On this day in military history....in 1941

On this day in military history....in 1941. The Japanese launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II. In what will go down in history as one of the best examples of "winning the battle but losing the war" (along with Germany's invasion of Russia and the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers), the Japanese decided to launch a surprise attack on the US at Pearl Harbor and cripple the US Navy. In their minds, the US would soon sue for peace, thereby allowing the Japanese free run of the natural resources found in China, the Dutch East Indies, Australia, etc. Unfortunately, they mis-caculated just how "pissed off" the US would become after having been "sucker-punched" in the back. Less than five years later, both the Japanese and Germany empires lay in ruins.

A couple of years ago, I was able to fulfill a life-long desire and visit Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Before going out to the memorial, you are shown a film about that fateful morning. After the film, a boat takes you to the memorial. I found it interesting that right next to the memorial on Ford Island is the USS Missouri, which you can also tour. There were many Japanese tourists on the boat with us and I thought that it was a good illustration to them about although you might have won this battle (Pearl Harbor), we won the war (illustrated by the USS Missouri where the Japanese surrendered). A classic example of "cause and effect".

The US is now involved in the Global War on Terror because of another "sneak attack". We have all seen the film footage of the Twin Towers crashing to the ground (the "cause") due to the terrorist's attacks. Unfortunately for them, they are now reaping the "effects" of what they did. Since September 2001, two terrorist regimes (Afghanistan and Iraq) have been brought crashing down and countless terrorists have died as a result. I'm sure on more than one occasion, as Abdullah the terrorist was running for his life to escape US bombs or Saddam was sitting in his jail cell, they both thought "Osama was really stupid to kick that hornet's nest called the Great Satan. Now I'm paying for it." The Great El-ahrairah didn't vote for President Bush because he would make the US safer, I voted for him because he would make the world much more dangerous for the Abdullahs, Osamas and Saddams of the world. Remember, the only good terrorist is a dead terrorist.