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As our nation continues to fight a global war on terrorism, I am reminded of how lucky we are to live in the United States. It is a country where prosperity and security are as common to us as poverty and conflict are to many people around the world. We are also reminded of why we are fighting the war on terrorism. We are rallied behind President Bush because our basic values of freedom were threatened by the tragic events of September 11th.
Sometimes it is difficult to understand how conflict around the world impacts us in our own backyards, but it does. We can feel it in tangible ways such as paying higher prices at the gasoline pump. And we can sense it in some not-so-tangible ways, such as living with the threat of terrorism, always in the back of our minds.
You might be interested to know that Congress or the Bush Administration has taken several critical steps since September 11th to protect our homeland against further attacks:- Passed more than three dozen bills to: give the President the tools he needs to fight terrorism; ensure the health and safety of Americans everywhere; and, jump-start the domestic economy through tax breaks and other initiatives (Congress);
- Created the Office of Homeland Security to better coordinate all the federal agencies and established 56 Joint Terrorism Task Forces and nearly 100 Anti-Terrorism Task Forces to coordinate the investigations and improve communications among federal, state, and local law enforcement (Bush Administration);
- Redirected FBI resources and added personnel to focus on analyzing information to help prevent attacks (Bush Administration);
- Refocused the priorities of the National Security Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency to assist domestic efforts to combat terrorism (Bush Administration; and
- Began Operation Green Quest, a joint operation among our intelligence agencies and our monetary agencies to shut off terrorist financing (Bush Administration).
As the President has said many times, the war on global terrorism will not be a short-term effort, but terrorism will be defeated.
| Judy on the War on Terror/Homeland SecurityJudy's perspective on the War on Terror and a short description on what Congress and the Administration have done to protect the Homeland.
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