It’s been 15 years since Muslims, mostly from Saudi Arabia, passed through airport security in Portland, Maine, connected with other flights and commandeered them, flying two into the Twin Towers in New York City and one into the Pentagon while another crashed into a field in Pennsylvania as passengers wrestled for control.
Counting the passengers and the victims inside the towers and Pentagon, the jihadis killed nearly 3,000 Americans.
But America still isn’t doing what it should to prevent a repeat, according to U.S. Army Col. David Dodd, now retired.
He commanded one of the first battalions sent to Afghanistan after the terror attack, and since his retirement he has moved into a fulltime ministry with the nonprofit Point 27, which shares love, hope, forgiveness and the power of God’s Word by givingShields of Strength necklaces to soldiers, veterans, first responders and the chronically ill and their families.
One recent ministry outreach distributed 3,400 Thin Blue Line Shields of Strength, one for each Dallas police officer, inscribed with Matthew 5:9 – “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Dodd, who then was a lieutenant colonel, was at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, for a change of command ceremony.
He was moving into command of the 86th Signal Battalion, which soon was sent to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, and later Operation Iraqi Freedom.
He recalls that before leaving, “I placed a dog tag, called a Shield of Strength, engraved with Joshua 1:9 – ‘Be strong and courageous, do not be terrified or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go’ – on my daughters’ book bags and one on my wife’s car key chain,” he said.
“I, along with all of the Soldiers in the 86th Signal Battalion, would wear a Shield of Strength engraved with that scripture alongside our government-issued identification tags and close to our hearts. My wife Sharon and I would pray for each of the soldiers in my command before we gave them the Shield of Strength and just before they boarded the transport for Afghanistan.”
He said the shields never would stop a bullet and weren’t “good luck charms,” but “by the grace of God, we sustained no casualties.”
But about America’s terror threat now, he said America is at war.
“War has been declared on us,” he told WND. “And we need to fight it. We need a strategy, a comprehensive strategy. It needs to be communicated clearly so that people understand it.”
There are four elements, he noted: diplomacy, information, military and economic.
“Those four elements need to be synchronized under an umbrella of a strategic plan.”
He said America has a “fabulous military” with “wonderful men and women who are very professional and very well trained.”
But the other elements are not performing at the same level.
The enemy, however, is.
“At [the 9/11] attack, people felt vulnerable and people realized at that moment there were very capable, very determined people at war with us,” he said.
“They are still at war with us. We will have terrorist attacks happening inside our four borders. We need to address that threat.”
The first enemy targets, he said, were al-Qaida and the Taliban and. Today it is ISIS and Iranian-backed Shias.
All of them are Islamic.
A danger that continues, he noted, is the presence of terrorists in the U.S.
“Success in maintaining peace in Germany, Italy and Japan following World War II was a U.S. presence in Europe. Success in maintaining peace in Korea has been a U.S. presence over the last 60-plus years. Because of our commitment to Germany, Italy, Japan and South Korea, those nations have successful democratic governments with strong economies. These nations are among our strongest allies. The world would have been a very different place if we would have withdrawn U.S. troops from Germany, Japan, Italy and South Korea at the end of combat operations.”
Regarding Iraq and Afghanistan, he said the military secured the countries through great sacrifice, and then, essentially walked away.
“To me, America’s withdrawal dishonors those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it dishonors their families. I suspect America’s withdrawal has a negative effect on the mental health of those who fought to obtain military victories which were subsequently turned into diplomatic and political failures. Similar to negative impact experienced by Vietnam War veterans who served gallantly on the battlefield, only to watch their military victories surrendered to diplomatic and political failures, I believe Afghanistan and Iraq War veterans will be impacted negatively. These brave men and women did what their nation asked of them, they defeated the enemy on the battlefield, and watched diplomatic and political leaders yank defeat out of the jaws of victory,” he said.
The terror attacks on U.S. soil, he said, are a result of the premature pullout and expansion of ISIS.
He said he will always be a soldier. He has the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluter, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Ranger Tab and more to remind him but is fortunate now to work with Point 27.
“It was His Word that strengthened and encouraged me during the toughest of times. It is God’s Word that will strengthen and encourage current and future warriors. It is my duty to share His Word with those who serve,” he said.
