Twelfth Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks
It's now twelve years since planes flew into the two buildings of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I was there. I wasn't injured, but I was about as frightened as I've ever been. I will privately observe the day and remember what happened.
Everyone who was there probably has their own recollection of the events, perhaps even their own interpretation of why things happened as they did. But there are some facts that bare repeating and are not open to interpretation. Here are a few:
1) The planes were flown by Muslims. These Muslims were from Saudi Arabia. The United States government was and remains an ally of Saudi Arabian government.
2) Even though the men who flew the planes into the buildings were Saudi, the U.S. attacked Afghanistan shortly after 9/11. The Afghan government was quickly overthrown and replaced by a government led by people chosen by the United States government. U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan, still fighting and being killed and maimed by the same people who ruled the country on 9/11. And now, in addition, our troops are being killed and maimed by those who are supposedly our allies in Afghanistan.
3) After invading Afghanistan, the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003 and after a fairly swift victory, deposed the Iraqi dictator, Sadaam Hussein. Eventually Hussein was executed. The government that the U.S. installed held elections and the Shiite sect of Islam appears to hold sway now in the government in Baghdad. Many - though not all - U.S. troops have finally been withdrawn from Iraq. After much talk of democracy and free elections, the country has not recovered economically and is plagued by politically and religiously motivated violence.
4) Today, the United States government, after supporting political groups intent on overthrowing dictators that the United States government once supported, has settled on Iran as a deadly enemy who must be attacked. The U.S. government has told the rest of the world not to trade with Iran and has blocked Iran from using the international system called SWIFT that facilitates international trade. There is reason to believe that a war with Iran could be imminent.
5) People compared 9/11 to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. But by 1945, those responsible were defeated and - by any measure - punished. There was an end to hostilities. It's now 12 years since 9/11. The hostilities have not ended. They've even increased. And there's no end in sight.
With those facts in hand, here are a few observations:
Ron Paul - former candidate for U.S. President - always spoke against the U.S. stationing troops all around the world, not just in the Middle East. When 9/11 occurred, he claimed that the reason the U.S. mainland was attacked was that the U.S. government's involvement in the Middle East and other parts of the world served to create enemies of the people who were oppressed, even killed, by the governments we support. He was ridiculed for this position; some called him an idiot, even a traitor.
So with those facts in hand, here are couple of observations:
While I admire Ron Paul for many reasons, I don't always agree with him. However, having lived through 9/11 and now having seen what has occurred after 9/11 in the Middle East and the Far East (Afghanistan), I do wonder whether we have learned anything after the 9/11 attacks. Didn't the U.S. government punish those responsible, ultimately even killing the head of al-qaeda, Osama bin Laden?
If the U.S. government has successfully punished those responsible, including killing their leader, why does the U.S. government continue to keep troops in those countries? If the U.S. government has not punished all those responsible, who's left to punish? Is there a list of names? And if they haven't been punished yet, why not? What's taking so long?
Perhaps 9/11 was the start of a wider conflict. So punishing those responsible isn't really going to resolve anything. Indeed, the Middle East appears to be breaking out into more war, more chaos. The United States government remains involved politically and militarily with various factions and parties involved in the growing war and chaos. Does any of what's going on today really have anything to do with 9/11, except that the attack on the WTC and the pentagon resulted in U.S. troops fighting in ever-growing conflicts around the world?
When I remember 9/11, I don't just remember the events of the day itself. I remember all that came before to cause 9/11 and all that occurred as a result. As disturbing as the events of 9/11 were, I escaped relatively unharmed. I'm thankful for that. As for all the rest, it remains simply disturbing.
Everyone who was there probably has their own recollection of the events, perhaps even their own interpretation of why things happened as they did. But there are some facts that bare repeating and are not open to interpretation. Here are a few:
1) The planes were flown by Muslims. These Muslims were from Saudi Arabia. The United States government was and remains an ally of Saudi Arabian government.
2) Even though the men who flew the planes into the buildings were Saudi, the U.S. attacked Afghanistan shortly after 9/11. The Afghan government was quickly overthrown and replaced by a government led by people chosen by the United States government. U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan, still fighting and being killed and maimed by the same people who ruled the country on 9/11. And now, in addition, our troops are being killed and maimed by those who are supposedly our allies in Afghanistan.
3) After invading Afghanistan, the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003 and after a fairly swift victory, deposed the Iraqi dictator, Sadaam Hussein. Eventually Hussein was executed. The government that the U.S. installed held elections and the Shiite sect of Islam appears to hold sway now in the government in Baghdad. Many - though not all - U.S. troops have finally been withdrawn from Iraq. After much talk of democracy and free elections, the country has not recovered economically and is plagued by politically and religiously motivated violence.
4) Today, the United States government, after supporting political groups intent on overthrowing dictators that the United States government once supported, has settled on Iran as a deadly enemy who must be attacked. The U.S. government has told the rest of the world not to trade with Iran and has blocked Iran from using the international system called SWIFT that facilitates international trade. There is reason to believe that a war with Iran could be imminent.
5) People compared 9/11 to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. But by 1945, those responsible were defeated and - by any measure - punished. There was an end to hostilities. It's now 12 years since 9/11. The hostilities have not ended. They've even increased. And there's no end in sight.
With those facts in hand, here are a few observations:
Ron Paul - former candidate for U.S. President - always spoke against the U.S. stationing troops all around the world, not just in the Middle East. When 9/11 occurred, he claimed that the reason the U.S. mainland was attacked was that the U.S. government's involvement in the Middle East and other parts of the world served to create enemies of the people who were oppressed, even killed, by the governments we support. He was ridiculed for this position; some called him an idiot, even a traitor.
So with those facts in hand, here are couple of observations:
While I admire Ron Paul for many reasons, I don't always agree with him. However, having lived through 9/11 and now having seen what has occurred after 9/11 in the Middle East and the Far East (Afghanistan), I do wonder whether we have learned anything after the 9/11 attacks. Didn't the U.S. government punish those responsible, ultimately even killing the head of al-qaeda, Osama bin Laden?
If the U.S. government has successfully punished those responsible, including killing their leader, why does the U.S. government continue to keep troops in those countries? If the U.S. government has not punished all those responsible, who's left to punish? Is there a list of names? And if they haven't been punished yet, why not? What's taking so long?
Perhaps 9/11 was the start of a wider conflict. So punishing those responsible isn't really going to resolve anything. Indeed, the Middle East appears to be breaking out into more war, more chaos. The United States government remains involved politically and militarily with various factions and parties involved in the growing war and chaos. Does any of what's going on today really have anything to do with 9/11, except that the attack on the WTC and the pentagon resulted in U.S. troops fighting in ever-growing conflicts around the world?
When I remember 9/11, I don't just remember the events of the day itself. I remember all that came before to cause 9/11 and all that occurred as a result. As disturbing as the events of 9/11 were, I escaped relatively unharmed. I'm thankful for that. As for all the rest, it remains simply disturbing.
Comments