by John J. Marciano
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Tuesday morning New York�s Twin Towers, part of the World Trade Center stood dark against the rising sun; always part of the New York skyline. That is how they looked every morning as I drove up the New Jersey Turnpike. In the evening the Twin Towers shone like jewels illuminated by the setting sun. 

11 September 2001, however, was different. The towers were simply not there.

What replaced them was a cloud of billowing smoke and dust obscuring broken structures and broken lives. But these lives should not have been lost in vain.

Congress should declare war on the terrorists who committed this terrible act. Not the nineties form of war either. The kind without any casualties. We should not lob a few cruise missiles into the desert to �send a message�. We should pursue these butchers to the ends of the earth. We should annihilate those who would harbor them and give them refuge. Justice should be swift and merciless.

Congress should also NOT move to restrict our liberties. Doing so lets these villains win. They want us living in fear. They hate our freedom. I say to our leaders: Don�t capitulate. Don�t give in.

I am no armchair warrior either. I am willing to fight and die, if necessary, to defend this country. I hope I am called up. To defend our home, we must DESTROY those who would threaten it.

John J. Marciano � From the banks of the Hudson River; A Sight Changed Forever.

My heartfelt prayers go out to the family and friends this tragedy's victims. The bravery and professionalism of the emergency personnel working in New York are without parallel. I also ask readers to pray for my friends and acquaintances still missing.