Col. Allen West: Remembering 9/11

Today we remember the 12th anniversary of the horrific attacks of 9/11. We also remember the four Americans who were murdered in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012.

In 2001, I was a major serving at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, on an exchange assignment to the U.S. Marine Corps. On that fateful morning, I had just completed morning PT and hygiene, and was in my office preparing to suck down some chow. I then received a call from a fellow operations staffer at the Marine Forces Atlantic (MARFORLANT) headquarters in Virginia. I was admonished to get to a television set.

I rushed down to our current operations area just in time to see the second plane hit.

I knew on that day we would be called upon by our country to avenge this attack — the Pearl Harbor of our time.

That night, when I finally got back to my quarters, I gazed into the heavens. For the first time ever … I heard nothing. I saw no airplane lights. It was an eerie feeling.

Last year, we all watched in horror during the assault on our American consulate in Benghazi. Still more terrifying was the fact that we abandoned Americans who were under attack.

Even today, a year later, some ask regarding the incident: “What difference does it make?” Even today, some say that Benghazi is a “phony scandal.”

Those who say and believe this are just as much of a threat to the safety and security of our constitutional republic as are the attackers. In their shameful attempts to deceive, they are evenly complicit in the loss of American lives.

On this day, we should not pause to consider multiculturalism and negating offense to others. On this day, we should not entertain insidious conspiracy theories. Instead, remember the enemy who attacked us — and who will continue to attack us — just because we are a nation and a people who believe in individual liberty.

Remember those who lost their lives.

And lastly, remember those who abandoned Americans a year ago and — to this day — seek to deceive the American people.

God bless the greatest nation the world has ever known, these United States of America.