Shark

By Oliver North WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Each Sept. 11, Americans will commemorate one of the most tragic days in American history -- a day when 2,998 of our friends and neighbors were murdered by fanatic terrorists. It is a day that will not be forgotten because, for so many Americans, Sept. 11 marks the start of the war on terrorism. But in fact, terrorists proclaimed war on Americans long before Sept. 11, 2001, and every time American interests are targeted by these fanatics, there is one American family which suffers casualties, or is called upon to retaliate, or both. That American family is the United States Marine Corps. Among their many other duties, Marines have the unique honor and responsibility of providing security at American embassies around the world, where the sentries are ordered to "take charge of this post and all government property in view." Unfortunately, embassies tend to be a favorite target of terrorists. The Corps' history of fighting terrorists dates to 1804, when Marine 1st Lt. Presley O'Bannon led his men to defeat the Barbary Pirates. But the modern day war on terrorism is often traced to Nov. 4, 1979, when Iranian militants seized the American embassy in Tehran, Iran, and took 66 Americans hostage -- 52 of whom would be held in captivity for 444 days. Four years later, on April 18, 1983, the U.S. embassy in Beirut was attacked when a terrorist drove a pickup truck into the building, killing 63 people, 17 of whom were Americans. Six months later, U.S. Marines who were helping to keep the peace in Lebanon were the target of what was -- prior to Sept. 11, 2001 -- the largest terrorist attack in American history. At 6:22 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 23, 1983, a homicide bomber crashed a large Mercedes truck, loaded with over 2,000 pounds of explosives, through a barbed wire fence and other barriers into the four-story headquarters of the Marine compound located at Beirut's airport. The attack killed 241 Marines, sailors and one soldier, who were members of Battalion Landing Team 1-8 of the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit, and instantly turned the building into a pile of rubble. At the time, the world was a dangerous place -- as it is now. It was the height of the Cold War, and President Reagan had already branded the Soviet Union "the Evil Empire." One month before, the Soviets shot down a Korean airliner -- Flight 007 -- killing all 269 people on board, including 61 Americans, one of whom was U.S. Rep. Larry McDonald. Two days after the Beirut bombing, Marines, along with other U.S. forces, landed on Grenada to rescue American medical students following a Marxist coup on the island. The threat of terrorism against Americans had become every bit as real as the dangers of the Cold War and Soviet expansion. When the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit (MAU) was ordered to Lebanon from its home at Camp LeJeune, N.C., it was the fourth such Marine unit to serve in the country since Sept. 1982. They were invited there as part of a Multinational Peacekeeping Force along with France, Italy and, later, Great Britain to help enforce a tenuous peace arrangement between the various factions in Lebanon. The Marines' mission was to control the area around the Beirut International Airport -- Lebanon's link to the outside world. During better times, money from rich Arab states used to flow through the international banks in Beirut, and the city was known as the "Paris of the Middle East." But parts of the country were deteriorating, and outside the airport perimeter were slums that bred recruits for militant groups like Hezbollah, which was responsible for the Oct. 23 bombing. Since 1983, Marines and other U.S. military personnel have been targeted by terrorists in Kuwait, Bogota, Madrid, San Salvador, Frankfurt, West Berlin, Riyadh, Dhahran, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Aden, to name a few. Yet they continue the fight, and today in Afghanistan and Iraq they are not only defending Americans from terrorists, but their presence has allowed citizens in those countries to escape repressive and torturous regimes. The war against terror, as the president has repeatedly warned, will not be short in duration, as evidenced by next week's 20th commemoration of the bloodiest terrorist attack in U.S. history, prior to Sept. 11. On Oct. 23, Marines all over the world will take a moment to salute their comrades who were murdered 20 years earlier, and then they'll return to the fight until it is won. Perhaps on that day, all Americans can take time to acknowledge the extraordinary contributions our fellow Marines have made to defend America's liberty throughout our history, particularly those who sacrificed their lives from Beirut to Baghdad to defend our nation and bring peace to a violent part of the world. Semper Fidelis, Marines. Semper Fidelis. *** Oliver North is a nationally syndicated columnist and the honorary chairman of Freedom Alliance. Pete Stenner, a retired colonel, is a 30-year veteran of the Marine Corps and was the executive officer of the Battalion Landing Team 1-8 in Beirut. To find out more about Oliver North, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2003 CREATORS SYNDICATE, INC

Negative. But you might need me to LO.

I'll jump in.... there are a great number of people out there who wouldn't have taken prisoners. Those detained should be lucky we're not calling them martyrs. I wonder what Mike Spann or Neil Roberts would think. Given the opportunity they would have been better off being prisoners rather than being executed.

Send an email to Mike Muscat at mustwrap@yahoo.com, to get on the email list. There are always a few dogs at the dz most weekends and are always ready to introduce a newbie to crew. Perris has the annual Crazy Crew Weekend, typically in the summer, and I have hosted a camp at Elsinore.

Congratulations! We'll do some good r-dub when you get back to Elsinore. In the meantime, keep practicing with Preston.

Hey Gary, You guys got room for an ex-Navy guy? I spent a week at Pendleton and one at El Toro while I was ROTC Mid, does that count? By the way, I was the instructor for Anne Batterson (D-325) during the SOS 2003. Thanks for the picture, Gary. Mark

I can hear Kolla laughing at that one; a quote from a 200 jump test pilot. I know a few sponsored pilots who jump for the competition and they all say this canopy is hot.

Beer?! Congrats!

Congrats! Grasshopper was nice enough to NOT throw you in the pool because you had that neat gripper suit on. We're still waiting for beer...

That's pretty cool. I had a similar experience when I had the honor of teaching a personal FJC to Anne Batterson, D-325. She has over 700 jumps on rounds and was part of the US Team in the early 60's. She went on to become World Champion in one of the events. It was basically a level 3 jump, which was actually her first jump on a square. On mainside was Doug Forth and Bryan Harrell was on reserve. This photo was taken at this year's SOS at Skydive Elsinore. L-R on the attached photo is: Kim Emmons Knor, D-221, 1962 US Women's Team 1st Place, Jerry Borquin, D-22, 1962 US Men's Team 2nd place, Anne Batterson, D325, Lew Sanborn, D-1, and me, D-24499.

Congratulations!

Just got home from the DZ. Only 2 Coronas, so far.

Make that sexist redneck & bigot! Okay, my bad.

BWAAAAHHHHHH! I just find that EXTREMELY funny. Maybe it's because I've met you and know that to not be true. Your neck is far from red You're just saying that because we were on the record skydive. I particularly like your video taken from the side-mount monkeycam staring at my as on point one. Well, okay, I own guns and like to hunt occasionally. Does that make one's neck red?

Pretty much...We saw the raw footage.

More like True Lies...

Yep. I've made it a point to stay away from the crap, and not even open a potentially biased thread. But sometimes you get funneled back in. With an unsuccessfull attempt to lighten up an already hijacked thread, I was accused of being a redneck and a bigot. I guess it can be difficult to hijack a hijacked thread. I always laugh when I see someone quoting the "facts" as they see them. I'll stick to the T&A discussions on Talk Back and read the Women's Forums for their educational value.

I've got a L193 if you are interested and I need a L143, to jump with the big dogs. So where do we apply for this grant?

That's a lot of car washes, and pancake sales. On the other hand, maybe you can sell some jell-oh shots!

The one talking shit is you. Still nothing to add to the subject as such? Anything intelligent to say? Look, bright one. I was simply making reference to your so-called higher education quotes and percentages. Please quote me on where I was bragging/talking shit. You don't want to make jihad with me, pal. Add that to your list of facts. Out.

Yeah, but that won't stop people from farting in the twin otter. For those of you that fart on airplanes, do you fart on commercial airlines as well???

Nope. I went to a public school. Mind your p's and q's if you are going to talk shit.

Nah, gotta be the higher education down under...

So? Either you can't spell, or you do not know how to use spell check.

Come on, Wendy. Yer generalizing again. You know that liberals use spell check, etc.