18 Years Later

My second cousin worked in the Woolworth building, a block north and a block east of Two World Trade Center - which is across the street from where one of the towers stood (the "north" tower). He was on the subway on his way to work when the train suddenly stopped and an announcement was made that there was an explosion at the World Trade center. It was election day and he had just voted in the primary, otherwise he would have been in his building - which suffered some damage when the towers fell.

My daughter was mad at me the previous week: "You're so unfair!" I hadn't allowed her to take a bus to NYC to meet with some of the faculty members of Boston's School of the Museum of Fine Arts. They were scheduled to have a "meet and greet" brunch on September 11, 2001 ...

... in the Top of the World restaurant at the World Trade Center.

She's not mad at me any more.

For me, 9/11/2001 is a day with mixed emotions. Anger and sadness that so many were killed or hurt, and thankfulness that my family remained safe.

Those who were paying attention knew that the Twin Towers were a target.  A previous attempt to bring them down 10 years earlier using a car bomb wasn't successful, although it did destroy much of one of the underground parking lots.

Those who were paying attention knew that the Twin Towers were a symbol of America's financial and economic strength, and that there were those in the world who hated us and them for what they represented.

Clinton treated multiple terrorist attacks as criminal acts, not as terrorist attacks.  Because of this, investigations were relegated to the local authorities instead of federal agencies.  Without calling these multiple attacks "terrorism", no agency or authority was tasked with "connecting the dots".

Post-9/11 recriminations ran rife with attacks against President Bush for not preventing the attack, even though the information about "airplanes being used as weapons to attack American targets" was so nonspecific that it was useless.  Questions were asked why President Clinton did not "take out Bin Laden" previously.  Accusations flew back and forth about emergency services being unable to communicate effectively.  Some in Congress blamed the Bush administration for "not connecting the dots" when the previous Clinton administration had not demonstrated the need to do so - and hadn't "connected the dots" either.

Some even ridiculed President Bush for not angrily racing out of a classroom during the attack.  He  had been reading a book to kindergarten children.Would frightening the children have solved a thing? The attack had already taken place, every plane in flight was ordered to land at the closest airport after the report of Flight 93 being hijacked, and Vice President Cheney was ready to give orders to Air Force fighters to shoot down any plane refusing to land.

18 years have passed.

In my opinion, we haven't learned a thing.  The proof is our failure to take actions to protect our nation since 9/11 and the proof that America is no longer protected by "ocean borders on either side".

We haven't strengthened our power transmission systems against EMP or other attack.

We haven't fully secured our southern and northern borders to prevent incursions (look at the statistics - some illegal entrants are from the Middle East).

We haven't significantly improved our methods to inspect goods received by container vessels at our multiple ports (marginal improvements, yes - but too many items still make it through the border).

We haven't reassessed our foreign policy to determine where the US military should be involved and where the US shouldn't even get involved.

These are only a few of the "open holes" in our nation's security.  Forums already exist where the question of national security are being legitimately discussed and where possible answers are being proposed.

For decades, we have paid attention to issues that some believe are necessary to demonstrate "who we are".  In many of the "who we are" arguments, some have argued against a strong military capable of defending America because "who we are" should not include using the military. Ever. At. All.  Even when necessary.  Some have even argued that we shouldn't defend America because this nation doesn't deserve to exist.

Maybe Washington is keeping itself occupied with nonsense issues because the big issues - the ones that need to be solved to actually protect America - are SO big and SO hard to solve that both sides are afraid to take the first move... and be accused by the other side of being "provocative".

9/11 both tore this nation apart and brought it together.  We were one nation for a short time - but only for a short time.  And then politicians on both sides of the aisle decided that "playing games" was more important than defending the nation.

Are we back where we were on 9/10/2001?