Welcome to DouglasDeBono.Com, the Cyberspace Home of author Douglas De Bono. Douglas de Bono is an excellent read and should not be missed by any fan of either thriller or military fiction. You will be left wondering just how much of his stories are real and how much is fiction. --AuthorZone.Com Book Reviews One of the best and enjoyable books that we have read in some time. Author Douglas De Bono, master of the intelligent techno-thriller... has raised the bar on the techno-thriller! --Amazon.Com Book Reviews

Do You Feel Lucky?

The United States controls the skies above Afghanistan today. As a country we have partially unsheathed the sword from our scabbard and have unleashed the awesome firepower of our armed forces on this hapless country. With the exception of a few Berkley professors, Hollywood elitists and left over peaceniks, we are united in our commitment to defeat an enemy who committed the unspeakable acts of September 11, 2001.

We know the face and names of terrorism: Osama Bin laden and Saddam Hussein. Their lieutenants have been engaged in a campaign against American since the early 1980’s. We know the address of terrorism: Iran, Iraq, Somalia, and Syria. We know Iraq and Iran are feverishly working on chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. We know the Chinese have facilitated these rogue states with missile technology (and perhaps guidance systems supplied either directly or indirectly by the Clinton administration). And we know they were stupid enough to directly attack the most powerful nation on earth.

One does not have to listen to talk radio very long before a caller suggests, “Let’s nuk’em!” The rational question is: Who do we drop these horrifying weapons on? The better question to ask: Does the destruction of the WTC and the loss of almost 7000 people justify a nuclear response?

Not yet.

However, we as a nation need to consider the threat. Where did Anthrax that killed the America Media employee come from? Who prepared this deadly bio-toxin into a processed form? Who has a bountiful supply of Anthrax? Who has the will to use the weapon? Who has used chemical weapons against a civilian population in the last fifteen years?

Iraq has the means, the will, the motive, and perhaps, the stupidity to do just that. Saddam has used chemical weapons against Kurds.

So we need to ask the next question, what happens if the terror network and the state sponsors of the terror network get lucky?

There is an analogy in film to the situation we face. In the 1971 film Dirty Harry, Harry Callahan has a bank robber on the ground and he has .44 Magnum (at the time the most powerful handgun known to man) leveled at the man’s head. Harry asks the question:

I know what you're thinking. Did he fire six shots or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I've kinda lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?

In this case, the bank robber backs down before certain and life ending force. It is not clear whether our enemies have the good sense to recognize just how far and how dangerous this war (they began) could become.

What happens if the Al Qaeda / Hezbollah / Hamas / Fatah network manages to successfully prosecute a chemical, biological, nuclear, or unconventional attack against an American city? What happens if the number of American dead is not 7000 but 70,000? Would an American President even have the option to ignore the most potent and devastating weapons in the American arsenal? Need I remind you that no weapon system is off the table? Do these people think that if pushed to the wall, we would not pull the American sword clear of its scabbard and unleash nuclear hell?

As I write these words, there is an outbreak of Congo-Crimean Haemorragic Fever (slightly less potent than Ebola) on the Afghan/Pakistani border, a deliberate Anthrax attack in Florida, and a chemical attack on the Metro Green line outside of Washington D.C. It is hard to believe these are just accidents or coincidence.

History is a curious thing. During World War II, we were willing to allow Germans and Italians to surrender. At the end of the day, we all had a vested interest in the preservation of western civilization. However, the pacific was far different experience. It was a bloody, no hold barred, take no prisoner campaign—Midway, Guadalcanal, Wake Island, Iwo Jima, Tarawa. After Pearl Harbor, America fought back with a terrifying ferocity.

Eventually, Harry Truman made the decision to drop atomic weapons on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, because it was better to kill enemy civilians than to risk a million casualties in OPERATIONS: OLYMPIC and CORONET.

Have we come to this point yet?

No.

Could we come to the point where nuclear fire is the best way to ensure American sovereignty and security?

Yes.

So I hope and pray that the terror network does not get lucky and achieve a terrible result. On October 9, 2001, it is not clear where or when or how this will all end. Only one thing is certain—it will end, and the terror network will be defeated.

Douglas De Bono / DouglasDeBono.Com Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota E-Mail readermail@DouglasDeBono.Com