Wednesday, October 7, 2009

America’s war on terror started Nov 1979

Paladin - foremost warriors of Charlemagne's court
first mentioned in English poem 1592 (image from www.last.fm)

Many think America’s war on terrorism started after the horrific September 11, 2001 attack.
* * *
I found some interesting facts in some comments on Hotair.com. Below list is reprinted from comments of “lovingmyUSA” on October 6, 2009 at 3:08 PM
* * *
America’s war on terror started in November 1979

Shortly after Ayatollah Khomeini had seized power in Iran and pushing a slogan “Death to America” 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.
The rescue team sent to free those hostages in April 1980 suffered eight fatalities, making them the first of militant Islam’s many American casualties.

Others included:

  • April 1983: 17 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).
  • December 1984: Two dead on a plane hijacked to Tehran.
  • June 1985: One dead on a plane hijacked to Beirut.
  • After a let-up, the attacks then restarted: Five and 19 dead in Saudi Arabia in 1995 and 1996, 224 dead at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998 and 17 dead on the USS Cole in Yemen in October 2000.
  • Simultaneously, the murderous assault of militant Islam also took place on U.S. soil:
  • July 1980: an Iranian dissident killed in the Washington, D.C. area.
  • August 1983: a leader of the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam killed in Canton, Mich.
  • August 1984: three Indians killed in a suburb of Tacoma, Wash.
  • September 1986: a doctor killed in Augusta, Ga.
  • January 1990: an Egyptian freethinker killed in Tucson, Ariz.
  • November 1990: a Jewish leader killed in New York.
  • February 1991: an Egyptian Islamist killed in New York.
  • January 1993: two CIA staff killed outside agency headquarters in Langley, Va.
  • February 1993: Six people killed at the World Trade Center.
  • March 1994: an Orthodox Jewish boy killed on the Brooklyn Bridge.
  • February 1997: a Danish tourist killed on the Empire State building.
  • October 1999: 217 passengers killed on an EgyptAir flight near New York City.

Many terrorists had found safe haven in Iraq.

Americans may have already forgotten that soon after the United States removed Saddam, a Boeing 707 was found at a deserted terrorist training camp in Salman Pak, Iraq, miles from any airport, where terrorists practiced hijackings. In addition, Saddam routinely feted terrorists and openly rewarded families of suicide bombers that killed Jews in Israel.

So was this war successful? “lovingmyUSA” concludes:

“When President Bush took the war to Iraq, POOF the attacks magically stopped.”

Agreed.

I further suggest direct attacks in the USA stopped because the haven for terrorists inside of Iraq was shut down. Saddam, his sons and many terrorist insurgents inside Iraq were brought to justice.

Now, there’s a thought...

2 comments: