An American Terrorist Says Hello

Hello. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Michael and I am a sailor in the United States Navy. I have served in the Navy for nearly 20 years. I am going to retire and go home to Philadelphia in December. I am, according to reknown TV personality, and apparent foreign policy and engineering expert, Rosie O'Donnell, a terrorist.

Over my term of service to my country, I have been called many things. Being in the Navy has afforded me the opportunity to travel the world and to meet a variety of people. I have been called a 'hero' by Viet Nam vets and from a man who owned a restaraunt in Haifa, Israel. I was called 'friend' by a Greek in the city of Rhodes and was given many thanks from the citizens of New Orleans for helping them to recover from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

I have defended the interests of my country in three different wars. In the First Gulf War, my command aided Kurdish refugees with humanitarian supplies. In the Balkans, I helped throw back the aggressive Serbs and put an end to their genocidal practices in Kosovo. In the Caribbean, I chased and helped capture drug smugglers who poison our children with their 'product'. In 2003, I participated in the overthrow of dictator, criminal and human rights abuser, Saddam Hussein. I returned to the Gulf in 2005 and resumed my mission. Everywhere I have gone, I have fought for liberty, the security and the safety of other people.

But, according to the wisdom of Rosie O'Donnell, I am a terrorist.

I strongly believe that Ms. O'Donnell is greatly mistaken in her concept and definition of just what a terrorist is. A terrorist, by Webster's dictionary, is one who uses terror to accomplish a political end. The only "end" I have pursued in my career is the safety of others and to defend them against aggression.

In the beleagured nation of Iraq, Islamic extremists have pursued a campaign to put an end to the spread of democracy in the Middle East. The insurgency is being funded and aided, militarily, by elements of the group known as Al-Qaeda and by the governments of Iran and Syria who fear a democratic regime on their doorstep.

In this extreme version of Islam, women would become slaves and the people would fall under the rule and whims of mullahs instead of being able to rule themselves. Their rights and liberties would be determined by a few instead of by the many.

Rosie O'Donnell is mistaken in her definition of the word terrorist; just as she is in a great number of things. Unlike these people, I do not believe in the selfish and dictatorial practices of 'one man rule'. I do not enforce my religious beliefs upon others. I do not blow up markets or kidnap people and leave their dead bodies laying in some river. I do not behead prisoners of war nor do I make threats against civilians.

Nor do any of my comrades in arms in the US Army, Air Force, Coast Guard or Marine Corps.

Unlike Rosie O'Donnell, I know what it is like to be dedicated to something and to show loyalty to my friends and co-workers. After seeing the world, I also know what it is like to not be able to enjoy the freedoms we do in a democratic society. Ms. O'Donnell would prefer it if American soldiers left Iraq to the wiles of Islamic extremists and the predatory desires of Iran and Syria. I would much prefer if the people of Iraq were allowed to determine their own path and to rule themselves freely.

I have been to Israel and the Middle East and have seen with my own eyes what real terrorists do to people and the society which they infiltrate. I know fully the difference between right and wrong; good and evil. I have seen, with my own eyes, the sacrifices people have been willing to make in the name of freedom and security.

But, still, according to the all wise and knowing Rosie O'Donnell I am a terrorist?

Ms. Rosie O'Donnell has no idea, whatsoever, what it means to 'sacrifice' for anything or for anyone. She is a selfish, self centered woman who allows her ignorance of facts to determine her beliefs. She relies not on truth but upon propaganda and malicious rumors and loudly relays them on national television. Ms. O'Donnell has no concept of just what a 'terrorist' is. She is not a journalist nor is she professional by any means and I recommend that she, at least, ask someone who has lived under terrorism just how they feel about it instead of just spouting off her own misled and misinformed opinions before the world.

I stand fully behind my friends and fellow servicemen in Iraq. They are good men and women doing a job that no one else who stayed behind on the safety of their sofas know anything about. I know this from having served side by side with these men and women for nearly 20 years. They are my friends, my comrades and my family. I don't betray either of those for anyone let alone for politics.

If I am a terrorist, then I am in very good company for I follow in the footsteps of those who gave their lives at Valley Forge, Gettysburg, the Somme, Iwo Jima, Chosin Resevoir and Viet Nam.

So, as they say in Alcoholics Anonymous, I repeat with tongue firmly planted in cheek, Hello, my name is Michael and I am an American terrorist. Pleased to make your acquaintance.