GROUND ZER0, New York, N.Y.--April 14, 2004 --  Last night the President of the United States went on national television and made a Pledge of Vigilance not only to the citizens of the United States, but to the world at large.

     He vowed to make the world a safer place for the Children's Children's Children, regardless of their race, color, creed or ethnicity.
     He was a true Sentinel of Vigilance.
     The President spoke before an audience of news people intent on blaming him for the Terrorist attacks of Nine Eleven.   The vast majority of questions hurled at him were spears, tipped in accusations that he personally did something wrong that led to the deaths of nearly 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001, when 18 Terrorists hijacked four planes and smashed them into the heartland of American security.
      It was a sad day for journalism.
      What was sad was that the attempt to crucify the President to a cross of mistakes and misjudgments only strengthened his stature as a Sentinel of Vigilance.   The attempt to make President Bush the "Beast of Nine Eleven Terror" backfired, for only the most rabid of persons could believe that the President knowingly or unknowingly was the cause of letting thousands of innocent Americans die in one of the great horrors of our nation's history.

      However, what he did do was to not lower himself to the position of defending his actions or intentions.   As all great leaders, he stood above those lapidarians who hurled jagged insults at his character and intentions and spoke not of defense of any acts or lack of them, but instead addressed the most important issue any leader of Freedom and Liberty can target--the eradication of Terrorism not only in America, but in the world.
       The President kept underscoring that the war in Iraq was a war on Terrorism and a battle to spread freedom and liberty to lands suffering from oppression and tyranny.
       Facing brutally crafted questions designed to attack his character as a negligent leader and force him to concede that he had made "mistakes" and that he should "apologize" to the people of the United States as some of his most vociferous critics have done in a vain attempt to cast blame on him, President Bush stood tall and strong.  He leaned forward and talked not about what hadn't been done that led to Nine Eleven, but what was being done now to destroy the threat of Terrorism both abroad and ultimately here in the United States.

     He held up the Shield of Vigilance and kept underscoring that the safety of America was directly linked to the safety of the world, and that by fighting the War on Terrorism was America's insurance as to the safety of its citizens and children.
      He globalized his position.
      He called on all Americans to not be Intimidated by Terrorism, to not shirk from the duty of standing up to it and retreating from the battlegrounds as so many critics are asking.    He reminded us that if America retreats and leaves Iraq to the spoils of Terrorism then Terrorism, like the bully in the streets who drives everyone inside their homes to huddle in Fear, will strengthen and grow more bold.
       No longer did oceans separate America from the rest of the world, he said.  Nine Eleven ended that myth.

      But he went a step farther.   He reminded the citizens of America that Freedom and Liberty--the gifts of American democracy--are not cheap gifts.   He said we owed the world the right to these gifts, and that America could not afford to jealousy guard the rights of Freedom by abandoning nations such as Iraq that are trying to get their footing in the rungs of democracy after more than a quarter century of tyranny and oppression.
       He reminded us that the fighting men and women in Iraq--all volunteers--were willing to give their lives for the freedom of others, and were willing to sacrifice their blood for the future safety and security of the Children's Children's Children of people far distant from them.
      He reminded Americans this legacy was not new.   It went back to the roots of America and the willingness to fight and die in foreign lands for only one ultimate reason--to insure the freedom and liberty of others.    He pointed to Japan and North Korea, to Europe and Afghanistan, reiterating that America was not an imperialistic nation, but rather a nation of Liberty and Freedom fighters, whose gift of Freedom was a human right rather than some grant from politicians.
     Freedom, he stated, belonged to all of us, to everyone in the world, and was a gift from an Almighty source, not within the scope of humans to dictate.
     Over and over as the questions smashed at his personal integrity, prying at him to admit fault and flaw in his leadership, President Bush stood taller with each attack.   He reminded us frequently during his answers to questions that the War on Terrorism was a war for the safety of America.    He tied the safety and security of the children of America to the safety and security of the world, and made it abundantly clear that anyone who wanted to retreat from Iraq was endangering the safety of America.
      "We promised the world we would help Iraq establish a democracy.  We will keep our word."
       While the President did not take the Vow of Vigilance as it is written in the Pledge of Vigilance below, the essence of the words were ripe in all his comments.  He spoke of how Terrorism seeks to imbibe on our Fear, Intimidation and to drive us into states of Complacency where we abdicate our role as the protectors of Freedom and Liberty.
      He talked about the bully Terrorism was, and how unless it is stopped now, despite the refusal of many nations to stand up to it, it would spread like a wildfire, as it has been over these past few years, signaled most recently by the Madrid bombings of commuter trains.
      The President reinforced the Vigilance of America to use Courage to fight Fear, to employ Conviction to battle Intimidation, and to employ Right Actions for the Children's Children's Children to overcome Complacency.
      In the end, I was very proud to be a citizen of America.
      I saw a man stand up to his worst critics, the press, and never once lower himself to their level by trying to defend his actions, or make excuses for them.

     He was speaking from a much higher plane.
     He was talking not to his critics, but to the Children's Children's Children of the world.   He was telling all the children who worry about who is going to protect them from the tyranny and oppression that lurks in the dark shadows.  hat at least one man, at least one nation, at least one people, is willing to die to protect them and spill their blood for proliferation of their right to enjoy freedom.

      He kept his eye on the Children of the world, delivering his words to them as a pact, a vow to insure that their safety and security came ahead of politics.   He was not trying to win votes in his answers.  Instead, he was rallying the Sentinels of Vigilance within each American, asking them to stand up to the responsibility of being a Parent, Grandparent, Citizen and Loved One of Vigilance.
      He was asking people to put politics aside and to look at the future of the world and ask:  "If we let Terrorism rule as a bully rules, driving out those who do not have the resolve to stand up to the bully, how long will it take for the bully to come knocking at our doorstep and take our children from us?"
     All Americans know Terrorism threatens us as it does the people in Iraq or Palestine or Madrid.

     The question the President was asking Americans was whether they wanted to fight with him or not.   He drew a clear line.   You are either fighting for the elimination of Terrorism by continuing the battle to establish freedom in Iraq and to hunt down and destroy Terrorism cells worldwide, or, you are Complacent and neglectful of your duty to protect your children from future assaults and attacks by extracting America resources and power from Iraq.
      It was a blunt but clear message.
      I got it.
      He was saying, you are either a Sentinel of Vigilance or a Beast of Terror Proliferation.  Which do you want to be?
      It was a great talk.
      I am proud to be an American, a Sentinel of Vigilance American, serving under the World President of Vigilance.
     

April 13--Resolution Of Terrorism

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