Fascinating, and quite sad, column on newsmax.com about a person named John O'Neil who just retired from the FBI as its top terrorism expert, and was starting his brand new job as a security director at the WTC when he was killed on 9/11 !!!
Here is the link:
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/9/10/185507.shtml
1 of 3,000 Lives
Bruce Mandelblit
Thursday, Sept. 11, 2003
Numbers.
What are numbers?
Numbers are merely a manmade tool to count, calculate, describe and measure.
As to the horrific events of September 11, 2001, I have heard that thousands of people were killed, millions of tons of steel from the World Trade Center and Pentagon were crumpled and billions of dollars of damages were incurred.
But these are only numbers – thousands, millions, billions.
What really happened that dreadful day two years ago?
To get the full sense of this depraved terrorist deed, I want you to forget for a moment about these enormous numbers, so difficult to comprehend, and to reflect upon a real person, with a real life, who was an innocent victim on September 11, 2001 – John P. O’Neill.
Who was John P. O’Neill? O’Neill retired as the FBI’s top terrorism expert after working for the FBI for 31 years. The FBI appointed him as the chief of the bureau’s International Terrorism Operations. During his time with the FBI, O’Neill worked on many of the world’s deadliest terrorist attacks, including the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole as well as the 1998 attacks on the U.S. embassies in Africa.
O’Neill’s first terrorism case was, in fact, the 1993 truck bombing of the World Trade Center.
After retiring from the FBI, O’Neill took a new job. That job was the security director for the World Trade Center.
O’Neill started his new job at the World Trade Center on Monday, September 10, 2001.
He died on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.
According to media reports, John P. O’Neill was in his new 34th-floor office at One World Trade Center when the first hijacked plane crashed into the upper floors of the tower. Within minutes, O’Neill was safely outside the building on the sidewalk. He was able to call his son from his cellular phone.
O’Neill also called the FBI headquarters before re-entering one of the World Trade Center towers to assist in the evacuation. He was inside the building when it collapsed.
The body of O’Neill, age 50, was pulled from the debris of the collapsed World Trade Center.
O’Neill sounded the alarm on terrorism for many years. A 1996 article published in the Van Impe Intelligence Briefing quoted him as saying, “A lot of these groups [international terrorist organizations] now have the capability and the support infrastructure in the United States to attack us here if they choose to do so.â€
O’Neill, also correctly predicted the increasing destructiveness of future terrorist attacks. In his 1997 watershed speech, presented to the National Strategy Forum, O’Neill said:
“The only thing that knocked O.J. Simpson off of television, his trial, was the Oklahoma City bombing case. The larger the attack, the more newsworthy they can make it. ... We are concerned about the lethality of the attacks. We’re very, very concerned that we seem to have a rash of both problems in the international side and the domestic side at the same time. And we are also concerned now that we have had obviously a lot of conventional types of attacks, but now we’re starting to see unconventional types of attacks like the attack that took place in Tokyo with an unconventional type of weapon.â€
I will conclude this tribute to John P. O’Neill with his own powerful and prophetic words. During that same 1997 speech, he also stated:
“I think interesting times lie ahead. Certainly, we as citizens will be challenged. I know the FBI will continue to be challenged in the years to come. Unfortunately, I cannot predict that no Americas will be injured or killed as a result of a terrorist attack. And in fact, it will happen as long as violence is seen as the way to move along political or social agendas. We will have terrorism as a problem to contend with. Hopefully, working together, we will continue to reduce the amount of terrorism to its lowest amount possible.â€
It is a tragic irony that our top terrorism authority died in the world’s deadliest terrorist attack.
We salute and thank you, John, for your wisdom, insight and patriotism in our war against terrorism.
Now you, too, have the privilege of knowing John P. O’Neill.
My Final Thoughts: You have just had a modest insight into the remarkable, important and irreplaceable life of but one of the thousands of real people, just like you and me, who were murdered by these wicked terrorists.
I wish I had the opportunity to tell you about each and every victim of September 11, 2001, to differentiate their unique and indispensable lives from the unimaginable numbers we all hear.
A year, or even a hundred years, from today, we must, as a civilized community, never let the immeasurable numbers of September 11, 2001, numb us to the harsh, potent and vibrant reality we must always and forever remember deep in our hearts and minds.
Real People – Real Lives – We Must, And Will, Never Forget.
* * *
(Note to law enforcement and security officers and agencies: There is a new low-cost and lightweight state-of-the-art ceramic rifle body armor now available that is designed to be worn in conjunction with your own Level II soft concealable vest and give you up to Level IV rifle protection. For more information on this new officer safety innovation, please e-mail: [email protected].) Copyright 2003 by Bruce Mandelblit
* * * * * *
“Staying Safe†with Bruce Mandelblit is a regular column for the readers of NewsMax.com and NewsMax.com Magazine.
Bruce welcomes your thoughts. His e-mail address is [email protected].
Bruce is a nationally known security journalist, as well as a recently retired, highly decorated reserve Law Enforcement Officer.
Bruce writes Staying Safe, a nationally syndicated weekly column covering the topics of security, safety and crime prevention.
Bruce was commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel – the state's highest honor – by Gov. Paul E. Patton for his public service.
