We Have Forgotten
It seems the lessons of history are quickly forgotten. Perhaps conveniently or simply the pain is more then our memory can bare. I keep having people tell me that terrorism wasn't a problem prior to 9/11. Some say that we didn't have terrorism until George Bush took the office of President.
So let us set the record straight and look at the many acts of terrorism that pre-dated 9/11 carried out against Americans.
It began in November 1979.
That was shortly after Ayatollah Khomeini had seized power in Iran, riding the slogan "Death to America" - and sure enough, the attacks on Americans soon began. In November 1979, a militant Islamic mob took over the U.S. embassy in Tehran, the Iranian capital, and held 52 Americans hostage for the next 444 days.
April 1983: 63 dead at the U.S. embassy in Beirut.
October 1983: 241 dead at the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.
December 1983: five dead at the U.S. embassy in Kuwait.
January 1984: the president of the American University of Beirut killed.
April 1984: 18 dead near a U.S. airbase in Spain.
September 1984: 16 dead at the U.S. embassy in Beirut (again).
November 1984: A bomb attack on the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia kills a passer-by. The attack was preceded by death threats against U.S. officials by drug traffickers.
December 1984: Two dead on a plane hijacked to Tehran.
April 1985: A bomb explodes in a restaurant near a U.S. air base in Madrid, Spain, killing 18, all Spaniards, and wounding 82, including 15 Americans.
June 1985: One dead on a plane hijacked to Beirut.
June 1985: In San Salvador, El Salvador, 13 people are killed in a machine gun attack at an outdoor café, including four U.S. Marines and two American businessmen.
August 1985: A car bomb at a U.S. military base in Frankfurt, Germany kills two and injures 20. A U.S. soldier murdered for his identity papers is found a day after the explosion.
October 1985: Palestinian terrorists hijack the cruise liner Achille Lauro (in response to the Israeli attack on PLO headquarters in Tunisia) Leon Klinghoffer, an elderly, wheelchair-bound American, is killed and thrown overboard.
November 1985: Hijackers aboard an Egyptair flight kill one American. Egyptian commandos later storm the aircraft on the isle of Malta, and 60 people are killed.
December 1985: Simultaneous suicide attacks are carried out against U.S. and Israeli check-in desks at Rome and Vienna international airports. 20 people are killed in the two attacks, including four terrorists.
April 5, 1986: A bomb destroys the LaBelle discotheque in West Berlin. The disco was known to be frequented by U.S. servicemen. The attack kills one American and one German woman and wounds 150, including 44 Americans.
April 1986: An explosion damages a TWA flight as it prepares to land in Athens, Greece. Four people are killed when they are sucked out of the aircraft.
Dec. 21, 1988: A bomb destroys Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 people aboard the Boeing 747 are killed including 189 Americans, as are 11 people on the ground.
January 1993: two CIA staff killed outside agency headquarters in Langley, Va.
February 1993: A bomb in a van explodes in the underground parking garage in New York's World Trade Center, killing six people and wounding 1,042.
April 19, 1995: A car bomb destroys the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and wounding over 600.
Nov. 13, 1995: A car-bomb in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia kills seven people, five of them American military and civilian advisers for National Guard training.
June 25, 1996: A bomb aboard a fuel truck explodes outside a U.S. air force installation in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. 19 U.S. military personnel are killed in the Khubar Towers housing facility, and 515 are wounded, including 240 Americans.
July 27, 1996: A pipe bomb explodes during the Olympic games in Atlanta, killing one person and wounding 111.
June 21, 1998: Rocket-propelled grenades explode near the U.S. embassy in Beirut.
Aug. 7, 1998: Terrorist bombs destroy the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In Nairobi, 12 Americans are among the 291 killed, and over 5,000 are wounded, including 6 Americans. In Dar es Salaam, one U.S. citizen is wounded among the 10 killed and 77 injured.
October 1999: 217 passengers killed on an EgyptAir flight near New York City.
Oct. 12, 2000: A terrorist bomb damages the destroyer USS Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen, killing 17 sailors and injuring 39.
This totals 1,019 American Deaths and 2,194 Americans were injured. We can count thousands of others killed or injured as well by these attacks.
How come it took us so long to declare war on an enemy who was actively pursuing war against us?
So let us set the record straight and look at the many acts of terrorism that pre-dated 9/11 carried out against Americans.
It began in November 1979.
