The Misappropriation Of 9/11


Jon Stewart’s response to President Bush’s “non-political” 9/11 speech. Typically funny, yet cuttingly insightful.
One good point raised: if the fate of the civilized world depends on the Sunni/Shia battle being waged in Baghdad, why are we screwing around with our already failed “stay the course” strategy? Why not send our entire military? Perhaps incorporate a draft.

“You can’t tell Americans we are going to fight for our very way of life and then say there’s nothing we can do to help . . . except trust you. That scares people . . . fills them with terror–which, from what I understand, is a, from what I understand, is the actual word we’re fighting.
Level with us, we know there’s evildoers out there, doing evil. But if your idea is to keep invading all these different countries until the world is completely safe, fella, the world’s never been completely safe.
. . .
If this is a battle for civilization, make your case, and gear it up, let’s World War II this thing, all right. And if it’s not, stop scaring the [bleep] out of everybody ever two years.

It’s a shame our politicians can’t speak with this clarity.

Remembering 9/11

I’ve been watching a little of the September 11 (2001) rebroadcasts at CNN and on MSNBC.
It’s still remarkable how quickly events that morning changed things. One minute the big “news” was a fashion show, then, within a couple hours, the whole world seemed to be blowing up.
The events transpiring were horrific enough. But the terror was compounded by the ensuing chaos. What would happen next? The news broadcasts were littered with unconfirmed reports of attacks across the land. Suddenly nothing seemed impossible; we’d entered a new age of uncertainty.
Over the past five years, much has been made of 9/11, politically and otherwise. But today in particular, we our thoughts and prayers should be with all those lost that day. Especially those who died helping others.
Rest in peace.

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Is Americans Learning?

If you wanted evidence of clueless Americans, look no further:

Asked whether former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was personally involved in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, 52 percent said he was not, but 43 percent said they believe he was. The White House has denied Hussein’s 9/11 involvement — most recently in a news conference August 21, when President Bush said Hussein had “nothing” to do with the attacks.

43%(!?!) in the poll had a false belief about the basis of an ongoing war? Who are these people? And why don’t they believe Mr. Bush’s statement? Either they:
(1) aren’t listening to the disclaimer, or
(2) they have been listening to just about every other speech were Mr. Bush talks of “Iraq September the 11th.”
The White House can now try to backtrack all it wants; Operation Mislead has been a success.