9/11: Have we overreacted?

On CNN the other day I awoke to the following headline:

Did the U.S. overreact to 9/11?

It's an interview with world renown Islamic fundamentalist apologist and student of Neville Chamberlain's Appeasement 101 course in totalitarianism-enablement, Fareed Zakaria.

Here's what the Zak-Attack had to say on the subject...

CNN: You've written that we've overreacted to 9/11 and al Qaeda. In what way do you think that's the case?

Zakaria: I mean it in two senses. We didn't spend a lot of time in the year after 9/11 -- once we had taken it on, once we had started chasing these people around the world, measures which I strongly supported then and still strongly support -- whether that had been effective and whether we had broken up the organization and made it far more difficult for them to operate. And therefore, what was the real nature of the threat going forward?

I think it's clear that al Qaeda is a much-diminished force. It has the power to inspire a series of local organizations around the world, but it has very little power to direct these high-profile terrorist attacks itself. The reaction to my point that al Qaeda is weaker than we think has surprised me only because I've made this point since 2004, and I've made it repeatedly.

Amazing. Al Qaeda is a "diminished" force - so...let's just let it be. He's "surprised" why people don't take that point of view seriously...

CNN: Why do you think many people have not agreed with that point?

Zakaria: I do think we have a tendency in the United States to underestimate the evil intentions of our enemies, but overestimate their capacity, their capabilities.

What we now know, based on all the declassified documents we have available is that in the 1970s and '80s, the U.S. was massively overestimating the military capacity of the Soviet Union...

Oh yeah, that's right - it's the EXACT same thing as the Cold War. Question for you Fareed, how many times did the Soviet Union actually conduct a military strike on American soil? I'll give you a hint, the answer is less than one.

CNN: So what should be done now?

Zakaria: This would be the right time for us to take a look and ask ourselves, in order to combat the actual threat that al Qaeda poses, which is real but which is limited in some senses -- what kind of intelligence apparatus do we need, what kind of homeland security apparatus do we need and how much can we do in terms in reallocating, reorganizing and reinventing these national security agencies rather than constantly piling up layer upon layer.

Right, perfect. Let's just go back to chasing terrorists around the world and leaving it up to the intelligence agencies. Because THAT worked out for us REALLY well during the 90's.

CNN: Why do you think people have missed the change in al Qaeda's capabilities?

Zakaria: We're not looking at trends within the Islamic world where al Qaeda has been politically discredited, trends that are taking place within the jihadi community, where prominent jihadis have broken with al Qaeda.

The reality is that al Qaeda has been unable to organize a single attack [against a major target in recent years], the reality is that when smaller local groups plan terrorist attacks all they can attack are local targets like cafes or train stations and thus kill locals, further alienating the local population and discrediting and delegitimizing al Qaeda and its associated groups.

EXACTLY Fareed. Why worry? The only really dangerous terrorism is the kind that blows up World Trade Centers (9/11), trains (3/11), tourist resorts (Bali Blast), invades downtown cities (Mumbai) and other massive operations. It's really no big deal if an occasional bus explodes, a shopping mall gets hit or a cafe gets bombed. That kind of stuff isn't dangerous. So if all the "jihadi community" does is go after locals, that's not a big deal at all.

Can't you see, everybody? We already won! Nevermind the aftermath. Nevermind the fact that the world is roiling all around us. Nevermind that the Iranian lunatics are about to gain access to nuclear weapons. Nevermind that Egypt and Pakistan are on the precipice of being overrun by fanatics. Nevermind that thousands of lives are lost in Somalia, Darfur and all over the world on a regular basis - in the name of radical Islam.

Go back to bed America, your government has figured out how it all transpired. Go back to bed America, your government is in control again.


(WARNING: potentially offensive language and imagery in that clip)
Sorry Fareed, not me.

If you ask me we didn't react STRONGLY ENOUGH. 9/11 should have been to us what Pearl Harbor Day was: A date which will truly live in infamy. When the United States was suddenly and deliberately sneak attacked by the forces of an imperialist, expansionist enemy whose tentacles surround almost the entire world. An enemy who has grown stronger as we have exposed our weaknesses by refusing to unite against it and make the necessary sacrifices to defeat it - as we did during World War II. An enemy who is on the precipice of achieving nuclear power.

So what if al Qaeda is "diminished" ? What about Iran? Hizballah? Hamas? Islamic Jihad? Taliban? Kashmiri Liberation Front? Chechen Mujahideen? Sudanese Janaweed? What about the unaffiliated terrorists who work and train together in a loose confederation? What about the underwear bomber? Nidal Malik al-Hasan? The attempted Time Square Bomber? Doesn't Fareed (and everyone else that wants to go back to the good old days of burying our heads in the sand) realize that the ONLY REASON we haven't had two more catastrophic attacks in the past year ALONE is because of sheer luck? Don't these people realize that these instances have gone UP since we've adopted a kinder, gentler, scaled back operation?