That was shortly after Ayatollah Khomeini had seized power in Iran, riding the slogan "Death to America" - and sure enough, the attacks on Americans soon began. In November 1979, a militant Islamic mob took over the U.S. embassy in Tehran, the Iranian capital, and held 52 Americans hostage for the next 444 days.
April 1983: 63 dead at the U.S. embassy in Beirut.
October 1983: 241 dead at the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut.
December 1983: five dead at the U.S. embassy in Kuwait.
January 1984: the president of the American University of Beirut killed.
April 1984: 18 dead near a U.S. airbase in Spain.
September 1984: 16 dead at the U.S. embassy in Beirut (again).
November 1984: A bomb attack on the U.S. embassy in Bogota, Colombia kills a passer-by. The attack was preceded by death threats against U.S. officials by drug traffickers.
December 1984: Two dead on a plane hijacked to Tehran.
April 1985: A bomb explodes in a restaurant near a U.S. air base in Madrid, Spain, killing 18, all Spaniards, and wounding 82, including 15 Americans.
June 1985: One dead on a plane hijacked to Beirut.
June 1985: In San Salvador, El Salvador, 13 people are killed in a machine gun attack at an outdoor café, including four U.S. Marines and two American businessmen.
August 1985: A car bomb at a U.S. military base in Frankfurt, Germany kills two and injures 20. A U.S. soldier murdered for his identity papers is found a day after the explosion.
October 1985: Palestinian terrorists hijack the cruise liner Achille Lauro (in response to the Israeli attack on PLO headquarters in Tunisia) Leon Klinghoffer, an elderly, wheelchair-bound American, is killed and thrown overboard.
November 1985: Hijackers aboard an Egyptair flight kill one American. Egyptian commandos later storm the aircraft on the isle of Malta, and 60 people are killed.
December 1985: Simultaneous suicide attacks are carried out against U.S. and Israeli check-in desks at Rome and Vienna international airports. 20 people are killed in the two attacks, including four terrorists.
April 5, 1986: A bomb destroys the LaBelle discotheque in West Berlin. The disco was known to be frequented by U.S. servicemen. The attack kills one American and one German woman and wounds 150, including 44 Americans.
April 1986: An explosion damages a TWA flight as it prepares to land in Athens, Greece. Four people are killed when they are sucked out of the aircraft.
Dec. 21, 1988: A bomb destroys Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 people aboard the Boeing 747 are killed including 189 Americans, as are 11 people on the ground.
January 1993: two CIA staff killed outside agency headquarters in Langley, Va.
February 1993: A bomb in a van explodes in the underground parking garage in New York's World Trade Center, killing six people and wounding 1,042.
April 19, 1995: A car bomb destroys the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people and wounding over 600.
Nov. 13, 1995: A car-bomb in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia kills seven people, five of them American military and civilian advisers for National Guard training.
June 25, 1996: A bomb aboard a fuel truck explodes outside a U.S. air force installation in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. 19 U.S. military personnel are killed in the Khubar Towers housing facility, and 515 are wounded, including 240 Americans.
July 27, 1996: A pipe bomb explodes during the Olympic games in Atlanta, killing one person and wounding 111.
June 21, 1998: Rocket-propelled grenades explode near the U.S. embassy in Beirut.
Aug. 7, 1998: Terrorist bombs destroy the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In Nairobi, 12 Americans are among the 291 killed, and over 5,000 are wounded, including 6 Americans. In Dar es Salaam, one U.S. citizen is wounded among the 10 killed and 77 injured.
October 1999: 217 passengers killed on an EgyptAir flight near New York City.
Oct. 12, 2000: A terrorist bomb damages the destroyer USS Cole in the port of Aden, Yemen, killing 17 sailors and injuring 39.
This totals 1,019 American Deaths and 2,194 Americans were injured. We can count thousands of others killed or injured as well by these attacks.
How come it took us so long to declare war on an enemy who was actively pursuing war against us?
posted by ablur at 5/22/2008 07:33:00 PM
2 Comments:
I have had the same thing told to me, "No terrorism before 9/11!."
Wrong. For those of us who have had their family members murdered know damn well there was terrorism before 9/11. I used to read about Bin laden back in the early 90's when he was just starting his career in killing americans. Little did I know that later he would kill our son one day. Americans forget way to easily. Thats why we will be damned to repeat our mistakes over and over.
Thank-you for keeping the message alive.
Only so true Ablur! hell, I was attacked by PFLP Islamic "Freedom Fighters" in 1982 in Israel.
Cross posted at Conservative Libertarian Outpost.
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