August 14, 2010

Below is an excerpt from a short story I have written. The entire short story is paet of a book of mine, A COMPILATION OF SHORT STORIES. I hpoe you enjoy this sample. The book will be available in November of his year.

Tomorrow I will get back into the news and current events. I have some interesting facts about Purple Hearts and Arlington National Cemetary to share. 



September 11, 2011 - FOREVER


                     BY

Bruce A. Brennan


Bruce A. Brennan
112 Orchard Lane
DeKalb, IL 60115
Copyright 2010
(815) 375-6595
Email:brucebrennanlaw@aol.com
brucebrennanlaw.com



"We all know what happened on September 11, 2001. It has become known as 911. This cowardly act of terrorism was enormously successful. I truly believe that Osama bin Laden was the most surprised individual in the world when the Twin Towers collapsed. There is no way bin Laden, an intelligent man, but not brilliant could have done the necessary investigation and planning to come up with a plan designed to cause the buildings to collapse. From the hell hole he calls a home; he planned to cause damage to the buildings. He planned to kill hundreds of innocent people, civilians, not soldiers but, he did not create a plan designed to collapse the Twin Towers. Remember, he is supposedly a wealthy man, although most experts believe he has spent his personal fortune, who is so smart he lives in a cave in the most isolated and hostile terrain in the world.



The government, who are the smartest people on the planet, if you believe them, claim we are winning the  war on terror. They are constantly stating we have not had a terrorist attack since we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. This is not just wrong, it is a lie. There have been attacks around the globe targeting Americans; like Bali hotels and nightspots, Madrid subway, London subway, several attacks by military Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan killing American soldiers, the attack by a Muslim military doctor at a Texas military base, the shoe bomber and the Christmas day bomber in Detroit, to name a few. This listing is not complete. I would hate to see how we would be doing if we were loosing this fight.



The military lost the war in Viet Nam because too many civilians, such as politicians and protesters, were allowed too much input. The military listened to them and were afraid to win the war. Unfortunately, this lesson was not learned in Viet Nam. Now, over forty years later, we are still allowing politicians to dictate military policy. The Armed Forces will not or are incapable of managing a war to a successful conclusion.



Recently, a General in charge in Afghanistan stated he had been to Afghanistan nineteen times since the war began. I believe General Patton and General Eisenhower, to name two military leaders from the World War II era, lived overseas until the conclusion of the war. They saw firsthand what the fighting soldier saw every day. They did not spend much time in Washington D. C. being wined, dined and influenced by defense contractors and politicians.



The Department of Defense was not in the Pentagon at the breakout of World War II. Groundbreaking for the Pentagon took place on September 11, 1941. The attackers in 2001 knew 911 was our emergency nationwide phone number. They also knew when ground was broken for the Pentagon. These two reasons were enough for them to choose the date they did for their attack. What better day to attack the world’s largest office building that houses the headquarters for the world’s largest and most powerful military than on the anniversary of the day its construction commenced.



From now on, Americans know our military headquarters can be attacked by people with box-cutters and kill 189 people. Every time an American makes a phone call to the emergency phone system, they will be reminded of 911.



The Pentagon was dedicated on January 15, 1943. The construction was beset by numerous building setbacks and delays but, it is a government project. Now, our military leaders sit in heated and air conditioned offices, while the troops they allegedly lead live in tents and battle the elements.



I know a few of our military leaders do live with or near the troops they lead into battle but, they are not in the same situation. They are the field commanders but, no one listens to them or takes them too seriously. Also, the leaders are often called to other places or back to the Pentagon for meetings or to testify before a Congressional hearing. Rarely do the meetings they attend occur in Antarctica or in sub-Saharan Africa.



The government leaders, military and non-military, cannot possibly get a clear and complete picture of a war happening on the other side of the world. We claim to have unbelievable technology available to our leaders. I am honestly convinced Hollywood and fiction writers have better technology than the Armed Forces do. The technology works better in Hollywood; we just do not fight too many wars there.



The first Gulf War attempted a new strategy. They destroyed the infra-structure of Iraq. This was accomplished with massive bombings and use of smart bombs. The cost was unfathomable. Unfortunately, the bombs are smarter than the people using them. We essentially bombed Iraq back to the Stone Age. In this instance, that was only a few years. When we started that war in 1991, Iraq had working water systems, working sewage systems and a working power grid structure.



The U. S. beat the hell out of this country, like we should have. It was not much more formidable than Granada ten years earlier. We then left the country to fend for itself with the same morons in control. A little more than ten years later we were back for round two. The country was not rebuilt by the Iraqi powers. Still to this day, as are Armed Forces once again fight in this backwards country, the countries capital only has electricity for three hours a day. Sadam Hussein had a more workable infra-structure before we attacked twenty years ago than exists there today. Who won this war? Who is winning this war? I do not think the answer to either question is the United States of America.



The strategy of bombing an opponent out of existence did not work and still is not working. We keep trying to use bombs in Afghanistan and I am sure some people are being killed, like our service personnel and civilians but, not the enemy. You cannot bomb stone back to the Stone Age.



We bomb at the insistence of the bomb manufacturers and the defense contractors. The bomb manufacturers have an obvious vested interest. Use a bomb and you must replace it, usually with a more expensive version. The defense contractors want us to bomb the infra-structure so they will have to rebuild it. It is cheaper and easier to build in Afghanistan or Iraq. There are no unions to fight with; no OSHA to kowtow to, very little government interference and the wages are much less. Collection of invoices is also easier even with the bad economy. Checks from the United States Government do not bounce. When an invoice is questioned, the billing has such a markup; it can be adjusted with little impact on company profits."


Thank you for tour time. Have a wonderful weekend. See you tomorrow.

Tell someone you love them today. Love them always, just tell them today.

Bruce A. Brennan

brucebrennanlaw@aol.com
brucebrennanlaw.com