Friday, July 23, 2004
9-11 Report: Still Thinking Inside the Box?
Is the 9-11 Commission still missing the bigger picture? Read just two paragraphs in and you will be struck by a sign that the Commission still doesn't get just what happened on 9-11, or, it is to riven by politics to acknowledge the nature of the events.
We have come together with a unity of purpose because our nation demands it. September 11, 2001,was a day of unprecedented shock and suffering in the history of the United States.The nation was unprepared. How did this happen, and how can we avoid such tragedy again?
Was 9-11 a tragedy?
Notice that the above makes no reference to an attack. That is what happened on 9-11 ... a well-planned and executed attack. A tragedy is an act of God or nature, an accident, something that can be controlled or prevented with care and thought.
An attack, on the other hand, is carried out by human beings. People who plan, think, test and try with all their might to overcome the best defensive efforts of those they are attacking.
By calling 9-11 a tragedy and not an attack, the Commission implies that it could have been prevented. Yet, attacks can never be prevented. They can be defended against, or thwarted or ignored. Meanwhile, the attackers will look at those efforts and change their tactics.
What the Commission, and many Americans, seem to be ignoring is that we are not alone in this struggle. We have a dance partner.
So, the real questions are: How did the 9-11 attackers probe our defenses? How did they react when they were blocked, such as when some of their numbers were blocked from entering the United States or arrested by the FBI?
We have come together with a unity of purpose because our nation demands it. September 11, 2001,was a day of unprecedented shock and suffering in the history of the United States.The nation was unprepared. How did this happen, and how can we avoid such tragedy again?
Was 9-11 a tragedy?
Notice that the above makes no reference to an attack. That is what happened on 9-11 ... a well-planned and executed attack. A tragedy is an act of God or nature, an accident, something that can be controlled or prevented with care and thought.
An attack, on the other hand, is carried out by human beings. People who plan, think, test and try with all their might to overcome the best defensive efforts of those they are attacking.
By calling 9-11 a tragedy and not an attack, the Commission implies that it could have been prevented. Yet, attacks can never be prevented. They can be defended against, or thwarted or ignored. Meanwhile, the attackers will look at those efforts and change their tactics.
What the Commission, and many Americans, seem to be ignoring is that we are not alone in this struggle. We have a dance partner.
So, the real questions are: How did the 9-11 attackers probe our defenses? How did they react when they were blocked, such as when some of their numbers were blocked from entering the United States or arrested by the FBI?
