Let's begin with an excerpt from President George W. Bush’s address to Joint Congress after the World Trade Center Bombing six years ago:

“We have seen their kind before.  They're the heirs of all the murderous ideologies of the 20th century.  By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions, by abandoning every value except the will to power, they follow in the path of fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism.  And they will follow that path all the way to where it ends, in history's unmarked grave of discarded lies.  Americans are asking, ‘How will we fight and win this war?’  We will direct every resource at our command — every means of diplomacy, every tool of intelligence, every instrument of law enforcement, every financial influence, and every necessary weapon of war — to the destruction and to the defeat of the global terror network.  Now, this war will not be like the war against Iraq a decade ago, with a decisive liberation of territory and a swift conclusion.  It will not look like the air war above Kosovo two years ago, where no ground troops were used and not a single American was lost in combat.  Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign unlike any other we have ever seen.  It may include dramatic strikes visible on TV and covert operations secret even in success.  We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place until there is no refuge or no rest.  And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation in every region now has a decision to make:  Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.”

President Bush’s speech that night was well received as a united America lined up behind him in full support.  He has since proved to be a man of his word, outlining his strategy for Congress and the American people that night, and then dutifully executing it over the next six years.  His strategy has lead to many successes in the “War on Terror”.  Most important of these, of course, is that we haven’t suffered another attack since that fateful September morning; something none of us would have fathomed at the time.  This bottom line result must be acknowledged and credit must be given to everyone involved in the ongoing effort to keep us safe.  There have been other successes as well, and while you may know about the progress our brave soldiers have made in Iraq and Afghanistan, you may not know about the 19 terror plots that have been thwarted by our counter-terrorism measures since 9-11.  They include:

December 2001:  The “Shoe Bomber”, Richard Reid, attempts to blow up an airplane in mid-flight with explosives concealed in his shoes.  He is subdued and arrested.

May 2002:  Jose Padilla is arrested and charged with attempting to set off a “dirty bomb” in the U.S. and conspiring with Islamic terrorists

September 2002:  The “Lackawanna Six” from Buffalo, NY are arrested and charged with conspiring with terrorist groups.

May 2003:  Iyman Faris, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Columbus, Ohio is arrested and charged with plotting to collapse the Brooklyn Bridge.

June 2003:  The “Virginia Jihad Network” from Virginia is arrested and charged with conspiracy to support terrorists.

August 2004:  Members of a terrorist cell led by Dhiren Barot are arrested and charged with plotting to attack financial institutions in the U.S. and England.

August 2004:  James Elshafay and Shahawar Matin Siraj are arrested and charged with plotting to blow up a subway station near Madison Square Garden in New York City.

August 2004:  Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain, two Albany, New York mosque leaders are charged with plotting to purchase a grenade launcher and assassinate a Pakistani diplomat in NY.

August 2005:  Four men in Los Angeles are arrested and charged with of conspiring to attack National Guard facilities.

December 2005:  Michael C. Reynolds is arrested and charged with planning to blow up refineries and a natural gas pipeline in Wyoming and New Jersey.

April 2006:  Syed Haris Ahmed and Ehsanul Islam Sadequee from Atlanta are arrested and charged with conspiring with terrorist organizations to attack targets in Washington, D. C.

June 2006:  Narsearl Batiste and six other men are arrested and charged with plotting to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago.

July 2006:  Assem Hammoud is arrested and charged with plotting to bomb train tunnels in New York City.

August 2006:  British authorities arrest and charge 15 men with plotting to load 10 commercial airliners with liquid explosives and attack sites in New York, Washington, D.C. and California.

March 2007:  Khalid Sheik Mohammed, senior operative for Osama Bin Laden, already in custody, confesses to planning 9-11 attacks and admits to plotting other attacks in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and other sites.

May 2007:  Six men arrested and charged with plotting to attack soldiers at Fort Dix, N.J.

June 2007:  Four men in New York are arrested and charged with plotting to blow up jet fuel in residential neighborhoods near JFK Airport in New York City.

The relentless will of our enemies is daunting.  We owe a debt of gratitude to those who stand between us and their wicked ideology.  After all, even with all of our successes, the terrorist threat has not dissipated since the President's speech that night.  I wish the same could be said for our support.