I take pen in hand-or sit at my computer – begin writing on the day before the celebration (sic) of the Tenth Anniversary of those events of terrorism which shall forever be known as 9-11. As you now know our television media and all of the politicians have been sharing their wisdom for over a month. New video and audio tapes have been provided, new photos discovered, and even several new witnesses have brought their stories to the public.
My own quick research provides the following facts about that terrible day in 2001: On that day, a number of Saudi Arabian citizens commandeered four commercial jetliners in order to cause destruction and mayhem in the United States. Some three thousand people died as a result of the crashes of the four aircraft. In the years since, an untold number of workers at the New York site (Ground Zero) have died or are dying from health issues related to breathing the toxic dust created by the fall of the two 100+ story buildings.
The reaction of the American Government and, perhaps, the American people was quick and predictable. We needed to avenge these acts. Someone had attacked the United States of America and we were – almost- united in our response – or so it would seem. We learned that the terrorists involved were a part of Al Qaeda, a militant group organized by Osama Bin Laden in 1988 or 1989. Originally organized by Suni Islamists for the purpose of throwing Russia out of Afghanistan, they were supported (because of the Cold War) by the U.S. Government.
Ten years later, Osama Bin Laden is dead. Brave Navy Seals raided his compound in Pakistan and finally ended his terrorist ways. Regrettably the total number of deaths in the American combat in avenging the deaths that occurred on 9-11 is somewhat over six thousand. When you add in the human cost of the wounded, psychologically injured, and bereaved, the cost is way to high. If we include the Afghanistan and Iraq military and civilians, the number is greater than 100,000.
When we take into consideration the financial cost of the past ten years of response to 9-11, it is astronomical. As of this writing, on the eve of our tenth anniversary of the attacks, we have spent over one and one-quarter trillion American dollars (http://costofwar.com/en/).
It seems to this writer that we are completing the job that those four airplanes began. In recent months, Congress debated the necessity of raising the debt ceiling. There were predictable calls for stopping spending including so-called “entitlements” given to the aged and military veterans. Some are calling for a Balanced Budget Amendment to The Constitution. Surely, the cost of this (these) wars have been a big factor in the severe budget problems of this nation. Every bomb and every bullet used to avenge the events of 9-11, is a part of the neglect of our infrastructure and our social lives.
In the aftermath of 2011, I- and many others – felt that our government acted irresponsibly in going to war especially in Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and numerous others in and out of the government had long wanted to go to war with Iraq and their dictator Saddam Hussein. There was no limit to the misinformation they would use to accomplish this. I remember the said events when military hero turned politician, Colin Powell, was forced to provide to congress and the United Nations facts that he knew to be untrue. Remember Saddam’s “Weapons of Mass Destruction”. They did not exist and we found that Saddam was a necessary bad guy because the warring factions inside his country could not be controlled in any other way.
So, we complete our 10 years of response to 9-11 and we are a weaker and less-respected member of the family of nations. What price vengeance?
