaries.

In order for that to happen, however, we can no longer be na?ve about the ''good intentions'' of every nation, especially those who have shown hostility toward our democracy and global interests.

Try as we might, nations like Syria, Iran, North Korea, and the like, are not going to become our allies or anything close to them. Like it or not, they will harbor our enemies.

Global peace talks will not eliminate fascist sectarianism.

Simmering the loathing against America abroad will not abolish foreign hostilities and aggressions on our homefront.

That is why we must continue to work as if we are declaring a moratorium on any more terror anniversaries!

We must do whatever it takes to make our land safe for future generations!

America: Don't stick your head in the sand!

This is one of my greatest concerns for our newly elected Democratic-majority House and Senate: that they not stick their heads in the sand regarding the war on terror.

With anti-American extremist cells loose and growing in the world, now is not the time to drop our guard and funding on intelligence, national security and the global spread of anti-American sentiment.

Regardless of whether our troops stay or are withdrawn from Iraq, America's enemies will remain relentlessly in pursuit of our downfall and destruction, in and outside our country.

Of course our enemies are not the Japanese or the Germans like they were back then, but a network of nebulous extremists. And our battlefield is not any specific location, but anywhere our adversaries can lie in foxholes of fear.

Make no mistake about it: If we don't fight them abroad, we'll fight them at home.

The pearl from Pearl Harbor

The question remains: Will we at last learn the lessons from Pearl Harbor by being better prepared for yet another terror attack?

The voices of those who gave their lives there are still trying to teach us.

And F.D.R. continues to serve as a great spokesman for them all:

Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger. With confidence in our armed forces – with the unbounded determination of our people – we will gain the inevitable triumph – so help us God.

(By the way, if you have a spare Christmas gift this year, consider sending it to one of our active service members or their families – ''America Supports You'' can help guide you through the process. Or, thanks to Xerox and other military support groups, you can even send a free Christmas card to one of our troops by following three easy steps at ''LetsSayThanks.com.'' Your card will actually be sent in care packages by the military support organization ''Give2thetroops.org.''
I can tell you personally from my USO tour a month ago, if you participate, you will definitely bring joy and a smile to a courageous soul's Christmas!)

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