SwiftVets.com

[W.C. Jackson]

To President Putin and the civilized world

"When Innocents Die"

An open letter to President Putin and the civilized world

Shortly after enlisting in the United States Marine Corps, in 1966, I received a letter written by my little sister. In that letter she expressed her fears. Fears that her big brother was going to go to Vietnam, fears that she would never see me again, and a poem that she wrote --praising me.

I went to Vietnam, and many other countries, some friendly and welcoming and others that were not. I served during the "Hot War" as well as the "Cold War." I served both overtly and covertly. I attended schools with military personnel from many countries; Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jordan, Iran, Algeria, Lebanon, Egypt, England, Japan, Korea to name but a few. I was trained to find the enemy, I learned to find friends. On 19 July 1996 I received a Certificate of Retirement from the Armed Forces of the United States of America -- acknowledging thirty years of service in the USMC.

Shortly there after, I spoke with my little sister. We talked about the poem she had written to me so many years ago, we talked about the intervening years, we talked about all those that had not survived those years. Most of all, we talked about plans for the future. Plans she and her husband and son had made. Plans that my wife and son and I had made. Plans my younger brother had made with his wife and daughter. Plans made by my sister still living in "the old home town" in Homer, New York.

Slightly more than five years later I was again speaking with my little sister. It was a typical Tuesday morning, I had just finished reading the daily newspaper and had gone "on-line" for the rest of the news when she called me. She was calling from her office from which she could see "a huge plume of smoke in the distance." Her first words were: "oh my God, turn on your television, a plane has just crashed into the World Trade Center." Tuesday, September 11, 2001. The rest is history.

And now, in another September, history repeats itself. Repeats itself with, if possible, even more horror and inhumanity. The bombing in the Moscow subway, the downing of two aircraft, the indefensible atrocity committed upon the children of School Number 1 in Beslan. That there can be human beings that are capable of committing such acts shames mankind. That all of the leaders of the world, REGARDLESS OF RELIGIOUS BELIEFS, do not immediately rise to their feet and condemn this wanton act of outrageous savagery also shames mankind. That there are men and women that can attempt to justify such acts shames mankind. That there are those "politicans" that can point accusing fingers and demand to know "why did you allow this to happen" while quickly scurrying around burying their voting records, even as grieving families bury their dead, shames mankind. That men and women in certain parts of the world can gleefully replay video tapes of these acts to their children and tell them that "this is the way to paradise," shames mankind.

Paragraph five of the letter that forwarded my Retirement Certificate states: "As a retired Marine you may be ordered to active duty without your consent." The actions of a few religious fanatics on September 11, 2001 and, most recently, in Beslan have issued a paragraph five to every member of the civilized world. The terrorists have declared war. And re-declared it and re-declared it and re-declared it. Each declaration has been written in the blood of the innocents. Evil man and women are slaughtering innocents. They are not waging war, they are not defending their country or their honor. They have no honor. They shame mankind.

Some say that the acts of September 11, 2001 "awoke a sleeping giant." I agree, however it was my dearest hope that when the Giant stirred, the movement would, in turn, rouse the rest of the world. I am not making light of the "coalition of the Willing," I know, possibly better than some, how much it takes to field even one soldier half a world away. I salute every country, every man and woman that has in any of a number of ways enlisted in the War on Terror. But still, so many sleep.

Hopefully my words, and the words of many more eloquent than I could ever hope to be, will rouse a few of those sleepers. Perhaps they will wake from their dreams where negotiation and appeasement resolve all the worlds problems. Perhaps they will wake from their dreams where apologizing for nonexistent slights and offering blood-soaked ransom will resolve all the worlds problems. Perhaps they will wake from their dreams where a sternly worded letter from the United Nations will immediately resolve all the worlds problems. Perhaps they will wake from their dreams and enter the nightmare that has over-taken reality. Terrorists. Not militants, not guerillas, not displaced persons, not freedom fighters. Killers, Murderers, Rapists, Sadists, Fanatics, TERRORISTS. Terrorists that will use any anyone and anything to further their "cause." Terrorists that will kill and destroy anyone and anything to further their "cause." Terrorists that will play on the fears and foibles of normal human beings to further their "cause."

President George Bush is awake now, Prime Minister Tony Blare is awake now, Prime Minister Iyad Allawi is awake now, Prime Minister Hamid Karzai is awake now, President Vladimir Putin is awake now, as are many other world leaders. I am awake now, my family is awake now, my brothers and sisters in arms are awake now. When will the rest of the world wake? When will the people world wake to the nightmare that has overtaken them? When will all mankind stand shoulder to shoulder against terrorists.

My life has been blessed, I still have my little sister.

President Putin, I grieve with you over the deaths that have occurred in Beslan and elsewhere in your country. I stand resolved with you in saying not again. I stand with the leaders named above and those others now fighting terrorism around the world. I stand with the military forces of the civilized world, I stand with the first responders and law enforcement personnel of the civilized world, I stand with mankind and tell these inhuman murderer not again.

I invite those not yet standing to rise with me, to rise and look to your families and to your neighbors and to your leaders and say loudly NOT AGAIN!

Children are the life and future of this world. By their indiscriminate slaughter of innocents, terrorists around the world have separated themselves from mankind. They are not human. No one with any humanity in them could commit such atrocities and then claim it is done in the name of God. God weeps, Allah weeps, Buddha weeps, any deity worshiped by humanity weeps. I weep, I weep for the children that will never know the joys that this great and wonderful world held for them. I weep for the children of the children... that shall never be... I weep for the world that we will lose if we do not stand and with great resolve and determination say NOT AGAIN!

Understand, as we stand together, as we fight this global battle, innocents shall die, civilians shall die, military shall die, even countries may die. But, if we stand together we can and will win this war. We must not allow ourselves to be distracted, we must not allow ourselves to be deterred, we must now allow the terrorists to win. For, if they win, surely humanity shall perish from this earth.

Please stand with me and repeat: not again, not again, never again.

W.C. Jackson
MSgt/USMC Ret.

[mailed to President Putin under seperate cover]

[Navy_Navy_Navy]

Beautiful letter, Master Guns!

Thanks for sharing it, here. The pictures have broken my heart all over again, just as when it was us.
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother