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Dear Honoured Guests,

Because I believe the following to be of the utmost importance,
I have interrupted the Site Map Page to add it. I am in hopes that you
will read the message below mine... and ponder the words in your minds and hearts.

We must not only pray, we must also be brave and keep informed so we can aptly and
intelligently use the brain God has given us... we are not to be as sheep
led to slaughter. Make no mistake about it.

Also, since this is my Web site, I take the liberty to again make some statements:

First of all, we are not being punished by God by these acts of terrorism.
Please get that notion out of your heads if it's in there.
Remember, God did not make us as puppets on a string. He gave us total freedom
of choice. No strings attached. He told us and tells us the Way.
It is up to us to follow or not.

Terrorists flew those planes into the buildings. Not God. And, as you know
if you have read any of my writings here, the devil didn't because God
does not have a rival. The only thing that's against God is us... when we do
not love.

The God I know has nothing to do with death. He does not take us. He
receives us. If you say, why does He let these things happen... again I say,
we are not puppets on a string. And all that we do affects others either for growth
or for stagnation.

I also ask you, is it not loving to protect and defend yourselves and your
children?

I have talked enough. I thank you for your time. I thank you for visiting
CelticMist. I hope you enjoy your visit.

--Audrie Inise Shively Rogers

And now for the intended message.

Please note:

Permission granted me, by the author, to publish the following message in CelticMist.
I am most thankful and honoured.

Best summary yet of what we as a nation must have the will to do.
Written by Dr. Tony Kern, LTC, USAF (ret) and former Director of Military History
at the Air Force Academy. Take the time to read and heed this advice.

--Frank T. Buzzard
Chief Engineer for International Space Station
NASA Johnson Space Center, Code EA12
Houston, TX 77058

14 September 2001

Dear friends and fellow Americans

Like everyone else in this great country, I am reeling from last week's attack on our sovereignty.
But unlike some, I am not reeling from surprise. As a career soldier and a student and teacher
of military history, I have a different perspective and I think you should hear it. This war will
be won or lost by the American citizens, not diplomats, politicians or soldiers.

Let me briefly explain.

In spite of what the media, and even our own government is telling us, this act was not
committed by a group of mentally deranged fanatics. To dismiss them as such would be among
the gravest of mistakes. This attack was committed by a ferocious, intelligent and dedicated
adversary. Don't take this the wrong way. I don't admire these men and I deplore their tactics,
but I respect their capabilities. The many parallels that have been made with the Japanese attack
on Pearl Harbor are apropos. Not only because it was a brilliant sneak attack against a
complacent America, but also because we may well be pulling our new adversaries out of caves
30 years after we think this war is over, just like my father's generation had to do with the
formidable Japanese in the years following WW II.

These men hate the United States with all of their being, and we must not underestimate the
power of their moral commitment. Napoleon, perhaps the world's greatest combination of
soldier and statesman, stated "the moral is to the physical as three is to one. " Patton thought
the Frenchman underestimated its importance and said moral conviction was five times
more important in battle than physical strength. Our enemies are willing - better said anxious
-- to give their lives for their cause.

How committed are we America? And for how long?

In addition to demonstrating great moral conviction, the recent attack demonstrated a
mastery of some of the basic fundamentals of warfare taught to most military officers worldwide,
namely simplicity, security and surprise. When I first heard rumors that some of these
men may have been trained at our own Air War College, it made perfect sense to me.
This was not a random act of violence, and we can expect the same sort of military competence
to be displayed in the battle to come.

This war will escalate, with a good portion of it happening right here in the good ol' U.S. of A.
These men will not go easily into the night. They do not fear us. We must not fear them.
In spite of our overwhelming conventional strength as the world's only "superpower"
(a truly silly term), we are the underdog in this fight. As you listen to the carefully scripted
rhetoric designed to prepare us for the march for war, please realize that America is not
equipped or seriously trained for the battle ahead. To be certain, our soldiers are much better
than the enemy, and we have some excellent "counter-terrorist" organizations, but they
are mostly trained for hostage rescues, airfield seizures, or the occasional "body snatch,
" (which may come in handy). We will be fighting a war of annihilation, because if their
early efforts are any indication, our enemy is ready and willing to die to the last man.
Eradicating the enemy will be costly and time consuming. They have already deployed
their forces in as many as 20 countries, and are likely living the lives of everyday citizens.
Simply put, our soldiers will be tasked with a search and destroy mission on multiple
foreign landscapes, and the public must be patient and supportive until the strategy and
tactics can be worked out.

For the most part, our military is still in the process of redefining itself and presided over
by men and women who grew up with - and were promoted because they excelled in -
Cold War doctrine, strategy and tactics. This will not be linear warfare, there will be no
clear "centers of gravity" to strike with high technology weapons. Our vast technological
edge will certainly be helpful, but it will not be decisive. Perhaps the perfect metaphor for
the coming battle was introduced by the terrorists themselves aboard the hijacked aircraft --
this will be a knife fight, and it will be won or lost by the ingenuity and will of citizens and soldiers,
not by software or smart bombs. We must also be patient with our military leaders.

Unlike Americans who are eager to put this messy time behind us, our adversaries have time
on their side, and they will use it. They plan to fight a battle of attrition, hoping to drag the
battle out until the American public loses its will to fight. This might be difficult to believe in
this euphoric time of flag waving and patriotism, but it is generally acknowledge that
America lacks the stomach for a long fight. We need only look as far back as Vietnam,
when North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap (also a military history teacher)
defeated the United States of America without ever winning a major tactical battle.
American soldiers who marched to war cheered on by flag waving Americans in 1965 were
reviled and spat upon less than three years later when they returned.

Although we hope that Usama Bin Laden is no Giap, he is certain to understand
and employ the concept. We can expect not only large doses of pain like the recent
attacks, but! also less audacious "sand in the gears" tactics, ranging from livestock
infestations to attacks at water supplies and power distribution facilities.

These attacks are designed to hit us in our "comfort zone" forcing the average American to
"pay more and play less" and eventually eroding our resolve. But it can only work if we let
it. It is clear to me that the will of the American citizenry - you and I - is the center of
gravity the enemy has targeted. It will be the fulcrum upon which victory or defeat will
turn. He believes us to be soft, impatient, and self-centered. He may be right, but if so,
we must change. The Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz, (the most often quoted and
least read military theorist in history), says that there is a "remarkable trinity of war" that is
composed of the (1) will of the people, (2) the political leadership of the government, and (3)
the chance and probability that plays out on the field of battle, in that order. Every American
citizen was in the crosshairs of last Tuesday's attack, not just those that were unfortunate
enough to be in the World Trade Center or Pentagon. The will of the American people
will decide this war. If we are to win, it will be because we have what it takes to
persevere through a few more hits, learn from our mistakes, improvise, and adapt.
If we can do that, we will eventually prevail.

Everyone I've talked to In the past few days has shared a common frustration, saying
in one form or another "I just wish I could do something!" You are already doing it.
Just keep faith in America, and continue to support your President and military, and
the outcome is certain.

If we fail to do so, the outcome is equally certain.

God Bless America

Dr. Tony Kern
Lt Col, USAF (Ret)
[Former Director of Military History, USAF Academy]