thedrifter
09-01-02, 06:45 PM
by Major Robert T. Jordan USMC (Retired)
One moment in time... One horrible moment in time.
That's why we're here today. To remember... to remember a moment 15 years ago when 241 of our brothers... our sons... our husbands... our fathers... were taken away from us by the singular act of a religious zealot. But this was not a religious act. It was a political act of frustration... and it defines the kind of struggle that we may expect in future.
It's easy to condemn the truck bomber that took these precious lives from us. But he was exploited by others who used him as a tool. The reason they chose to act in this way was that they feared their interests were being thwarted. The Multinational Forces were having their intended effect. Their mission of "presence" was creating a stability that would have eventually allowed the Lebanese government to once more establish the rule of law. l think it's important to recall the events that led to that fateful moment that draws us here today.
I'm often asked: What was this mission of "presence"?
http://www.beirut-memorial.org/ceremonies/15th/bmo/jordan.html
Sempers,
Roger
One moment in time... One horrible moment in time.
That's why we're here today. To remember... to remember a moment 15 years ago when 241 of our brothers... our sons... our husbands... our fathers... were taken away from us by the singular act of a religious zealot. But this was not a religious act. It was a political act of frustration... and it defines the kind of struggle that we may expect in future.
It's easy to condemn the truck bomber that took these precious lives from us. But he was exploited by others who used him as a tool. The reason they chose to act in this way was that they feared their interests were being thwarted. The Multinational Forces were having their intended effect. Their mission of "presence" was creating a stability that would have eventually allowed the Lebanese government to once more establish the rule of law. l think it's important to recall the events that led to that fateful moment that draws us here today.
I'm often asked: What was this mission of "presence"?
http://www.beirut-memorial.org/ceremonies/15th/bmo/jordan.html
Sempers,
Roger