Gilbert Gutknecht: “In the pre-dawn hours of April 12, 1861, Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard gave the order to fire on Fort Sumter.…”

“In the pre-dawn hours of April 12, 1861, Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard gave the order to fire on Fort Sumter. After 34 hours of bombardment, a white flag ended the first battle of the Civil War. The only casualty was a Confederate horse. Later a Northern Congressman predicted that we could, ``wipe up with one handkerchief the blood that would be spilled in putting down the rebellion.'' He was wrong. As the Northern Alliance supported by our bombers and Special Forces roll across Afghanistan, I fear the same overconfidence taking root here in Congress. In the words of the poet, ``We have miles to go before we sleep.'' So it is with the war on terrorism. Many ask me what will come next. The answer is embedded in the question. We all know that there will be a next. It is important that those who advance terrorism not know when. It is important that we understand that the coming phase probably will not be as painless in defeating the Taliban. Other countries do not offer ready-made freedom fighters like the Northern Alliance. We must also brace ourselves for potential news blackouts. I pray that any future deployments of our Special Forces into other countries will not be announced on CNBC. SEAL teams do their best work away from the glare of Klieg lights. Our commander in chief has made it clear from the very beginning, this will be a long war involving many countries that harbor terrorism. It began at a time of their choosing.”