The Global War on Terrorism
December 5, 2006: Sheriff J. Al Cannon Jr. spoke to the club on Tuesday. Sheriff Cannon began his career in law enforcement over three decades ago with the North Charleston Police Department. After earning a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from the College of Charleston, and his juris doctorate from University of South Carolina, he turned back to law enforcement. He was first elected to his present position as Sheriff in 1988.
Sheriff Cannon spoke to our club about some political trends he has been noticing since the November elections. He expressed his concern that the public is not educated about what is happening around it. For example, the reality is that this community is at risk for terrorist attacks due to the port. Our port sees a large volume of traffic which makes it a potential target or a place of entry for terrorists. Sheriff Cannon said there is no spot in our community that is more or less likely to be attacked – everywhere is potentially vulnerable in these times.
Sheriff Cannon raised many other interesting topics for reflection. He noted that there is a public sentiment that our President is not adept in foreign relations and that he may not be intelligent. Then how is that he has managed to convince Congress and allied countries to follow his lead in Iraq? Sheriff Cannon discussed how widespread some public misconceptions may be right now.
Some interesting questions came from our club members: Why would the media show the best places to attack the nuclear plants? Why are we letting secure information leak out onto the internet? Can we do something locally to block out illegal immigration from our northern borders? What can we do to protect our community from terrorist attacks? These questions probably have no certain answers, but Sheriff Cannon will broaden your perspective if you lend him your ear.
Submitted by Jackie Gottfried, Keyway Committee