Moving Forward: One Year After 9-11

Kasey Pipes,

(a member of President Bush's staff in the Office of Strategic Initiatives)

On May 4, 1864, a band of horses bearing Union generals crossed the
Rapidan River in northern Virginia heading south. Ahead of them, across
the green springtime countryside, lay a sprawling army of soldiers in
blue.

The man leading the riders was General Ulysses S. Grant. The army he
was riding out to meet was the Army of the Potomac. The mission he
would soon undertake was the most difficult assignment ever given to an American commander -- to destroy Robert E. Lee's army and win the Civil War.

This was not an easy task. For more than three years, President Lincoln
had ordered his commanders to conquer the Confederate army that lay
just across the river. All had tried valiantly. Each had failed memorably.

And so now it fell to Grant; the simple man from humble beginnings who had come to symbolize the Union cause. Confident and courageous, Grant understood that the key to victory was not to engage in tactical give and take with Lee. Indeed, tactical give and take was exactly what Lee wanted. It was also exactly what other Union generals had done. It
played right into Lee's hands. He was buying for time, hoping to hold
off the Army of the Potomac until the November elections when Lincoln
might be defeated and a new president would come to office with a
mandate to make peace with the South.

Grant was different. As a former supply officer, Grant looked at the
situation and took inventory. He saw that he had far superior numbers,
much more artillery, and many more horses. The key was not to worry so much about tactical victories -- the key was to overwhelm Lee by
attacking him -- relentlessly... mercilessly... continually. Sure, Lee
might win some battles, but Grant would win the war by wearing down
Lee's army with the Union's superior supply of men and materials. It
was only a matter of time.

So the stage was set and the battle was joined. The two greatest
commanders of the Civil War began the single greatest campaign. It
started at a place called the Wilderness. On the morning of May 5,
Lee's vastly outnumbered army used their familiarity with the terrain
to throw back Grant's troops in the fierce fighting that took place
over the course of the next several days. After the battle was over,
Grant's troops fell back. They had been here before. They knew they
drill -- they attacked, Lee pushed them back, and then they retreated
to fight another day.

Grant, however, knew better. Retreat was exactly what Lee wanted. Lee was buying for time, hoping to convince the North to throw Lincoln out of office. Lee could not sustain his army through a series of constant
attacks. A war of attrition meant the end of the line for the South.

On the evening of May 7, Grant's troops were camped near a fork in the
road. To one direction was Washington, where the troops assumed they
would be headed. The other direction headed south -- to Spotsylvania
and then to Richmond. As the troops waited by the road that night they
saw a group of riders coming toward them. They recognized the leader of the pack as General Grant. They saluted him. But, polite salutes soon
gave way to loud cheers as the men realized where Grant was going -- he was headed south! Toward Richmond! There was no turning back.

A surge of electricity was felt though the entire army as word quickly
spread that Grant was not retreating, but that he was heading toward
Richmond and toward Lee's army. Grant may have a lost a battle, but he was determined to win the war. The way to victory was to continue to attack -- day after day. He would not be afraid. He would be deterred.  He could outlast Lee. If only he had the courage to continue to push forward... the patience to endure... the persistence to keep fighting.

Courage, Winston Churchill famously said, is the most important of
virtues because it guarantees all the others. Without courage, the
founding fathers would have never prevailed in their struggle for
independence. Without courage, the heroes of the Civil Rights movement
would have given up on the hope of equal justice. And without courage,
Neil Armstrong would never have taken the first step on the moon.

Americans have always been defined by courage. Like General Grant, we
are not afraid to take a setback, to suffer a loss, or to even lose
some battles. We view these ordeals as experiences from which to learn, not reasons to quit. So, like an oak tree in a violent storm, we bend but never break. And we emerge from our trials stronger, more united, and more focused than ever, knowing that by continuing to push forward, and by having the courage of our convictions, we will inevitably be victorious.

