America – The Lesser

The anniversary of the September 11^th ‘terrorist’ attack on America is upon us again.  Television programs are rife and replete with memorials and “newly” discovered information regarding this event.  Eleven years later we are still gathering information and discovering new data that should complete the puzzle but still leaves gaping holes in the picture.  We have all the edges, but the middle is still a mystery.

This tragic event was the culmination of years of planning and effort by an organization that appeared on our security radar years before but for some reason was ignored or passed off as an anomaly and completely ineffectual.  The two largest security services in this country knew of the plot but decided for whatever reason to hold the data as confidential and not share it:  How typically American.  They were embroiled in a turf battle: they each wanted power; we suffered the result.

We all know parts of the story since we’ve been subjected to the Hollywood spin to immortalize and vilify the people that took part.  We’’ll never know the truth because we would rather believe that this was an attack on us personally, not on our government’s policy.  We looked the other way as this unfolded and when in full swing the situation confused those that should provide protection. They still place blame on the other guys.  They still refuse to accept personal responsibility for their errant actions. 

Did they know this was coming? 

Did they allow this to happen?

We now have the “Patriot Act” to protect us.  We traded freedom for security.  We have ‘newly’ formed alliances between the security services to ‘ensure’ that cogent information is shared.  We have the TSA to ensure that weed whackers, chain saws, and cigar cutters are not carried onto commercial aircraft.  We have the best “Security Theater” money – our money – can buy: freedom for safety.

We attacked Islamic countries that had nothing to do with these terrorists.  Our leaders pointed to these tiny countries as the villains rather than those that provided the means and method for the attack.  Our interests in Saudi oil tainted our judgment and misdirected our efforts to these other countries.  After all, the perpetrators came from Saudi Arabia and Egypt.  GW Bush (the shrub) finished Daddy’s war in Iraq as retribution.  Papa Bush pulled out early leaving a despot in place to encourage further incursions for the “Democratize” of this region.  Our efforts netted thousands dead and trillions of dollars in debt.  This fattened the coffers of the war machine and corporations like Halliburton in the process.  Eleven long years and trillions of dollars later, we are no further ahead or no more secure than before the attack and yet we still vilify Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan with no mention of Saudi Arabia as the enabler.

Our current President stood proudly, publically, and smugly stating that we eliminated the leader of this plot.  What he did was expose our clandestine programs, named the team that completed this mission, and destroyed the power in our abilities to operate in secret.  He took credit for this action as a proud accomplishment in his tenure.  Ben Laden’s general planned the action and his army completed the mission.  In trying to cripple the Ben Laden organization, we actually created martyrs and in so doing enlisted more soldiers for their cause against America.

Did we really know the minds and hearts of the Islamic warriors?  Did we truly understand the fervor and dedication of these Islamic soldiers?  Were we prepared for the retaliation and reprisals in the Middle East as we invaded these smaller countries?  Did we understand the fundamentalist beliefs behind these actions?

Know Your Enemy! 

Know His Politics! 

Know His Strengths and Weaknesses! 

Know His Gods!

We didn’’t care to know any of these…  We’’re America, the most powerful country on this planet.  We know everything and we can do anything we want.  Now the best we can hope to achieve is a stalemate and total withdrawal.  We ignored what we learned in Korea, Vietnam, Somalia, and other near losses.  So here we come, tail tucked and head down, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.  Congress has never won a war.  Our wins were courtesy of our professional military and only when they were allowed to orchestrate and control their soldiers on the battlefield.  When the Congressional Leadership intervenes, it becomes a disaster!  Every Time!

In 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.  We knew that was coming; the Japanese Embassy told us they were going to attack.  We ignored the warning.  When Japan struck us, we immediately declared war.  Something tells me that Al-Qaida told us this was coming as well and we ignored the warning.  We took our sweet time declaring war against the wrong countries. Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan all hid Ben Laden but had little complicity in the actual attacks.  Rather than declaring war on those responsible, we blamed those that hid him.  We blamed our inadequacies on smaller countries that by the way really “needed Democracy” and off we went.  Democratizing these barbarians would make this all better – and don’t forget about all that oil…

Today, we mourn the loss of life: Laud those that assisted as heroes: Wave the banner of Victory over Iraq: and cower in the corner waiting for the next attack.  The Shrub declared “Mission Accomplished” in a grandstand maneuver.  Obama declared “we got the guy responsible for all this.”  Now it’’s all better.  We killed the guy we blame for these attacks, and we also have the oil.  Obama is our hero and salvation. 

