The Tragedy of September 11th, 2001

A personal opinion and diatribe regarding the Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, The Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.

Written September 21st, 2001 ... ten days later.

It has now been a good bit of time since the initial shock of that fateful day. The immediate emotions of anger and revenge have now been replaced with a more contemplative studious mood. The reason is simple:

We Will Find Out Who Did This!

Now I want you to understand something, this is not an idle boast. We have one unbeatable ally on our side .. Time. Time conquers all. Throughout all of recorded history, and I'm willing to wager even before then, Time has won out over all things.

This knowledge gives us an advantage. You see, we are many and we are right. Both of those factors allow us the freedom to hold out for a long time. Much longer than whatever monster executed this evil act against us. In the end, the perpetrator of this heinous crime will be found and brought to justice.

Yes .. Justice!

It is absolutely crucial to the success of this new "War" we begin that we always stay on the right side of Justice. We've seen the mob reactions in other countries. This path could very well lead to civil unrest the likes of which our world has never known. It is up to US .. the leaders of the free democratic world .. to act in a manner that is always above reproach. And the only way to do that .. is slowly.

Haste Makes Waste

Above all else, what tears at our hearts is the total futility and waste of the attacks. So many innocent lives destroyed permanently. So many removed from this world in a flash of evil. So many gone .. for no reason we can understand.

Do we want to do the same? Do we also want to be known as a people willing to waste innocent lives in revenge or retribution? No, we do not.

We want to demonstrate that we are the world leaders for a very good reason ..

We Earned It!

We earned it by being the peoples on this planet that figured out best how to succeed and thrive. By being the smartest, fastest and most versatile there ever was. We did it by combining one of every one we could find, then stirring vigorously until the whole thing was completely mixed up. Yet despite all our internal differences, we are the same people. United as we are under one common bond, one common law.

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

Remember those words? You'd better. They are sometimes the only thing saving your sorry backside from a night (or longer) in some cold dark cell somewhere. Those words guarantee that you will have a chance to clear yourself before the Powers That Be take you down. If you are a bad person, you had best use what little time you have wisely. If you are an innocent person, you have a chance to establish that and clear yourself of all further suspicion. Those words are powerful, life-saving words unlike any others in the world.

They are His Words Too

Taken for a fact that we are a fair people, and also taken that we guarantee a right of "Innocent Until Proven Guilty" .. then it is only fair we extend this same right to our current target. We don't need to "go in and get him" as so many advise. Instead we have a better way .. and one that satisfies all of us on both sides.

Bottle Him Up

Terrorists are only effective when they are on the loose, terrorizing some unsuspecting people in some unknown place. If we take away his ability to move around freely, we neutralize him. Once he's rendered harmless, we wait. Remember, we have Time on our side too.

So how do we lock him down? Simple. Yo! Aghanistan! Your entire border .. every mile .. every foot of it .. is now covered by some form of United States or Allied Nation fighting unit. Be it man, machine or a combination of both, there is not one tiny inch of terrain at your border that is unwatched. Ever. Not for one split second.

Click! Toss...

Lock up the entire country .. and throw away the key. We have the means and the might. We also have the right. Tell the Taliban that "It's okay. We won't set foot inside your country." That will make them happy and keep us out of their way.

Now that we know our suspect is secured .. we can get on with the long drawn out chore of determining if he really is guilty or not. That should be done before a court of international scope. Something only a United Nations level organization can handle. We'll just keep the locks on until the U.N. can resolve this issue. Sound okay to you?

Air Tight

Of course, to be truly effective, the seal on Aghanistan has to be Air Tight. That means nothing goes in either. No food. No medicine. No weapons. And above all else .. no people. That's right. No people. No one moves in or out of that country unless they stop and talk to us first. Sorry, but that's the way it has to be.

The Investigation

Follow it through. Track every lead with caution and diligence. Make sure no stone has a dry side showing. If it looks like it once was near to the same PLANET as the terrorists .. investigate it. We have the time and the resources. Let's do it right.

In The End

It really doesn't matter who is at the top of this particular tragedy. Not in the full sense of the issue. What matters is that we recognize this type of evil has gone far enough, and now is the time to stop it. Based on the World's reaction to the horror of September 11th, that should be pretty easy.

But just as crucial to the success is the manner in which we bring it to an end. If we sink to the same level without just cause, then we have not ended it .. only taken it on as our own. That is not a winning stance in any war.

Hold Your Head Up High

We will .. once again .. hold our heads up high. With pride, with honor and with dignity. We can succeed in this new "War". And we will.