In the year that has past since 9-11, this spirit of resilience has
been more evident than ever. On the day of the attack, firefighters ran
into buildings that others were running out of. What amazing courage!
Passengers on Flight 93 forced down their plane rather than see it hit
its target. What amazing courage! And since the attack, we have seen
the men and women of our special forces conquer an enemy army and
liberate an entire country. What amazing courage!

For those of us at the White House on the morning of September 11, we
saw on television the pictures of that black smoke rising against the
blue sky. We knew that our world had changed forever. We also knew that we would soon be engaged in an epoch struggle.

As we exited the White House and went to a safe haven, my thoughts were a mixture of fear and doubt. A parade of White House employees was soon marching down Pennsylvania Avenue. A few blocks later, we found ourselves in an office building where the owners had offered to let us set up shop. So we did. The Secret Service blocked off the street and secured the building. We began logging onto computers, making calls, and trying to carry on with our business. Only our business had just changed. No longer where we planning next week's education roundtable with the President and school teachers. No more would we be concerned about getting votes on Capitol Hill for the trade promotion act or the President's health care agenda. Now, we were at war. Each of us was now at our battlestations.

Throughout the day, we scrambled to collect information for this crisis
at hand. Someone get the latest information from Ground Zero!... What's the word from Air Force One? Who is working on the President' speech for tonight? Slowly but surely, out of the chaos came design, and from the shock came focus.

For me, I was sustained throughout by my faith. As the apostle Paul
pointed out, when we are weak, God is strong. That was evident to me on the morning of 9-11 as I sensed that even still in the chaos, God was
in control. And not only in control, but in touch... right here... right now.

I've always drawn great encouragement from the story of Peter's attempt to join Jesus walking on the water. His heart was in the right place, but he didn't quite have the courage of his convictions. As he began to sink into the sea, he cried out for Jesus to help him. And the
scriptures tell us that, "Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and
caught him."

There are so many encouraging parts of this story.

  * First, that Jesus reached out to Peter. How reassuring it is to
    know that when we struggle and need help, we not only can reach out
    to God, but He is already reaching out to us.

  * Second, it's reassuring to know that Jesus caught Peter. When God
    intervenes, He is always successful, always able, always
    victorious.

  * But there is also a third part of that verse that inspires me. It
    is one word: the first word -- "Immediately." Peter didn't have to
    wait long for the presence of Jesus; he didn't have to hope that
    Jesus would eventually help him. He already was. And it happened
    immediately.

Last year on 9-11, I actually thought about this verse as I often do in
times of trial. I thought about how even amidst so much tragedy, God
was already there. He was there helping save lives, comforting
families, and healing a nation. God is able to use evil for His good.
He is ever willing to turn tragedy into triumph; to take those who are
broken down and create a breakthrough.

We have seen in the past year that God is at work in our world today.
Now more than ever, people are searching for answers, longing for
support, asking for help. Today, many people of this nation are more
determined than ever, and realize they need to be more dependent on
God.

As the War on Terrorism continues, my fear is that we will succumb to
complacency and wishful thinking. We might forget the true magnitude of
what happened and begin to talk about "moving on." I believe the issue
is not moving on, but moving forward.

My hope and prayer is that we will continue to have the courage of our
convictions and continue to fight the good fight. Like Grant, I hope
that we will continue to press on, to move forward, to take the hard
path instead of the easy road. And as we do so, I pray that we will not
only fight, but remember what we are fighting for.

America has always been a nation that has sought to "do things right,"
and more importantly, has sought to "do the right thing." Today, we
defend more than America. We defend the ideal of America. The ideal
that people can live free, can govern themselves, can choose their
religion freely, and can overcome any adversity.

At the height of the Civil War, Lincoln was asked where he thought God
was in the struggle. "It's not important," Lincoln reportedly said,
"that God be on my side. It's only important that I be on God's side."

May we never forget the lives lost on 9-11. And may we always remember
to have the courage to do the right thing and the knowledge that God is
near.

There is no turning back now. Let's keep pushing forward... to victory!

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   (c)2002 by Kasey Pipes. Kasey serves in the Office of Strategic   Initiatives, Washington, DC.

Music: "Be Strong and Courageous"