911 Ten Years later. We must Remain focused on the prize.

9-11-01 was a wake up call for America. Those of us who ignored the fanatical Islamofascists that in their own words seek our demise. I generally carefully listen to ones words and their actions back up their threats. They are weakened but in no way defeated. We must remain vigilant using surgical military strikes when the opportunities present themselves. If we follow the lead of the pacifists in our own country then we will become victims of the Islamofascist terrorists once again.

"A war has been declared on all of our nations. Our futures depend on determination and unity in the face of the terrorist threat that Chancellor Merkel has so correctly labeled "the greatest challenge to our security in the 21st century." And the world's great democracies - anchored by NATO - must stay united to meet this challenge. Have no doubt - the terrorists intend to kill still more of our people. They have said so.

• An al-Qaeda operative in Afghanistan said of civilians in Europe and America: "Their wives will be widowed, and their children will be orphaned".
• A radical cleric said after the London bombings: "I would like to see the Islamic flag fly, not only over Number 10 Downing Street, but the whole world".
• And the leader of the Khobar Towers attacks boasted: "We tied the infidel [a Briton] by one leg [behind the car]  The infidel's clothing was torn to shreds  We found a Swedish infidel. [We] cut off his head, and put it on the gate so that it would be seen by all those entering and exiting. We found Filipino Christians and Hindu engineers and we cut their throats, too".

No fewer than 18 organizations - loosely affiliated with al-Qaeda - have conducted terrorist acts in places such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Somalia, Algeria, Russia, and Indonesia. And it is worth noting that those nations were attacked by terrorists even though none had forces in Iraq. So any argument that Iraq might have been a trigger is inconsistent with the facts.

According to their own words, they seek to take over governments from North Africa to Southeast Asia and to re- establish a caliphate they hope, one day, will include every continent. They have designed and distributed a map where national borders are erased and replaced by a global extremist Islamic empire. Today, they call Iraq the central front in their war against the civilized world. And they hope to turn it into the same sort of haven for training and recruitment that Afghanistan once was for al-Qaeda. That is their strategy. But we and our friends and Allies have a strategy as well.

• First, to use all elements of national power to try to prevent them from obtaining weapons of mass destruction
• Second, to defend our homelands, through sharing intelligence, law-enforcement, and more integrated homeland defense
• And third, to help friendly nations increase their capabilities to fight terrorism in their own countries"

quoted from Donald Rumsfeld