I just sent our president an email. . .he may not get it or ever see it, but I needed to write it.
Mr. President:
I need to thank you for what you've done for our country. I believe with all my heart that your view of how our nation's security will be increased and maintained is THE way to go. I hope that you are reelected and you have my vote.
My two children, and the world they will grow old in, is a paramount thought these days. Thanks to folks like the late President Ronald Reagan, my kids didn't have to grow up under the fear of the pending nuclear Armageddon of the Cold War. They've never had to practice getting under a desk for a fallout drill. They've never had the nightmares of losing a whole city to an enemy's atomic weapon.
From 1980 to 1990, I did what I could to serve my country, as a U.S. Navy Photo-Journalist onboard the USS Nimitz and later in Public Affairs at the U.S. Naval Academy. In that short period of my life, I learned what it meant to protect our country. From going ashore in Beirut, Lebanon, after terrorists killed over 200 of our Marines through helping our country get through the Challenger disaster, I assisted in some small way, to keep the United States strong and united.
Of course there's a threat out there that's been waiting to attack America's shores since before the time of President Reagan, called terrorism. When the attacks happened at 9/11, I knew that we had, in you, a president who would not let those terrorists go unpunished.
When we attacked the terrorists in Afghanistan and later in Iraq, I knew that these measures were the right thing to do. Unfortunately, some American's don't understand the word "preemptive." It seems we
have many folks in our country who have to wait till a crime is committed before they react. I can't help but think that if our security agencies stopped those 9/11 hijackers and held them for questioning, just on suspicion of what they were doing, groups like ACLU would have been up in arms in protest.
I can understand your frustration of being "damned if you do, damned if you don't".
I want you to know that there are millions of Americans who support your policies against terrorism and understand the word "preemptive." If anything, we need to do more preemptive work in places like Libya, Iran, Korea, and others. We need to stop terrorism THERE. . .before it gets to our shores. . . I can't understand why some of our countrymen don't understand that.
I hope this note finds you well, strong, and ready for reelection and then to take our country into a future of peace through the power of the United States. Sometimes just the "muscle" of showing what the Stars and Stripes CAN do, is enough to keep some terrorists scared of our reprisals.
Please keep the faith, for all of our sakes.
Respectfully,
Steven H. Kimball, American