September 11 - Bad Guys Given Victory
Paul Krugman said it sooner and better than I could - no surprise there. There is a lot of shame to go around, shared by most of us. We all know what was - is still - going on was wrong. What did we do to stop it? Krugman and Glenn Greenwald can sleep at night - they did their share and more. The rest of us - I don't know. I was never out in the street protesting. How can I point fingers?
But the point I need to add to Dr. Krugman's succinct analysis is that because of all the shameful acts or brutality, greed, and stupidity done by our nation in our name, Osama bin Laden was given the victory he sought and lots more.
Bin Laden's view of the US was through the lens of his extreme religious beliefs and having seen with his own eyes what American actions did in the Middle East. America has supported Israel - clearly not a hit with the Afghani mud hut crowd - but also propped up the governments across the continent which repressed their own Islamic people.
The attacks of 9-11 were horrific, but not a percentage point as horrific as awful and deadly as the response. By destroying any concept of constitutional rule, by torturing and killing and rendering and by locking ourselves in a police state, we've shown that the Osama view of America was the correct view. We showed ourselves to be the lawless jackbooted thieves that he painted us to be.
We waged a needless and illegal war that killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. We have tortured prisoners - by our own admission. Bush even bragged about ordering it in his book. CIA Black Sites across the world operate a shadow regime that has no rules. The NSA collects more than 1.7 billion phone calls and emails every day - with no warrant.
This was not the America I grew up in. I didn't believe this America was even a possibility. Osama saw it, and his attack brought it out. We had elected the worst of us as leader, and that leader rose - or, rather fell - to the occasion.
Our basest instincts and most unappealing traits have been on display for a decade - and counting. The man who lied about being a Progressive in order to get elected has instead chosen to lower our standards rather than raise them. Thanks, Mr. Obama.
A couple of times while I've been typing this I've wondered if it was safe to post. What kind of free country makes you afraid to post an opinion?
Nice win, Al Qaeda.
But the point I need to add to Dr. Krugman's succinct analysis is that because of all the shameful acts or brutality, greed, and stupidity done by our nation in our name, Osama bin Laden was given the victory he sought and lots more.
Bin Laden's view of the US was through the lens of his extreme religious beliefs and having seen with his own eyes what American actions did in the Middle East. America has supported Israel - clearly not a hit with the Afghani mud hut crowd - but also propped up the governments across the continent which repressed their own Islamic people.
The attacks of 9-11 were horrific, but not a percentage point as horrific as awful and deadly as the response. By destroying any concept of constitutional rule, by torturing and killing and rendering and by locking ourselves in a police state, we've shown that the Osama view of America was the correct view. We showed ourselves to be the lawless jackbooted thieves that he painted us to be.
We waged a needless and illegal war that killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. We have tortured prisoners - by our own admission. Bush even bragged about ordering it in his book. CIA Black Sites across the world operate a shadow regime that has no rules. The NSA collects more than 1.7 billion phone calls and emails every day - with no warrant.
This was not the America I grew up in. I didn't believe this America was even a possibility. Osama saw it, and his attack brought it out. We had elected the worst of us as leader, and that leader rose - or, rather fell - to the occasion.
Our basest instincts and most unappealing traits have been on display for a decade - and counting. The man who lied about being a Progressive in order to get elected has instead chosen to lower our standards rather than raise them. Thanks, Mr. Obama.
A couple of times while I've been typing this I've wondered if it was safe to post. What kind of free country makes you afraid to post an opinion?
Nice win, Al Qaeda.
posted by fiduciary at 11:24 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home