I haven't forgotten. Nor will I. I know what these people are capable of. I still remember.



I still remember how I felt this morning...every time I watch a movie from the 80's or 90's that these buildings appear it stings a little bit.

And no amount of ridiculous conspiracy theorizing or threat minimization will ever change that.

The lessons of 9/11 live on as long as Islamic totalitarianism continues its attempts to expand and envelope the globe in its backward despotism. Whether it calls itself al Qaeda, Taliban, Hizballah, Islamic Jihad or something else.

The saga continues...whether we want it to or not...

NEVER FORGET

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE

NEVER GROW COMPLACENT

As in the past, here are the top trending news headlines for this year's 9/11 from CNN:

1. Florida reverend calls off Quran burning
2. Nine years after 9/11, photo provides peace
3. 'Prince of pot' gets 5 years in U.S. prison
4. Bodies ID'd in San Bruno explosion, fire
5. Actor: Stabbing girlfriend was a mistake
6. Police arrest man, then give him bike
7. 'Manhattan' ice island splits in two
8. Igor likely to become hurricane
9. 85 inmates escape from prison in Mexico
10. Utility also involved in 2008 gas explosion

And as in the past 9/11 is still taking a backseat to all kinds of nonsense...

More to come.

________________________________________________________________________

That's what I think...what's YOUR reaction?

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Lights in the night sky over New York City

No, not those lights...

These lights:

View from the Jersey City waterfront of the ghost of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers

How did this happen? I mean honestly...how? Why? It is so insane that human beings actually killed themselves to crash airplanes into buildings full of people. On purpose. It should be unfathomable...but yet there it is.



Shine on in remembrance of 9/11. Shine on in memory of the lives that were lost in the name of insanity. Shine on in memoriam of the World Trade Center, the Twin Towers and the innocence of the 1990's...a decade where it seemed as though the world was finally going to be "OK". How naive of all of us.

I hate this day.

Wish you were here...8 years and counting

This year on 9/11 I thought I would let others do the the talking. I spent enough time this year fighting with conspiracy lunatics to say much more than I've already said on the topic. So instead, I have a few speeches and excerpts here that I thought were pertinent reading for so solemn a day. I highly recommend spending time reading the entire Netanyahu statement - what he said was dead-on in 2001 and is still just as relevant (if not more so with the looming Iranian catastrophe) today. And if you're looking for some inspiration (and don't feel like being depressed) skip to the end and watch the video of Bush's speech from the rubble of Ground Zero from September 14th, 2001.

But before we get to all that, as always here are today's most-read stories from cnn.com...and for the first time, the top trending twitter topics:

CNN:

1. ACORN staff allegedly advise on prostitution
2. Women face trial for plot over cheating hubby
3. IAAF cautious over Semenya intersex claims
4. September 11 victims remembered
5. Death penalty sought in Sandra Cantu's death
6. Jessica Seinfeld wins plagiarism case
7. School district turns away 'illegal' students
8. British PM apologizes to gay code-breaker
9. Commentary: Where's Osama bin Laden?
10. Yale student disappears, police say


Number 4 and number 9 on cnn.com...as usual our country is more concerned with dreck and nonsense than reality. They're still out there you know.

Twitter:

1. Follow Friday
2. Sept 11
3. God Bless America
4. Facebook Lite
5. Coast Guard
6. WTC
7. TGIF
8. Jay-Z
9. NEW YORK
10. Potomac River

Looks like on Twitter it's 4 out of 10 topics and 2 more are related to panic spawned by a Coast Guard training exercise in Washington, DC. Why in the world would they run a training exercise in DC, right outside the Pentagon on 9/11?? WHY??? It's only been 8 years! If our own leadership is so callous as to schedule training maneuvers where there are reports over radios of "shots fired" by Coast Guard ships on this day...they obviously are not recognizing the gravity of the day.

If they themselves don't recognize the gravity of the day, how can we expect them to prosecute the war to set it straight?

I miss you guys:









Ain't that the truth...



Onto the speeches...

(bold added by me for emphasis)

The Bin-Laden Fatwas:

Terrorizing you, while you are carrying arms on our land, is a legitimate and morally demanded duty. It is a legitimate right well known to all humans and other creatures. Your example and our example is like a snake which entered into a house of a man and got killed by him. The coward is the one who lets you walk, while carrying arms, freely on his land and provides you with peace and security.

