In Memoriam

On the fifth anniversary of September 11, 2001, I'm going to try to stay non-partisan. That was how we were, then.

Of the various 9/11-related entertainments, I would say the special "9/11" (the one hosted by Robert De Niro), which focused on the heroism of the FDNY, was particularly moving. "Path to War (Pt. I)" was not as obnoxious as I had been led to believe, and at least as entertaining and educational as the average episode of "24".

I will say that I think those poll questions to the effect of "Are you safer now than you were on September 11, 2001" are kind of ridiculous. Safer than 9/11/01? Of course: who knew then how far that madness could go? Now we have some semblance of crazed normality. Safer than 9/10/01? Of course not.

On 9/11/01 I was in England, just returned from a business trip to Miami (it happens to be the anniversary of my wedding). We looked at the TV in disbelief at the end of a long workday, and, when we were able, we reassured our friends that we were not there at the scene. I cannot claim that I had any personal losses on that day.

On the other hand, I was across the street from the WTC in 1993 when they tried to take it down with a truck bomb. We dodged it that day, but the principles of the WTC as a target and the will of Islamic fanatics to attack it had been established: 9/11/01 only changed the level of our confidence that we could continue to dodge the attacks. I don't even think Osama was involved in that first one.

We need to focus on the worldwide struggle to eliminate those who are turning toward fanatical jihadism by eliminating their emotional, psychological need to turn that way. Ours is a struggle for the hearts and minds; to the extent we have managed to avoid attacks within the US since then (with crossed fingers), it is because our country gives no fertile soil to the seeds of such a philosophy. By showing that there is another way.

We hear that Pakistan has thrown in the towel and agreed not to pursue the Taliban and Al Qaeda in some remote border regions adjoining Afghanistan. The US and NATO should explicitly state that we will not abide by that agreement, then do what is necessary to eliminate that safe haven. We should not, however, fool ourselves that the problem will go away when we have succeeded in doing that, and when we get Osama and al-Zawahiri. Still, we have the right to avenge ourselves, and a practical necessity to prevent safe havens for those who have authored the outrages of 9/11/01, Bali, Madrid, Casablanca, and London.

Finally, it has been reported that Anbar Province of Iraq is now a no-hope zone for our military mission, with the most powerful force being, not just Sunni militants, but Al Qaeda itself. Anbar is a very large province, extending from the outskirts of Baghdad to the Jordanian border. If this troubling report is true, it definitively shows the failure of the mission in Iraq. We need to consult with our allies, including those in the Mideast, and even hostile nations like Iran and Syria, and determine how to root this evil out. Much as we would like to end the US involvement in Iraq, we can't leave an open wound like that.