Wednesday's horrific bridge collapse in Minneapolis brought a sense of despair and grief to the entire nation.

Certain scenes haunt my mind. The dozens of vehicles that plunged into the murky waters of the Mississippi River; the burning cars and trucks sending thick plumes of smoke that teared the eyes and choked the lungs of survivors and rescue workers alike.

I know millions of Americans were of like mind as they watched the scenes played out on live television – we had another "Ground Zero" akin to that scene of the crumbled World Trade Center following the 9/11 attacks.

As Fox News' Shephard Smith reported yesterday, families of those still missing have turned up at the disaster scene holding pictures, asking if anyone had seen their loved ones. Again, exactly the same thing that had occurred in New York in those dreary September days six years ago.

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The response to the tragedy in Minnesota is much like that following 9/11. Americans were united as one, we wanted to help those who were suffering and we also leaned upon each other's shoulder to cope with such an incomprehensible agony.

There's one big difference between the bridge collapse and the terrorist attacks of September 2001: the imminent danger to the residents of Minnesota has now passed; the danger our citizens face from Islamic jihadists has not.

Whatever your opinion of the Bush administration's handling of the missions in Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq), the fact remains that terrorists have declared war – or "jihad" – upon us.

The declaration of war went ignored for more than two decades, by both Republican and Democrat presidential administrations.

When Islamic terrorists hijacked airplanes, and even a cruise ship, and Americans were killed or taken hostage, we dismissed it as the actions of a small group of deranged militants.

When the jihadists blew up nightclubs and embassies and killed more Americans, we rationalized it by questioning whether our foreign policy in the Middle East might be responsible. Quixotic presidential candidate Ron Paul explained on Bill Maher's left-wing cable show that we were responsible for the acts of violence by Islamic jihadists.

According to Paul and others, the bombing of the USS Cole, the 1993 World Trade Center attack and thousands – yes, thousands – of previous acts of terrorism by the jihadists are really our fault. These people are either ignorant of history or are intentionally dishonest in an effort to advance their misguided ideology.

Terrorist leader Osama bin Laden declared that his motivation for leading al-Qaida's war against the United States was due to the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia.

So when the U.S. pulled our troops out and closed the Prince Sultan Air Base did al-Qaida cease their attacks? No, they sent their foot soldiers to Iraq to kill as many American and Coalition troops as possible.

The jihadists have made their demands clear: We stop supporting Israel and stand back and allow them to "reclaim" this land for themselves; we pull all U.S. troops out of the Middle East and allow moderate Arab nations to fall; we allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons that will likely be used to kill thousands if not millions of Americans; we allow them to spread an Islamic caliphate across the Middle East and around the world. If we do not submit to their demands, or convert to their radical form of Islam, they have made clear their intent to kill us.

Certainly we can all agree that these are not empty threats. The jihadists have made good on their promises to commit acts of terror and bloodshed.

Our nation was once united in recognizing the need to do whatever was necessary to muster the will and resolve to defeat the terrorist networks responsible for the 9/11 attacks.

We rightly struck back at the al-Qaida terrorist camps and their government sponsors in Afghanistan. We correctly gave an ultimatum to the terrorist nation-state of Iraq to change its ways or face the consequences.

But now with the passage of time the determination to take this fight to the enemy has waned.

It's time for us to put aside political partisanship, and our differences with one another on domestic policy issues and recommit ourselves to winning the "War on Terror."

This was a war declared against us, and our enemy has announced that it is their strategy to outlast us and bit-by-bit pressure us into submission. The cries for "surrender" from Democratic congressional leaders and the "terrorist appeasement" trips by the likes of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi send the wrong message to the terrorists – it suggests that we can be intimidated into submission.

That's not how America should respond to tragedy. That should not be the lesson learned from those horrific attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

As we all say a prayer for those who have been afflicted by the tragic bridge collapse in Minnesota, let us also be sure to say a prayer for the safety and success of our brave troops overseas. Let us pray that our nation finds the resolve to persevere and overcome the attacks by Islamic jihadists who are determined to bring down Western civilization.

What you can do to help

In September, Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, is required to report to Congress on the progress of "the surge." Democrat congressional leaders say that they will try to use that event as an opportunity to force surrender terms upon our troops, concede defeat for America and hand al-Qaida a massive victory.

We cannot sit back and let that happen. The pro-troop organization Move America Forward will be fighting back with a historic two-week effort called the "Fight for Victory Tour." It will consist of a national pro-troop caravan that you can join in, along with 25-plus pro-troop rallies from coast to coast. Complete details on how you can participate are available at www.MoveAmericaForward.org.

The grand finale of this effort will be a giant pro-troop rally in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007. A coalition of pro-troop organizations will team up to amass a giant crowd of proud, patriotic Americans who will send a message that the American people support our troops and their missions, and we won't stand for surrender to the terrorists. Here's a list of just some of the participating organizations that have pledged their support of this effort:

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