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December 7, 2006
Some Pearl Harbor Day Wisdom
Victor Davis Hanson contrasts December 7, 1941 and December 7, 2006:
A stronger, far more affluent United States believes it can use less of its power against the terrorists than a much poorer America did against the formidable Japanese and Germans.Read it all ...World War II, which saw more than 400,000 Americans killed, was not nearly as controversial or frustrating as one that has so far taken less than one-hundredth of that terrible toll.
And after Pearl Harbor, Americans believed they had no margin of error in an elemental war for survival. Today, we are apparently convinced that we can lose ground, whether in Afghanistan or Iraq, and still not lose either the war or our civilization.
Of course, by 1945, Americans no longer feared another Pearl Harbor. Yet, we, in a far stronger and larger United States, are still not sure we won't see another Sept. 11.
As Davis points out in his piece: On Dec. 7, 1941 - 65 years ago this week - pilots from a Japanese carrier force bombed Pearl Harbor - killing 2,403 Americans, most of them service personnel. On September 11, 2001 - just five short years ago, nearly 3,000 people died - the vast majority of them civilians. Al-Qaida's target was not an American military base - they suicide-bombed the United States' financial and military centers and intentionally murdered civilians.
How soon, so many, forget why we are engaged in this war against radical Islam, and Iran!
Other coverage: Be sure to read Dan Riehl's piece: We Have No Claim To Pearl Harbor Day. I join with Dan in scratching my head while wondering what happened to that great country which once had no trouble identifying and destroying its great enemies when attacked.
Update: Be sure to catch the video at Blogs of War.
Posted by Richard at December 7, 2006 10:22 AM
