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TAMPA, Fla. — The killing of an al-Qaeda leader by a US drone strike, is drawing response from Tampa Bay residents instantly impacted by September 11, 2001.
Jose Sanchez, a retired Sgt. fight veteran, remembers being on Ground Zero prefer it was yesterday.
“Almost as if I was in some movie. Living in a movie. I couldn’t believe these two buildings that I used to work at, at one time, were completely a pile of smoke,” Sanchez mentioned.
He was deployed with the New York National Guard the day after 9/11 to assist with search and restoration. Sanchez would spend 4 months on project on Ground Zero. Being uncovered to the poisonous air, he developed COPD and bronchitis.
“As time goes on, I’ve gotten worse, my pulmonary conditions have gotten worse; luckily, I don’t smoke cigarettes,” Sanchez mentioned.
He’s relieved to be taught that Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Osama Bin Laden’s right-hand man, who helped to coordinate the September 11 terror assaults, was killed by a US drone strike.
The killing passed off almost a yr after us troops withdrew from Afghanistan, prompting safety considerations over the flexibility of the U.S. to conduct efficient counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan.
“Not having boots on the ground doesn’t necessarily mean the fight’s over. It just changes the course of the battle. So I was never under the impression that when we withdrew that the war against Al Qaeda was over,” mentioned Buddy Jericho, Ret. Army Human Intelligence Officer.
Ret. Army Human Intelligence Officer Buddy Jericho was deployed to Afghanistan twice. Jericho mentioned the United States is sending a transparent message with this strike.
“One of the things I’ve always been proud of with the United States government is we’ve risked a lot of resources and a lot of people, a lot of service members, to prove the point that when you attack us on our soil, that we’re going to do everything we can to seek justice,” mentioned Jericho.
He mentioned the combat in opposition to al-Qaeda and ISIS is much from over.
“They’ve got a large following. In Southeast Asia, they’re beginning to regroup and build strength there. Syria, they’re obviously building strength again. So, I don’t think these extremist groups are going away anytime soon,” mentioned Jericho.
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