Before opposing President Donald Trump’s immigration order, we might recall Dec. 14, 1999, when terrorist Ahmed Ressam arrived on the Coho ferry in Port Angeles, smuggling enough explosive material to equal over 40 devastating car bombs.
Alert U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspectors stopped the radical Islamic plan to attack millennial activities in Los Angeles.
Twenty years earlier, I was introduced to the word “jihad” by co-worker friends in Dallas.
Two Muslim friends returned from observing their holy week and said that their leader had called for jihad (not the inner personal struggle but an aggressive war with anyone who does not worship Allah).
We were friends, but they affirmed that “anyone” also meant Christians like me.
One soon returned to Pakistan, confiding that our culture was difficult to accept and specifying the freedom women have in this country.
The other friend stayed.
We spoke after our U.S. hostages were released in his homeland of Iran.
Ayatollah Khomeini was rising to power, and hatred for America became state-sponsored there.
The friend who stayed remained in friendship with this nation and our people.
Fact is, some people like us and our way of life.
Some like us and don’t like our way of life.
Some intensely hate us as well as our way of life.
We should know when that last group arrives with the same hatred as Ressam.
We were too busy living our American dream, our lives, and did not believe it could touch us right here.
Foresight always trumps hindsight.
Thank you, President Trump.
Lonnie Oglesby,
Port Angeles