in a most difficult fight
America finding itself
in a most difficult fight
The brutal reality of war struck home in the last seven days as the United States and its allies launched Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The first weekend of the war brought reports and pictures of the first American combat casualties and the first American prisoners of war.
Anyone who was naive enough to believe that American and British troops would march unchallenged through Iraq and into Baghdad and remove the regime of Saddam Hussein badly underestimated the vigor with which the Iraqis would meet the coalition troops.
We pray for the families of those who have left the safety of America’s shores to fight for their country, and for those brave men and women who are putting their lives on the line. We hope and pray for the safe return of all prisoners of war, and for the success of the coalition mission that has taken so many so far from home.
On the home front, New Jersey officials have recommitted their efforts to the safety of the state’s residents.
It was, however, very disconcerting to read the reported comments of the director of the state’s office of counterterrorism, who was quoted as saying that if New Jersey went to a red-level terrorism alert, people would essentially be confined to their homes and the state police would take over the highways.
A spokesman for the director told Greater Media Newspapers later in the week that the director’s comments had not been reported in complete context in all media reports and that a red alert might actually mean the residents of a specific area would be limited in movement for a specific length of time.
Any restrictions will in fact be "site specific," according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
The times have everyone a bit on edge and it’s no wonder, given the talk of terrorists in our midst, code-red alerts and constant talk about people who would like nothing more than to destroy our way of life. What seemed unthinkable less than a decade ago — terrorism on American soil — seems now, sadly, to have become an ongoing possibility.
The federal government must renew the effort we have called for in the past to remove people from this country who simply do not belong here: those who have slipped in illegally and those who have overstayed a visa, and most certainly those whose words and deeds clearly indicate that they want to harm innocent Americans of all races and religions.