Former Illinois Gov. James Thompson has a few things to say about his work on the 9/11 Commission and the current state of America’s defenses against terrorism. “Our credit card companies know more about us than the government does,” Thompson told the AP. “We ought to grow up and say hey, we’re facing the kind of threat in America we have never, ever faced before. We have to adopt measures we have never, ever considered before.” Like ditching our Constitutional rights? Didn’t we already do that? And here’s something Thompson and his fellow commissars never mentioned: civilian gun ownership . . .

Thompson also said that the nation remains vulnerable to “lone wolf” terrorists who act on their own, sharing their plans for an attack with no one — and therefore beyond the reach of being detected by the nation’s intelligence-gathering agencies beefed up after 9/11.

“The lone wolf operative, a single person, radicalized by what they see on the Internet or hear at mosques, is going to be a greater threat to the U.S. today than on 9/11,” he said.

Huh. So our defense against terrorists rests entirely in the hands of our nation’s intelligence gathering agencies? God help us. Or, more to the point, God helps them who helps themselves.

I know: civilians are not known for their ability to stop terrorist attacks. But it does happen. To wit this via homelandsecurity.org:

The vigilance of the Israeli public plays a key role in preventing terrorism. According to security experts, the average Israeli is highly aware of suspicious packages, individuals, and actions that could pose a threat to public safety and does not hesitate to notify the police. As a result, ordinary citizens foil more than 80% of attempted terrorist attacks in Israel, including time bombs left by terrorists.

Dr. Jonathan B. Tucker almost gets it. Unlike Americans (no more than a percent or two carry a concealed weapon), a high percentage of Israelis are armed. They’re ready, willing and able to engage terrorists when needs be, at the sharp end. A perfect case in point, the Mercaz HaRav Massacre [above], where an armed student ended a terrorist attack.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with dialing 911—and waiting 15 minutes. Or more. Wondering which SWAT team they’ll send, and how long it will take them to get authorization to respond with lethal force. Hint: WE are the first responders.

Anyway, if and when terrorists start attacking the American heartland, the American heartland will tool up and deal. But it would be nice if our government would acknowledge and encourage the civilian concealed carry component of our mutual defense BEFORE blood’s shed. Yes, even in Illinois.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

18 COMMENTS

  1. The Isreal doesn’t have a Second Amendment but they do have a citizen army that has to be “ready in a minute.” They embody the spirit of the founders view of a nation at arms.

  2. “Hint: WE are the first responders.”

    Something along those lines would make for a great political t-shirt and bumper sticker. Self-reliance is the way to go though that conflicts with the desires of the nanny-police state.

  3. 1. Want to prevent school shootings? Arm the teachers.
    2. Want to prevent university shootings? Arm the students.
    3. Want to prevent workplace shootings? Arm the employees.
    4. Want to prevent airplane hijackings? Arm the passengers.
    5. Make sure 1-4 are publically announced. Often.
    6. Watch domestic terrorism evaporate.

  5. I don’t think that most Israelis are lolling around in condition white and blanching at the thought of protecting themselves. To expect as much from a bunch of addlepated Bostonians or San Franciscans is too much to hope for.

  6. “or hear at mosques…”

    I hate it when politicians throw around red meat like that to the Faux Noise crowd. Don’t they realize that Christians (Timothy McVey comes to mind) also can be terrorists?

    • Granted, but do you really believe Christian terrorists are a greater risk than radical Muslims right now, particularly on a massive-attack scale.

    • If it matters, McVeigh’s crime had nothing to do with his religion, or lack of it. He was certainly not observant in any way. Blaming Christianity for McVeigh is a nothing more than a liberal hate crime.

      And unfortunately, hatred of the US is taught at mosques all over the world.

      • Lol, liberal hate crime. Give me a break. McVeigh was wrapped up in Christian Identity. He had legitimate grievances, he had legitimate anger. Radical religion has a way of pushing the anger of youth into hate and violence.

        It’s the exact same thing that happens in the Arab world. You have large numbers of alienated, oppressed, young men who are humiliated by an occupying army surrounding them (Israeli or American) and then they get exposed to radical Islam.

        Islam probably isn’t any fundamentally worse than Christianity. The only real difference between the two is that Christianity has been tempered by hundreds of years of Western secular thought and civil society. It’s a different situation with Islam. There is no moderating secular thought. There is no civil society. There is only the Mosque.

        • Nate, please tell us two or three of the “fundamentals” of Christianity. (Help/hint: Include some of the words from the founder Himself. And bear in mind that ideas are not proven invalid by the failure of those who profess them to perfectly abide by them. If you disagree with that, you are arguing for firearms confiscation based on misuse by criminals.)

  7. Can you guys PLEASE use 9/11 if you’re going to insist on using only numbers for the dates? Typing 911 makes it sound like you’re making an emergency call (this is not the first post where I’ve seen this happen).

  8. Giving up an part of one’s freedom because of the actions of others is a victory for them, be they foreign nations, terrorists or politicians & thus a defeat for freedom.
    You only have to look here at the UK to see the result: The rot started here in the dark days of WWII & was encouraged to continue in the post war period by successive governments who desired ever more social control.
    Now the UK has far more crime than the US & far less safety for its citizens, along with massive restrictions on our freedom.
    A shining example of a “lose-lose” situation for anyone not of a sheeple outlook.

Comments are closed.