Resolve and commitment

  • Published
  • By Ray Bowden
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  The terrorist attacks on Paris, also known as the City of Light, were meant to instill fear across the world, just as the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. The Islamic State has taken credit for planning and committing the attack, which killed more than 125 people and injured scores of others. Investigators, the U.S. Defense Department and French Ministry of Defense, say there is no reason not to believe them.

Meanwhile, U.S. and coalition military forces continue to attack Islamic State terrorists in Syria and Iraq. In the wake of the Nov. 13 attacks in Paris, U.S. and French leaders say the two countries will strengthen intelligence sharing to the fullest extent allowed by law.

What does this mean for the rest of us?

The 9/11 attacks changed how the U.S. and its coalition partners view the rest of the world. Security was revamped at airports ... but we still travel. Military installations suddenly found their budgets could in fact accommodate all sorts of security advances ... but many of those installations still safely allow thousands of relatives and visitors inside their gates each year.

The same can be said for France in the aftermath of the Nov. 13 attacks, as the Associated Press reports show that the people of France are going back to their lives as best they can. Restaurants and parks are filling up and French families are out and about on the Paris streets in droves ... just as they were before the attacks.

Across the U.S. and on our military installations, there might still be some grumbling at the increased security measures that follow these attacks, but fear hasn't taken over the U.S. or the rest of the world as the terrorists hoped it would. We visit our parks, attend sporting events and concerts and live our lives in ways the terrorists undoubtedly hoped we wouldn't. Life in the U.S. and in most of our coalition countries quickly resumed after these attacks because most democratic countries recognize that caving into fear equates to caving into terrorists.

The U.S. attitude and the attitude toward freedom shared by most of the coalition countries, is one of resolve and commitment. We'll never give in to the demands of any terrorist group. We'll never give into any group that wishes to strip us of our freedoms.

This is why terrorists will never win. Regardless of the possibility or predictions regarding future attacks, the U.S. and its coalition partners view these types of attacks as an anathema to everything they stand for: freedom of religion, freedom of press, freedom to live our lives as we see fit without harming another. These attacks will not change our behavior and attitude regarding the value of personal and national freedom. It is because of our attitudes and values that we will ultimately defeat any group or individual who takes part in acts of terrorism. It will take time and a combined effort, but the only feasible end-result for the Islamic State is the group's ultimate demise.

The attacks on Paris did not fill the civilized world with fear. They brought it closer.