Everyone today is going on about how Unified we all were 22 years ago. I'm glad to read your response, because for many of us the unity was a façade. We didn't DARE say "what did you expect? Have you been LOOKING at how we are treating other "lesser" countries?" We didn't dare ask out loud "what is going to Afghanistan going to accomplis…
Everyone today is going on about how Unified we all were 22 years ago. I'm glad to read your response, because for many of us the unity was a façade. We didn't DARE say "what did you expect? Have you been LOOKING at how we are treating other "lesser" countries?" We didn't dare ask out loud "what is going to Afghanistan going to accomplish, exactly? No one has EVER won The Great Game--not the Brits, not the Russians. Even Alexander the Great had trouble." It wasn't as if Afghan nationals grabbed those planes. What did we do with the country that actually spawned those terrorists? Bought its oil, enriching it so we could all drive to the mall instead of having decent public transportation to get us there.
By the time we headed to Iraq it was OK to be cynical again. But until then the word was "If you dissent from our response, the terrorists have won."
And though we temporarily squelched the Taliban, that Great Game finally beat us. And it was 10 YEARS after Osama was killed before we left the country. Much of the time before he was killed he was actually in Pakistan--our ally.
This is not to say that I feel nothing for the victims of 9/11 and their families. Of course I do. I feel sympathy and horror and sorrow. I just don't think the attack came out of the blue, with no history behind it. Those in the tower were victims--not only of Al Qaeda, but of the forces that caused Al Qaeda to form in the first place.
And I feel for the women of Afghanistan, given hope and then watching it drain away, with a huge number of Americans now frickin' AGREEING at least in part with the Taliban's take on the role of women.
I don't think we will ever really recover if we keep denying our own role. What mindless "patriotism" has led to is 1/6. Better to scream a lot than try to fix things.
Everyone today is going on about how Unified we all were 22 years ago. I'm glad to read your response, because for many of us the unity was a façade. We didn't DARE say "what did you expect? Have you been LOOKING at how we are treating other "lesser" countries?" We didn't dare ask out loud "what is going to Afghanistan going to accomplish, exactly? No one has EVER won The Great Game--not the Brits, not the Russians. Even Alexander the Great had trouble." It wasn't as if Afghan nationals grabbed those planes. What did we do with the country that actually spawned those terrorists? Bought its oil, enriching it so we could all drive to the mall instead of having decent public transportation to get us there.
By the time we headed to Iraq it was OK to be cynical again. But until then the word was "If you dissent from our response, the terrorists have won."
And though we temporarily squelched the Taliban, that Great Game finally beat us. And it was 10 YEARS after Osama was killed before we left the country. Much of the time before he was killed he was actually in Pakistan--our ally.
This is not to say that I feel nothing for the victims of 9/11 and their families. Of course I do. I feel sympathy and horror and sorrow. I just don't think the attack came out of the blue, with no history behind it. Those in the tower were victims--not only of Al Qaeda, but of the forces that caused Al Qaeda to form in the first place.
And I feel for the women of Afghanistan, given hope and then watching it drain away, with a huge number of Americans now frickin' AGREEING at least in part with the Taliban's take on the role of women.
I don't think we will ever really recover if we keep denying our own role. What mindless "patriotism" has led to is 1/6. Better to scream a lot than try to fix things.