11 September 2009

On 9/11, did the terrorists win?

As I write this on the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I think of the Bush administration's response to those attacks, and how it seems that we've let the terrorists win.

After all, Osama bin Laden is still on the loose. He and his followers are safely ensconced somewhere along the Af-Pak border, as far as we know, and apparently unreachable (or else we really don't give a damn).

The Taliban have regrouped and are again up to their violent crackdowns on freedom in Afghanistan. The only things thriving in Afghanistan today are the Taliban, the warlords, and the vast fields of opium poppies.

Iraq is still trying to rebuild from the mess we created there for no good reason.

People have been tortured by U.S. agents paid for by our tax dollars, which cost us whatever moral authority we may have had before it happened.

Even under the Obama administration, we're still rendering suspects to other countries for interrogation -- countries known for their use torture. (Oh, but they promise not to hurt anybody. Of course, we heard that before.)

Even under the Obama administration, lawsuits against warrantless government spying are still being challenged on the basis of "state secrets".

Even under the Obama administration, we still cannot board an airplane without jumping through numerous security hoops.

We no longer enjoy the rights and freedoms that were ours before 9/11. And I have no doubt that Osama bin Laden is celebrating that fact today.

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