We are soft; we are lazy, and we believe every sound bite and video clip the entertainers throw at us in the media.  We let our fat lazy and self-serving representatives tell us how much we have gained since September 11^th, 2001.  We have an unbalanced class system with a burgeoning debt and unemployment.  We blindly accept the lies and distortions of our government as truth.  We have traded our freedom for pseudo-security and sleep well knowing that our leadership is watching after us.  We allow Airport Security Theater to feign protection – we all feel safer after the TSA gropes a granny or toddler.

I don’’t want another world war.  I don’’t advocate the use of force to rectify world problems.  I don’’t see violence against us as an excuse for more violence.  I do see that we have rolled over and allowed the Islamic World to force us into the corner because of OIL.  We need it… They have it… so we allow them to dictate terms.  So what do we do?  We create a quid pro quo trade system.  They’’re hungry and we need oil.  How tough can this be: One barrel of oil for one bushel of wheat?  Yes, it is simplistic and maybe too obvious.  Why not try it?  Why not use the oil we have in our country and let the Arab world fend for itself?  Why not increase US production to meet our needs and thus eliminating our dependence on foreign supplies?  Electric and Hybrid cars are not the answer.  They ignore the root cause of this problem and come nowhere close to resolving the real issue.  They do however create the placebo that soothes the conscience of the conservationists.

Our greed turned this country over to big business decades ago.  We rode high on the wave of wealth and prosperity while they took the reins.  We traded our freedom for security.  Now there is no going back.  We allowed political correctness to change our outspoken and direct manner into namby-pamby psycho-babble full of double entendre,’ couching the real meaning in endless opportunities for misinterpretation.  Instead of calling the kettle black – we say that this cooking vessel is devoid of color.  Instead of saying we’’ll bomb you back to the Stone Age – we say that we will sanction you and enact trade embargos.  Instead of telling the UN that we are really pissed and taking action – we ask permission from the most ineffectual and convoluted organization in existence.  The only major decision from the UN recently was that they were still thinking about making a decision… but they really haven’’t decided.

We can always find someone to blame for our problems.  We can point the accusing finger outward and find someone or something responsible when in reality it is us.  We are completely responsible for our situation.  We are the ONLY ones to blame.  We have met the enemy and it is us.

You vow to remember this day but do you remember what got us to this point?  What are you doing about that?  Do you remember that only a short few years before we armed these terrorists so they could fight the Russians?  Do you recall how we turned our backs on them when they asked for assistance?  Do you remember that slap in the face?  Do you remember our insistence that Islam is not Christian and therefore not a true religion?  Do you remember the attempts to democratize the Middle East even though they had a working albeit non-American system?

I do not condone the actions Al-Qaida took, but in view of our duplicitous and deceitful behavior who could blame them.  This is an unpopular stance, but consider that when you are wronged your first reaction is getting even,RIGHT?  Also, consider that since the end of WWII we have been telling the world how to live by our standards then ignoring these standards at home.  We ARE the enemy; our own worst enemy.  Our country is in turmoil and on the verge of revolution because of too many factors to mention.  We are the laughingstock of the world yet we ignore the signs.

If you chose to remember this day as a memorial to the people that died, I applaud you but also remember that our government caused this attack.  Think about who gained the most from this?  Think about what DW Eisenhower’s warning about the “Military Industrial Complex? He warned that they would take over this country and they did.  We are a nation that values profit above all else.  We place our young people in harm’’s way to fatten the coffers of mega-corporations:  Corporations that make weapons of war.

If you remember nothing else from this tragedy, it should be that we were not attacked personally… they attacked our government and our deceitful policies.  In war, these losses are called collateral damage, but our government and the media called it a terrorist attack.  You can choose for yourself but remember that this didn’’t just happen.  Our government is responsible so that makes us equally responsible since we ARE the government.  When you think of the people lost in this attack remember that this was not a random act of violence: it was a response to American Policies – Government Policies.

I recall exactly where I was and my thoughts on this day eleven years ago.  It was a sad day for America.  I felt sorrow for those families who lost loved ones.  I recognized then that we were being used to further the goals of our President and our country’s policies.  I felt betrayed by our government.  I felt ashamed.