Those youths are different from your soldiers. Your problem will be how to convince your troops to fight, while our problem will be how to restrain our youths to wait for their turn in fighting and in operations. These youths are commendation and praiseworthy.

Excerpt from Bin-Laden's 1996 fatwa against the United States and Saudi Arabian government
August, 1996
Full text can be found here

All these crimes and sins committed by the Americans are a clear declaration of war on God, his messenger, and Muslims. And ulema have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries. This was revealed by Imam Bin-Qadamah in "Al- Mughni," Imam al-Kisa'i in "Al-Bada'i," al-Qurtubi in his interpretation, and the shaykh of al-Islam in his books, where he said: "As for the fighting to repulse [an enemy], it is aimed at defending sanctity and religion, and it is a duty as agreed [by the ulema]. Nothing is more sacred than belief except repulsing an enemy who is attacking religion and life." On that basis, and in compliance with God's order, we issue the following fatwa to all Muslims:

The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies -- civilians and military -- is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque [Mecca] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty God, "and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together," and "fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God."

This is in addition to the words of Almighty God: "And why should ye not fight in the cause of God and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated (and oppressed)? -- women and children, whose cry is: 'Our Lord, rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will help!'"

We -- with God's help -- call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan's U.S. troops and the devil's supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson.

Excerpt from Bin-Laden's 1998 fatwa against the United States and Israel
February 23, 1998
Full text can be found here




Burn in hell forever for doing this to us, you insane, psychopathic, racist, misogynistic, murdering, half-baked, 2nd-rate-embarrassment-to-real-evil-geniuses, lunatic! God damn you for bringing us to this point Osama.


Words from President Bush on 9/11:

Ladies and gentlemen, this is a difficult moment for America. I unfortunately will be going back to Washington after my remarks. Secretary Rod Paige and the lieutenant governor will take the podium and discuss education. I do want to thank the folks here at Booker Elementary School for their hospitality.

Today, we've had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country. I have spoken to the vice president, to the governor of New York, to the director of the FBI, and I've ordered that the full resources of the federal government go to help the victims and their families and to conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down and to find those folks who committed this act. Terrorism against our nation will not stand.

And now, if you'd join me in a moment of silence.

(Moment of silence.)

May God bless the victims, their families and America. Thank you very much.

President Bush At Emma Booker Elementary School
September 11th, 2001

Good evening.

Today, our fellow citizens, our way of life, our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts. The victims were in airplanes or in their offices: secretaries, business men and women, military and federal workers, moms and dads, friends and neighbors. Thousands of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts of terror. The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge -- huge structures collapsing have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed. Our country is strong.

A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve. America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world. And no one will keep that light from shining. Today, our nation saw evil -- the very worst of human nature -- and we responded with the best of America. With the daring of our rescue workers, with the caring for strangers and neighbors who came to give blood and help in any way they could.

Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government's emergency response plans. Our military is powerful, and it's prepared. Our emergency teams are working in New York City and Washington D.C. to help with local rescue efforts. Our first priority is to get help to those who have been injured, and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around the world from further attacks. The functions of our government continue without interruption. Federal agencies in Washington which had to be evacuated today are reopening for essential personnel tonight and will be open for business tomorrow. Our financial institutions remain strong, and the American economy will be open for business as well.

The search is underway for those who were behind these evil acts. I have directed the full resources of our intelligence and law enforcement communities to find those responsible and to bring them to justice. We will make no distinction between the terrorists who committed these acts and those who harbor them.

I appreciate so very much the members of Congress who have joined me in strongly condemning these attacks. And on behalf of the American people, I thank the many world leaders who have called to offer their condolences and assistance. America and our friends and allies join with all those who want peace and security in the world, and we stand together to win the war against terrorism.

Tonight, I ask for your prayers for all those who grieve, for the children whose worlds have been shattered, for all whose sense of safety and security has been threatened. And I pray they will be comforted by a Power greater than any of us, spoken through the ages in Psalm 23:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for you are with me.

This is a day when all Americans from every walk of life unite in our resolve for justice and peace. America has stood down enemies before, and we will do so this time. None of us will ever forget this day, yet we go forward to defend freedom and all that is good and just in our world.

Thank you. Good night. And God bless America.

President George W. Bush
9/11 Address to the Nation
September 11th, 2001

Too bad your successor doesn't seem to understand it as you did Mr. President. Wish you were still here...

Netanyahu's speech to the US House of Representatives:

The first and most crucial thing to understand is this: There is no international terrorism without the support of sovereign states. International terrorism simply cannot be sustained for long without the regimes that aid and abet it. Terrorists are not suspended in mid-air. They train, arm, and indoctrinate their killers from within safe havens on territory provided by terrorist states. Often these regimes provide the terrorists with intelligence, money, and operational assistance, dispatching them to serve as deadly proxies to wage a hidden war against more powerful enemies.

