North discusses the aftermath of Sept. 11

Lt. Colonel Oliver North spoke in Shriver Hall last night as part of the 2001 Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium. Like previous speaker Bob Woodward, North focused his discussion on concerns relating to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

North touched on a variety of topics, including his experiences on Sept. 11, what he believes to be a media -induced fear of flying and what America should expect from the ensuing war on terrorism.

North initially praised the media for their efforts in covering the tragedy. However, he quickly condemned his peers for their current handling of the story.

"Around Sept. 17, all the networks decided that the American people had had enough," said North. "They decided not to show anymore horrific images and instead bring on so called terrorism experts, people I like to call 'Chicken Littles.'"

The former NSA member in the Reagan administration argued that the media paraded and continues to parade guests that know little about terrorism and that the commentary of such guests has succeeded in frightening the American public.

"[A few days ago] I was on a flight from New York to Washington. The passengers consisted of the captain, co-pilot, two flight attendants and myself," said North. "This flight would normally be half or 2/3 full. Where were all the people? The same people that rushed into fires to rescue people after the attacks? These pseudo experts got on the air and scared the living daylights out of Americans."

North went on to say that most media guests claiming to terrorism experts have simply written a book on the subject and are attempting to promote themselves.

"It's similar to war profiteering," said North.

North repeatedly said that America is much safer than it was on Sept. 10.

In addition to the networks, he criticized The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Associated Press for running stories that served the purpose of inciting biological and nuclear war scares.

"It's time to get a grip, to wake up to the fact that we've been manipulated by the media," said North. "These stories about people bringing in nukes in suitcases are about as likely to happen as a meteor striking this auditorium [Shriver Hall]. In order to put a nuke in a suitcase, you'd need a W-88 warhead, the same warhead the Chinese stole from Los Alamos. The Chinese have a ton of money and intelligence and they still can't figure out how to use it. Do you really think bin Laden's gonna figure it out in a tent in Afghanistan?"

North insisted that Americans have little to fear after the attacks.

"It's never been safer to fly in America," said North.

North also said that Americans are more united than ever and much stronger than terrorists such as bin Laden could have anticipated. He stressed that Americans can expect intelligence to go back to dealing with unsavory people and that while the public will know about some of the operations, they will be kept in the dark about a good deal.

"I think Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld put it just right," said

North. "He said he would never lie, but there are some things he's just not going to talk about. It's important to keep the public informed as much as we can, but we cannot reveal information that might put lives at risk."

North pointed out that if the media were to ever get its hands on classified documents, they have the complete right to publish them. North said he didn't want to see that change because it is a protection against the government.

He also touched on the worry over civil liberties that many have expressed.

North said he believes the war on terrorism will be conducted without intruding on civil liberties. He referred to a pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution several times, stressing that people literally died in his arms to defend the document, and he doesn't want it to change. In this vein, North said he disagreed with some of the anti terrorist proposals made by Attorney General John Ashcroft.

"John Ashcroft is a good friend of mine, but I disagree with his proposal to blur the lines in regards to warrants. I don't want to see the fourth amendment passed by."

As he concluded his speech, North said Americans should expect tougher enforcement of immigration laws and more surveillance.

"If you have a friend who's visa has expired, tell him he better get his paper work in order," said North.

Following his speech, the former Marine fielded a broad array of questions dealing with civil liberties, actions of the IRA, U.S. influence in the middle-east and domestic anti-war attitudes.

North molded Constitutional and moralistic views when discussing an anti-war protest scheduled in the nation's capital this weekend.

"They have the right to protest as much as they want. If this society infringed on civil liberties, protests such as [the one about to take place in Washington] wouldn't happen. They absolutely have the right to do it," said North. "But if I were the police, I'd provide about 50 buses to drive them down to the Pentagon to help clean up. Is there no decency? I lost two close friends, men with families. Can't we wait for the bodies to be recovered?"

The MSE Symposium co-Chairs, juniors Gregor Feige and Audrey Henderson, were very pleased with the event.

"We were able to draw a more diverse crowd tonight," said Henderson. "A lot of ROTC people and fraternity members showed up. It was also really great to get North's perspective since he's been in the military, the NSA and is now in the media. He's seen it from all angles."

Feige also was happy with North's speech.

"He covered a lot of great topics, from the military angle and how our

society will be impacted," said Feige. "There were obviously some who agreed with him and some who didn't, but I think that division can be really positive and foster more discussion amongst students."

North began the evening by holding up a boarding pass that he kept from a flight he took on the morning of Sept. 11. North's flight left Detroit, Mich. at approximately 8:35 a.m., en route to Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. In the middle of the flight, the captain told passengers there was an emergency on the ground and they would have to land at Dulles International Airport. At this point, North, a military analyst for Fox News, looked at his media pager.

"There was an urgent bulletin running across the pager," said North. "It said that two planes had crashed into the World Trade Center."

Upon landing, North said, passengers were forced to leave the airport without any baggage. North hailed a cab, desperately wanting to get to downtown Washington to do his radio show. At first the cab driver was resistant due to the fact that the city was shut off and totally evacuated.

After forking over a little extra cash, the cab driver decided to give it a try. Then the cab driver said something interesting.

"He said, 'Osama did this. I know he did this,'" said North. "I said, "How do you know?' He said that he was from Afghanistan and got out in the 80s with the help of the CIA."

After speaking to police officers at a diversion point on Interstate 66, North was finally able to make it into the city. In the course of his discussion, North also praised President Bush for his recent speech and the difficult decisions he made during the attack on America. North also told the audience that President Ronald Reagan would forever be the best President of his lifetime.

"[Reagan] was able to bring down an evil empire without engaging the country in a cataclysmic war," said North.