It has been six years since the September 11th, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings in New York and the Pentagon outside Washington. Some 3,000 innocent people had perished in that act of terror by the Al Qaeda-led Islamic fanatics, more than the number of Americans killed in the infamous Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941.

**** Because of that treacherous attack in Hawaii, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared an all-out war against Japan, Germany and Italy. He vowed to bring all the Japanese leaders responsible for that "day of infamy" to justice. After three years of fighting, America emerged victorious and captured or killed all the Japanese leaders who were responsible for Pearl Harbor.

**** And because of the Sept. 11 attack on New York and the Pentagon, President George W. Bush similarly declared all-out war on the Al Qaeda terrorists led by Osama bin Laden who were responsible for this dastardly act. He said that America will not rest until Bin Laden and all his senior leaders, followers and facilitators have been captured or killed.

**** Today, six years after that vow, the war on terror continues. America led a coalition to successfully invade Afghanistan which harbored Bin Laden and his cohorts. Two years later, in 2003, the US invaded and successfully deposed Saddam Hussein in Iraq. But today, Iraq is still in turmoil. Afghanistan is again being threatened by the same Talibans who nurtured the Al Qaeda terrorists. And bin Laden, the Number One terrorist is still free.

**** True, many of the senior leaders of Al Qaeda have been captured or killed. And the rest are on the run. But the principal figure, Osama bin Laden and his assistant who plotted the New York attack, have not yet been captured or killed. They are still free to continue to haunt America with threats of new attacks. And on the anniversary of 9/11, Bin Laden even taunted President Bush by airing his own anniversary message!

**** Some critics are blaming the President for diverting his attention toward capturing or killing the leaders directly responsible for 9/11 by invading Iraq. They claim the US is spending its resources in refereeing a civil war instead of using them to bring Bin Laden to justice. And the Talibans are once again threatening to overwhelm Afghanistan.

**** Last year, the President said “Whatever the hardships, we will persevere. We will continue this war on terror until all the killers are brought to justice."

**** Unfortunately, the killers responsible for the attack in New York are still free to continue to plot, threaten and even taunt the United States.