Here is what Arafat’s government controlled newspaper, Al Hayat Al Jadida, said on September 11, the very day of the suicide bombing of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon:

The suicide bombers of today are the noble successors of the Lebanese suicide bombers, who taught the U.S. Marines a tough lesson in [Lebanon]. These suicide bombers are the salt of the earth, the engines of history They are the most honorable people among us.

A simple rule prevails here: The success of terrorists in one part of the terror network emboldens terrorists throughout the network. This then is the Who. Now for the Why.

Though its separate parts may have local objectives and take part in local conflicts, the main motivation driving the terror network is an anti-Western hostility that seeks to achieve nothing less than a reversal of history. It seeks to roll back the West and install an extremist form of Islam as the dominant power in the world. It seeks to do this not by means of its own advancement and progress, but by destroying the enemy. This hatred is the product of a seething resentment that has simmered for centuries in certain parts of the Arab and Islamic world.

For them the mission was clear: The West had to be first pushed out of these areas. Pro-western Middle Eastern regimes were toppled in rapid succession, including in Iran. And Israel, the Middle East’s only democracy and its purest manifestation of Western progress and freedom, must be wiped off the face of the earth. Thus, the soldiers of militant Islam do not hate the West because of Israel, they hate Israel because of the West -- because they see it is an island of Western democratic values in a Moslem-Arab sea of despotism.

We have received a wake up call from hell. Now the question is simple: Do we rally to defeat this evil, while there is still time, or do we press a collective snooze button and go back to business as usual? The time for action is now. Today the terrorists have the will to destroy us, but they do not have the power. There is no doubt that we have the power to crush them. Now we must also show that we have the will to do just that. Once any part of the terror network acquires nuclear weapons, this equation will fundamentally change, and with it the course of human affairs. This is the historical imperative that now confronts all of us.

And now the third point: What do we about it? First, as President Bush said, we must make no distinction between the terrorists and the states that support them. It is not enough to root out the terrorists who committed this horrific act of war. We must dismantle the entire terrorist network. If any part of it remains intact, it will rebuild itself, and the specter of terrorism will reemerge and strike again. Bin Laden, for example, has shuttled over the last decade from Saudi Arabia to Afghanistan to the Sudan and back again. So we must not leave any base intact. To achieve this goal we must first have moral clarity. We must fight terror wherever and whenever it appears. We must make all states play by the same rules. We must declare terrorism a crime against humanity, and we must consider the terrorists enemies of mankind, to be given no quarter and no consideration for their purported grievances.

This is the great mission that now stands before the free world. That mission must not be watered down to allow certain states to participate in the coalition that is now being organized. Rather, the coalition must be built around this mission. It may be that some will shy away from adopting such an uncompromising stance against terrorism. If some free states choose to remain on the sidelines, America must be prepared to march forward without them -- for there is no substitute for moral and strategic clarity.

I believe that if the United States stands on principle, all the democracies will eventually join the war on terrorism. The easy route may be tempting, but it will not win the day. On September eleventh, I, like everyone else, was glued to a television set watching the savagery that struck America. Yet amid the smoking ruins of the Twin Towers one could make out the Statue of Liberty holding high the torch of freedom. It is freedom’s flame that the terrorists sought to extinguish. But it is that same torch, so proudly held by the United States, that can lead the free world to crush the forces of terror and secure our tomorrow. It is within our power. Let us now make sure that it is within our will.

Benjamin Netanyahu
Excerpts from his statement to the U.S. Government Reform Committee
Delivered September 20, 2001
Full text can be found here

Too bad we didn't listen to you then Benjy.

President Bush: Thank you all. I want you all to know -- it [bullhorn] can't go any louder -- I want you all to know that American today, American today is on bended knee, in prayer for the people whose lives were lost here, for the workers who work here, for the families who mourn. The nation stands with the good people of New York City and New Jersey and Connecticut as we mourn the loss of thousands of our citizens

Rescue Worker: I can't hear you!

President Bush: I can hear you! I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people -- and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!

Rescue Workers: [Chanting] U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

President Bush: The nation -- The nation sends its love and compassion --

Rescue Worker: God bless America!

President Bush: -- to everybody who is here. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for makin' the nation proud, and may God bless America.

Rescue Workers: [Chanting] U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

President George W. Bush
Bullhorn Address to Ground Zero Rescue Workers
September 14th, 2001

I remember how I felt when I saw this moment for the first time. I actually felt like we were going to win this thing. AND WE STILL CAN. We just need the resolve and the leadership to do it.

Til next year...