This column is provided for general information purposes only. Please check with your local law enforcement agency and legal professional for information specific to you and your jurisdiction.
******
Here is the link:
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/9/10/185507.shtml
1 of 3,000 Lives
Bruce Mandelblit
Thursday, Sept. 11, 2003
Numbers.
What are numbers?
Numbers are merely a manmade tool to count, calculate, describe and measure.
As to the horrific events of September 11, 2001, I have heard that thousands of people were killed, millions of tons of steel from the World Trade Center and Pentagon were crumpled and billions of dollars of damages were incurred.
But these are only numbers – thousands, millions, billions.
What really happened that dreadful day two years ago?
To get the full sense of this depraved terrorist deed, I want you to forget for a moment about these enormous numbers, so difficult to comprehend, and to reflect upon a real person, with a real life, who was an innocent victim on September 11, 2001 – John P. O’Neill.
Who was John P. O’Neill? O’Neill retired as the FBI’s top terrorism expert after working for the FBI for 31 years. The FBI appointed him as the chief of the bureau’s International Terrorism Operations. During his time with the FBI, O’Neill worked on many of the world’s deadliest terrorist attacks, including the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole as well as the 1998 attacks on the U.S. embassies in Africa.
O’Neill’s first terrorism case was, in fact, the 1993 truck bombing of the World Trade Center.
After retiring from the FBI, O’Neill took a new job. That job was the security director for the World Trade Center.
O’Neill started his new job at the World Trade Center on Monday, September 10, 2001.
He died on Tuesday, September 11, 2001.
According to media reports, John P. O’Neill was in his new 34th-floor office at One World Trade Center when the first hijacked plane crashed into the upper floors of the tower. Within minutes, O’Neill was safely outside the building on the sidewalk. He was able to call his son from his cellular phone.
O’Neill also called the FBI headquarters before re-entering one of the World Trade Center towers to assist in the evacuation. He was inside the building when it collapsed.
The body of O’Neill, age 50, was pulled from the debris of the collapsed World Trade Center.
O’Neill sounded the alarm on terrorism for many years. A 1996 article published in the Van Impe Intelligence Briefing quoted him as saying, “A lot of these groups [international terrorist organizations] now have the capability and the support infrastructure in the United States to attack us here if they choose to do so.â€
O’Neill, also correctly predicted the increasing destructiveness of future terrorist attacks. In his 1997 watershed speech, presented to the National Strategy Forum, O’Neill said:
“The only thing that knocked O.J. Simpson off of television, his trial, was the Oklahoma City bombing case. The larger the attack, the more newsworthy they can make it. ... We are concerned about the lethality of the attacks. We’re very, very concerned that we seem to have a rash of both problems in the international side and the domestic side at the same time. And we are also concerned now that we have had obviously a lot of conventional types of attacks, but now we’re starting to see unconventional types of attacks like the attack that took place in Tokyo with an unconventional type of weapon.â€
I will conclude this tribute to John P. O’Neill with his own powerful and prophetic words. During that same 1997 speech, he also stated:
“I think interesting times lie ahead. Certainly, we as citizens will be challenged. I know the FBI will continue to be challenged in the years to come. Unfortunately, I cannot predict that no Americas will be injured or killed as a result of a terrorist attack. And in fact, it will happen as long as violence is seen as the way to move along political or social agendas. We will have terrorism as a problem to contend with. Hopefully, working together, we will continue to reduce the amount of terrorism to its lowest amount possible.â€
It is a tragic irony that our top terrorism authority died in the world’s deadliest terrorist attack.
We salute and thank you, John, for your wisdom, insight and patriotism in our war against terrorism.
Now you, too, have the privilege of knowing John P. O’Neill.
My Final Thoughts: You have just had a modest insight into the remarkable, important and irreplaceable life of but one of the thousands of real people, just like you and me, who were murdered by these wicked terrorists.
I wish I had the opportunity to tell you about each and every victim of September 11, 2001, to differentiate their unique and indispensable lives from the unimaginable numbers we all hear.
A year, or even a hundred years, from today, we must, as a civilized community, never let the immeasurable numbers of September 11, 2001, numb us to the harsh, potent and vibrant reality we must always and forever remember deep in our hearts and minds.
Real People – Real Lives – We Must, And Will, Never Forget.
* * *
(Note to law enforcement and security officers and agencies: There is a new low-cost and lightweight state-of-the-art ceramic rifle body armor now available that is designed to be worn in conjunction with your own Level II soft concealable vest and give you up to Level IV rifle protection. For more information on this new officer safety innovation, please e-mail: [email protected].) Copyright 2003 by Bruce Mandelblit
* * * * * *
“Staying Safe†with Bruce Mandelblit is a regular column for the readers of NewsMax.com and NewsMax.com Magazine.
Bruce welcomes your thoughts. His e-mail address is [email protected].
Bruce is a nationally known security journalist, as well as a recently retired, highly decorated reserve Law Enforcement Officer.
Bruce writes Staying Safe, a nationally syndicated weekly column covering the topics of security, safety and crime prevention.
Bruce was commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel – the state's highest honor – by Gov. Paul E. Patton for his public service.
This column is provided for general information purposes only. Please check with your local law enforcement agency and legal professional for information specific to you and your jurisdiction.
******