Mark Thompson, One of the Benghazi Whistleblowers, Remembers 9-11 on Today’s 20 Year Anniversary
My dear friend, Mark Thompson, is giving the following speech tomorrow at a gathering in Iowa to commemorate 9-11. Mark was a Marine. He left the Corps as a Major and took a job with the State Department’s Office of Counter Terrorism in 1996. He moved up the ranks and ultimately was named the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Military Affairs in the Bureau of Counter Terrorism when he retired in 2017. He was one of the whistleblowers on Benghazi. I wish Mark was still on the job. He is a true patriot. A man of integrity and honor. I recommend his words to you:
Five years ago, I was honored to speak at a similar event in Clarion. I am again privileged to be speaking here at this memorial. In 2016 I highlighted the sacrifices that the emergency responders made and continue to make. I spoke of men who, twenty years ago, ran into the fire, the smoke and chaos of crumbling buildings – not away from the danger but into it – not just once, but over and over again. Those men – those moments, we must never forget. To forget is to disregard. To disregard is to disrespect. Only when we remember and ponder on – and draw inspiration from their courage – do we show them the honor they are due. We further honor those we lost by learning from those tragic moments in history and insisting that our political leaders do as well. Men and women like those are still among us, and we lost 13 of them last month in Kabul.
Today is also referred to as Patriots Day. It made me think about how we define a patriot. Is it someone who fights for our nation and respects our flag? Is it someone who puts his hand over his heart as the flag passes by? Or is a patriot someone who puts others before self. I think we all know special people who fit into all those categories.
There was a term which was common a few years ago, American Exceptionalism. Many thought it implied Americans were arrogant and that we considered ourselves better than others. I know that is not true. We are exceptional because we have been blessed by God and our blessings are much deeper than our wealth or our military. We are exceptional because we have a self-imposed (NOT government-imposed) obligation to care for each other. I have seen battle-hardened Marines who are warriors one moment and caregivers the next. Likewise, I have seen Wright County families who take up the slack when a neighbor falls on hard times. To
Source: The Gateway Pundit
