Third Anniversary

Saturday, September 11 2004

Originally, I planned to write yesterday and then take today off from the journal. After all, it is the third anniversary of the attacks in New York and Washington. This day has a real push/pull feeling to it. Human beings are able to survive because our memories are imperfect. Those who lost family and friends three years ago have the right to their grief. The rest of us have a right to a sort of lesser collective grief but I wonder how much we should indulge in it.

The Second World War began with the attack on Pearl Harbor that killed a similar number of sailors. As a nation, we pursued that war to total and complete victory. The attacks three years ago might be even more terrible since most of the dead were civilians who had not accepted a soldier's risk. I believe that too much can be made of this distinction. Dead Americans are still tragedies whether or not they wear a uniform.

I brought up Pearl Harbor because of the similarities and not the differences. Both tragic days summoned the full force of American rage yet we fought a war to the death after Pearl Harbor. After Pentagon and World Trade Center attacks, we decided to arm local opposition to the Taliban and support them with bombing. After Pearl Harbor, we occupied Japan and Germany to rebuild societies that would not start wars. After September 11th, we bombed and left so that we could invade a nation that had nothing to do with the attacks.

Neither Tojo or Hitler survived the Second World War and its aftermath. Hitler killed himself and Tojo was executed. Why is Osama bin Laden still at large? Why is the Taliban that gave him refuge so resurgent? Why are American soldiers being killed in Iraq on what might as well be a daily basis?

Anyone who reads this journal on a regular basis knows that I blame Bush for at least two of these three questions. Bush was offered a blank check by the American people to defend this nation and to avenge the attacks. Perhaps an occupation of Afghanistan would have failed or, at least, led to casualties like the ones we're suffering in Iraq. We do not know this but we would have been willing to pay the price. The Taliban would not be dominating the countryside.

We have allowed the enemy to attack us with impunity. Yes, a number of enemy troops were killed but the leadership was able to disperse the rest. Osama bin Laden was in Tora Bora when it was attacked according to military intelligence. He escaped because American troops were not used and the Afghans decided to take bribes. Even if he is killed now, many of his goals have been realized. Bush has shown our enemies that they can attack us and get away with it.

Why were American troops not used at Tora Bora? There are two likely reasons and they are not mutually exclusive. The first is Donald Rumsfeld's "transformation" of the military. Rumsfeld wishes to demonstrate that wars can be won and foreign governments can be toppled with minimal use of ground troops. Therefore, the neo-conservative dream of a new American empire can come to pass.

If the transformation had worked, it would have been great. I wouldn't have wanted us to have an empire because those usually don't turn out very well. It would have been wonderful if wars could be won and political objectives achieved by supporting local dissidents and dropping bombs. The problem is that the transformation worked well enough for the war winning part but left us incapable of meeting our political objectives.

In case someone does not realize what political objectives means, let me explain. One political objective that has near universal support in this country is killing Osama bin Laden. Killing Americans on our own soil should result in a death sentence. Whether it is carried out by a bomb dropped from 20,000 feet or a noose makes no difference. Imprisonment would even be acceptable under some circumstances but having him free and killing again is unacceptable. Because we did not have soldiers occupying the ground, this objective was not met.

The second reason for this was the administration's desire to invade Iraq. If we deployed our troops to Afghanistan to meet the generally accepted goal for the war, they could not also be used in Iraq. The American people were exploited by a small number of people in this administration who decided on the goal of invading Iraq whether it made sense or not. September 11th was their excuse despite the fact that it had nothing to do with Iraq or Saddam.

The fact that this date has been used to deceive the American public cheapens it all. The attacks were a tragedy and nothing good came from them. We can be proud of the fact that so many brave men and women risked their lives in an attempt to save others but it ended in tragedy. Bush took what happened and used it as a tool. Making this anniversary into some sort of holiday helps him use us all.

The attack on Pearl Harbor united this nation and held us together through almost four years of World War. Even so, it is not considered a holiday. It is remembered for what it was. September 11th produced victims, heroic victims and a nation ready to be victimized by cynical leaders. Let us mourn this day simply and respectfully without intruding on those who have more personal grief.

Let us take this day and remember how we were exploited by George Bush. We have a job to do on November 2nd as a nation and that is to get him out of office. Kerry might not have a full fledged plan to deal with this mess but that is a reflection on how much damage Bush has done. We must not reward incompetence, corruption and cynicism with another term. Kerry might not be perfect but he has shown the character we need to deal with the past four years of disaster.