65 years ago today

65 years ago today, our country was brutally attacked. On a quiet Sunday morning in the Hawaii port of Pearl Harbor as sailors were starting their day (or sleeping off Saturday night if they didn't have duty) the Japanese Navy commenced a surprise attack which killed over 2,400 sailors and decimated the U.S. Pacific Fleet. After that morning we could no longer ignore the war in Europe and the Far East. It is right to remember those lost that day and in the war that followed that attack. However, it is equally important to remember the lesson we should have learned that day.

While there is no doubt that blame for the Pearl Harbor attack was rightly assigned to the Japanese Empire, the cause of the attack was a perception of American weakness. That misperception was stomped out by the great American resolve to deal with the enemies of peace regardless of cost. Regrettably, we have in the decades since recreated that perception of American weakness with predictable results. When we abandoned our allies in South Vietnam, we were branded a paper tiger. When we failed to respond to the bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, we emboldened the Islamofacists. When we turned tail and ran from a few thugs in Somalia, we further cemented the idea that we've grown weak. That perception led Osama bin Laden to believe he could attack us with impunity. He directed his fanatics to bomb two U.S. embassies and the USS Cole. Our lack of response convinced them to carry out an attack on U.S. soil which killed over three thousand people. Now, there are some clamoring for us to quit in Iraq and confirm their thoughts that America doesn't have the stomach to continue a war effort to completion.

Don't tell me you remember Pearl Harbor if you refuse to understand the lesson of Pearl Harbor.