Scot's Message to Terrorists.

In the weeks following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon it became clear that many terrorists look at Americans as weak, soft and unwilling to die. Further, Americans were to face an implacable enemy that would actually seek out death.

What these people do not know is our history. We may have looked askance at our more recent "wars", but you only need to go back to World War II to get an idea of our mettle.

In 1941 Japan pulled a surprise attack on the US Navy's Pacific Fleet, then anchored in Pearl Harbor. In the process of decimating the ships and killing thousands of sailors, Marines and civilians, they sought to scare the US out of the war Japan was waging not only against China, but other countries in the area. They, too, thought Americans wouldn't have the stomach to fight, choosing instead to withdraw even further into their nation's isolationist past.

It turns out they were wrong. Very wrong, in fact. Virtually all Americans stood up and entered the war with their spirit and energy, rebuilding a new Pacific Fleet in record time and going to war not only with Japan but also Germany and Italy.

Many Americans volunteered for military service and many many more answered the draft when their time came up. Civilians answered the call to conserve resources for the war effort, and also put their muscle to work to support the quickly growing war machine.

Finally, many Americans, alongside their Allied brethren, chose to die when the need arose. Were they afraid of death? Of course they were. They loved life and wanted to go home, but they knew their job and knew it might mean their lives. If it would save their fellow soldiers or innocent civilians they were ready to die.

This was not something new, and it is not something that has died since. Going back to the founding of our nation we find one of our most famous and inspiring quotes: "As for me, give me liberty or give me death!"

Once again we find our homeland under attack, and once again we are prepare to respond. The terrorists may dream of making the US into a new country under their extremist beliefs, but they will find a country with a history of defending the right to personal freedom.

The first clue to that truth came on day one, 11 September, on flight 93. Late taking off from the airport many of the passengers had time to find out about the first three planes. When their plane appeared to be headed towards the same fate, with at least one passenger already dead, a number of passengers and crew mounted a counter-attack, foiling the terrorists' attempt to use the airplane as a bomb. They knew they might die trying to take the plane back, but they also knew they would die if they did nothing. They chose to sacrifice their lives to stop the intended fate of their flight. They made that choice and, in giving the "last full measure of devotion", died to save others.

The names of these apparent heroes are now well known. Were they soldiers on the flight? No. Were they specially trained in fighting or in hand-to-hand combat. At least a couple were, one being a former Judo champion and the other being a former police officer and now flight attendant (and a woman!). The rest were just folks with mixed backgrounds, and even with families, with young children. These so-called plain and ordinary people took on terrorists who were trained and had already killed. So, on this first day, in the midst of this attack, one team of terrorists was stopped not by fighters or by trained agents but by civilians. What more can I say? To the rest of America they are among the slate of heroes who will be remembered forever. Think about it.

So, to you would-be terrorists out there, bring it on! You want to test the mettle of the American people? You will find us strong and sure. Indeed, it will be your very ignorance of what America is really about that will bring you down. In a country where freedom reigns supreme you will find lots of people willing to die to defend their country and defeat your evil plans.

You say we are weak and love life more than death where you love death for the martyrdom it will bring? No, think again. Because we love life we choose freedom, so we can live a happy life. We love our freedom so much that we would die in its defense. That is not weakness.