To The Editor:

25 years ago, the unthinkable happened, the United States of America was attacked by terrorists. Planes were weaponized, towers fell and thousands were killed. The world was in shock as the realization of what happened set in and the facts unfolded. There was an outpouring of support from nations across every continent. Countries traditionally hostile to the US, including Iran, condemned the attacks.

For the first time in its history, NATO invoked Article 5, declaring an attack on the US was an attack on all member countries. Intelligence and law enforcement agencies around the world dramatically increased cross-border collaboration, overhauling domestic counterterrorism units to track global terror cells. The Department of Homeland Security was established, and a Director of National Intelligence was appointed to oversee and coordinate intelligence activities across all agencies. The Patriot Act was passed, which expanded government surveillance powers and increased information sharing.

So, are we safer today than we were on 9-11-2001? Today, we have the most incompetent Commander in Chief, who managed to find an even more incompetent Secretary of Defense, confirmed by Senate Republicans who knew better but voted for him anyway. Our military is being attacked from within and politized by Hegseth who continues with his purge of leadership. Trump’s Iran war has depleted our weapons supplies, degraded our military personnel and hardware and seriously damaged our infrastructure in the Middle East.

If we were attacked today, who would rush to support us? Between the Iran war, trade wars and Trump’s constant demeaning memes about our allies, do we have any friends left? Our enemies are delighted to see us in this weakened state. Even today — as Russia continues to support Iran, Trump can’t bring himself to stand up to Putin or, for that matter, China.

Critical cuts in funding and resources have been diverted from our Security to focus on Trump’s priorities: DHS employees are being dispatched to hunt down the elusive illegal mail-in voter while FBI agents are rounding up undocumented landscapers, health care workers and the occasional nun on her way to mass, DEA agents are out supporting ICE.

DOGE invaded government databases, putting our private information at risk, and under this administration, our rights and liberties are under constant attack. I, for one, am not feeling safer. 54 days till November 3rd.

Kathy Quinn

Newtown