9/11 Overkill ... Lessons NOT Learned

Yes, this is the week that, ten years ago, housed the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

So, of course they will be in the news.

You can logically expect them to be featured to the degree that you will probably be wishing for September 12th just so you can get back to "normal life."

However you feel about this, there is little that can be done about it.

My wish, expressed in this letter, is that Americans take some time to actually discover what happened that day. Finally.

I just sent this out to my local papers:

_____________

"As we approach the ten-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it saddens me that most Americans still do know the truth about what really happened on that day or what led to it. This is not entirely their fault since the attacks have been politicized and the official investigation—produced by the “National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States” (i.e., the 9/11 Commission)— failed to definitively explain what led to the attacks.

"While the 9/11 Commission report is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the basics of what happened, its conclusion that the attacks resulted from a 'failure of imagination' is frankly insulting to all those people who not only imagined such an attack but specifically planned for it. As one example,
the 'Atlanta Rules' (developed for the summer Olympics in Atlanta to prepare for a terrorist attack where a civilian aircraft would be crashed into the stadium) were used for numerous 'National Security Special Events' including the George W. Bush inauguration in January 2001 as well as the G-8 summit in July 2001.
That is, the US government knew terrorists were planning to hijack planes and use them in unconventional ways, 'possibly as flying bombs' (this from an international warning, one of many suggesting an extraordinary attack was imminent).

"Further, the 9/11 Commission glossed over the fact that various intelligence agencies (including the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency) tracked known 'terrorist killers' (their words) into the US but failed to tell the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) or everyday American citizens. This is significant for the simple reason that two of the 9/11 hijackers lived in San Diego under the nose of an FBI informant who was never asked to gain information on the men because the FBI did not know they were here.

"So what is the point of this letter? I have a simple request. This week as you reflect upon the worst terrorist attack against our nation in its history, don’t just weep for those lives lost and pray for the health and security of our country and its people, devote some time to do some research about what really happened on that day and what failures led to it. Unfortunately, as a teacher-scholar who has carefully examined the 9/11 attacks, I can confidently conclude that all the answers are not found in the 9/11 Commission report. I
suggest this source as a starting point:
http://www.historycommons.org/project.jsp?project=911_project. Or you can watch
the film, '9/11: Press for Truth.' http://www.911pressfortruth.com/."
_____________
We might also pause and consider the words of Noam Chomsky in his essay "The 9/11 response: Wrong from start to finish," recently published on CBSNews.com: "A massive assault on a Muslim population would be the answer to the prayers of bin Laden and his associates."

Yep, that is exactly what the US did.

And the US response to bin Laden has cost us about $3 trillion over 15 years.

So you can understand why some people have suggested that maybe bin Laden is winning, even though he is dead.

I wonder if these voices will be heard in the mainstream press or if we will instead, simply remember and feel sad.