LESSONS IN HISTORY

12-07-08 PEARL HARBOR - LESSONS FROM HISTORY
I had almost forgot that today is the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Pearl Harbor under attack
Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941
2402 killed (majority of casualties were military personel)
1282 wounded
reason behind attack: the Japanese intended to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleets in order to advance their own fleet into Malaya and the Indies, where they could access oil and rubber.
U.S. response: led to US involvement in WWll I wonder how long before people forget about the 9/11 attack.
9/11 attack September 11, 2001
2998 killed (majority of casualties were civilians)
reason behind attack: Al Qaeda called for the use of violence against civilians and military of the United States and any countries that are allied with it. (Their main objective is to rid the world of Jews and Christians).
U.S. response: led to US invasion of Afghanistan (where Al Qaeda was headquartered)

After the 9/11 attack President George W. Bush decided he had to take seriously the threats against the US being made by Saddam Hussein. Resulting in the Iraqi invasion.

During WWll, the Allies lost approximately 61 million people, and the Axis powers lost 11 million. The Allies (thats the good guys) took a pretty hard hit because the Axis powers had weaponry that was so much more advanced than the ours.

Have we learned lessons from history?

I'm just not so sure that this is a good time to "cut tens of billions of dollars in defense spending", "cut investments in missile defense systems", and "slow our development of future combat systems".

I personally have wondered if the US should be in Afghanistan. If the US should be in Iraq. I think war is a TERRIBLE thing. And some times I forget why we went there in the first place. Especially when the US military death toll rises. But then I remember that our military is there defending the US against further attack by holding the bad guys off on their own soil instead of holding them off on US soil.

A verse from the Book of Mormon was read in church yesterday
Alma 43:45- Nevertheless, the Nephites were inspired by a better cause, for they were not fighting for monarchy nor power but they were fighting for their homes and their liberties, their wives and their children, and their all, yea, for their rites of worship and their church.

The U.S. is NOT fighting for monarchy nor power. After 9/11 the U.S. went to the middle east to protect our homes, our liberties, our families, against further terrorist attack. I am thankful for those who have VOLUNTEERED to defend me, my family, and my country from those terrorists who plot to annihilate the western world.