Pepperdine’s College Republicans in conjunction with Young America’s Foundation hosted retired Senior Military Aide to the White House Lieutenant Colonel Robert “Buzz” Patterson tonight in the Caruso Auditorium at the School of Law where he gave a lecture titled “Remembering 9/11”.
“For 20 years I had a flag on the front of my uniform when I showed up to work every day and for 20 years I never took that flag for granted said Patterson. To say that Pepperdine’s flags are touching would be a vast understatement Pepperdine is remembering and not forgetting this generation’s Pearl Harbor.”
Patterson who served 20 years on active duty in the United States Air Force performing combat operations in Bosnia Haiti Rwanda Grenada and Somalia in addition to his role as the Senior Military Aide to President Bill Clinton from 1996-1998 sought to commemorate the lives lost on 9/11 through his lecture at Pepperdine to expose the weaknesses in the current administration that he believes could lead to a decline in America’s safety and independence and to be a voice for the U.S. military.
Having served in Clinton’s Administration in the years prior to 9/11 Patterson said that he knew exactly why the attacks happened and what this country could have done to prevent them.
“Al Qaeda was a daily briefing topic in the White House he said. The administration knew about the terrorism plots since 1996 so to me I really was not in absolute shock when the planes went into the buildings. There were eight or ten times when we had the chance to catch Bin Laden in the Clinton administration and the president never took the initiative to see to it because he was afraid of the political ramifications if he failed Patterson added.
The Lieutenant also disclosed that the Clinton Administration always knew where Bin Laden was because they were tracking his cell phone. When the media caught wind of this insider information they immediately lost the signal.
Patterson retired from the Air Force ten days prior to the attacks. He lost close friends who were working at the Pentagon that day and he saw his comrades go to war shortly thereafter.
“We can’t change what happened on 9/11 but we can help secure the future Patterson said. Right now this country forgets that it’s still at war. Al Qaeda is elements that stretch out over 80 countries. It’s part of an ideological movement that happened with and could turn into something akin to Nazism or Facism. They want to kill you and me. The worst part is they are meticulous real and armed with 21st century technology despite their Dark Age ideals.”
Patterson emphasized that taking the eye off the ball is dangerous and sees it as a disservice to those serving in the military to not acknowledge the war or support their efforts. He said that to shed light on the men and women in uniform and to give the heroes a voice serving the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan he embedded himself with soldiers in Iraq in 2006.
“It was eye opening to say the least ” he said. “I was witness to not only the most lethal military in history but also the most compassionate.”