9/11: Six Years of Terror

On Tuesday morning September 11, 2001 at least 2,973 people died in the worst terrorist attack on American soil. In response to these attacks, the people of the United States along with the international community joined together in a commitment to condemn and fight terrorism.  Six years later, the memories of the lives lost on that horrible day are tarnished by the reality that 3,774 soldiers have been killed, and more than 27,767 wounded in Iraq. 

These soldiers were sent to Iraq by our arrogant President on the premise that we were going to “fight the terrorists over there,” rather than fight them at home.  It didn’t matter to our President that Iraq’s dictator, had nothing to do with the attacks of September 11, 2001. It did not matter to our President that going to Iraq meant that we would not complete our mission to destroy the Taliban in Afghanistan who gave refuge to the terrorists or capture the terrorist Bin Laden who had organized and funded the attacks.

Yesterday, in congress President Bush sent his Iraq commander General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker to tell us, once again, that victory is at hand, that progress is being made, that the surge in forces is working.  Again, the facts do not matter and as the NYT advertisement placed yesterday by MoveOn.org suggested might happen, General Petraeus betrayed us and lied for his President.  Despite daily communication between Petraeus and the White House, he claimed that his report to congress was not reviewed by or approved by White House Staff or the President.

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that a military commander, especially one at the rank of Four Star General, simply would not report anything to Congress that had not first been reported to his Commander-in-Chief.  When we look at the facts of the death toll in Iraq since the surge began, nothing has really changed. If you flood an area with 30,000 troops, you will see a reduction in violence in that area; however we are not seeing reductions in violence that would lead to stability in Iraq.  The Surge has not facilitated the political stability of the Iraqi government or the ability of their military or police force to assume control.  The Surge may have accomplished the military and tactical objectives laid out earlier this year, but as the GAO has reported, 11 of the 18 bench marks set to measure progress have not been met.

The sad thing here is that the Congress is unlikely to do anything to control the childish behavior of President Bush.  They will continue to fund the war, and they will allow Bush and the Republicans to claim victory by reducing the number of troops in Iraq right before the 2008 election.  Never mind the fact that if they hadn’t increased the number of troops in Iraq earlier this year, they would not be reducing anything.

So much for the memory of those who died on September 11, 2001. They died in a tragic act of terror, and ever since then we have lived in terror of the “real threat of another attack” that the President consistently reminds us about. He has sent our military on a fools errand he calls a “war on terror,” while failing to improve security at home. Six years after September 11, 2001 we are less safe.  We have increased the risk of terrorist attacks here at home, and provided the primary recruiting mechanism for the terrorist’s organizations that want to attack us, the occupation of a Muslim nation by the “American Infidels.”

Bush, you’re doing a heck of a job… PLEASE STOP.