MARK HELPRIN: Three Years On (We still haven't learned the lessons of 9/11)

Wall Street Journal ^ | Sept 10, 2004 | MARK HELPRIN

[The Raven]

Three years after September 11, where do we stand?

Out of fear and confusion we have hesitated to name the enemy. We proceed as if we are fighting disparate criminals united by coincidence, rather than the vanguard of militant Islam, united by ideology, sentiment, doctrine, and practice, its partisans drawn from Morocco to the Philippines, Chechnya to the Sudan, a vast swath of the earth that, in regard to the elemental beliefs that fuel jihad, is as homogeneous as Denmark.

Too timid to admit to a clash of civilizations even as it occurs, we failed to declare the war, thus forfeiting clarity of intent and the unambiguous consent of the American people. This was a sure way, as in the Vietnam era, to divide the country and prolong the battle.

We failed not only to prepare for war but to provision for it after it had begun, disallowing a military buildup, much less the wartime transformation of the economy. In the First World War our elected representatives decisively resolved that "to bring the conflict to a successful termination all the resources of the country are hereby pledged by the Congress of the United States." In the Revolutionary War we as a people pledged our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

-snip-

[Molly Pitcher]

I've always liked Helprin, but his writings on this subject have been too negative for me....too dismissive of what we've done.. What do you think?

[The Raven]

His point is the opposite of Kerry's.

Something like...How can we now have massive domestic spending? Just when we need to buckle down and throw our wealth at the defeat of the fundamentalists --- Kerry wants to instead revive socialism and class warfare.

[KangarooJacqui]

The more good intelligence the better, but because the enemy moves in small groupings he will on occasion, as intelligence is not perfect, elude it. That is why difficult, expensive, inefficient, and general defensive screens are necessary, and why we cannot rely only on pinpoint intelligence even if it is both fashionable and economical. In stressing intelligence, the commission slights elements of equal or greater importance that led to September 11 in the first place. Had the airport screeners been competent, had cockpit doors been reinforced, had the borders been properly controlled, the thousands who were lost that day, and who are loved, would still be alive.

He nailed it right there, in my opinion.

Three years after witnessing this atrocity on television ("Where were you when 9/11? went down?" is not a question that just Americans ask each other, but Australians and I bet a fair few European nations as well) it seems its lessons are already fading from memory, and that it could always happen again.

I do take issue with the author saying Britain "stood alone" in 1940. Bollocks. Plenty of Australian, New Zealander and other "Commonwealth" nation forces were stationed there, absorbed into their navy, army and airforce. The fact that AMERICA wasn't around doesn't mean they stood "alone" at all. (I know people old enough who were there and can tell their stories.)

[Pittsburg Phil]

Maybe we have to lose a city ot two before the public (and the politicians) wake up and fight this war as it should be fought - the the death.

And if the "moderate" Moslems don't wise up before then, they'll get exactly what they deserve and no amount of political correct whinning will save them, either.

[solsrchr2]

If it looks like a Duck, Walks like a Duck, and Sounds like a Duck, it's probably a DUCK!! Let's run this down. All Muslims may not be terrorists but so far all terrorists have been Muslims by birth or conversion.
Many other soft, fleshy, weak willed, self-centered Americans think Presidential candidate (Self-proclaimed War Criminal, Flipflopping, Medal Stealing, Hero Slandering, Coward) Kerry, want to ignore the problem until it goes away.
These heirs to luxury do not know what sacrifice means, they dishonor the heritage of their forefathers. What would their grandparents think of their inability to muster the courage to confront the evils of our time.
United we will stand as a beacon of freedom to the world. Divided we are doomed to Fall, and great will be the fall thereof. We have too many willing to risk the solidarity of our Nation for their own selfish desires. Most of them are liberal organizations. Gays, PETA, ANTI-RELIGIOUS GROUPS, some Lawyers. They attack the very principles that set up the system that gives them the freedom to think, feel, and as they do. (How dumb can you get.) There is no loyalty only self-interest. The sad part is they don't see it. When they destroy the founding principles of America they will still be too blind to understand they and not someone else is cause. So Freep on FReeper, and May God continue to Bless America.

[solsrchr2]

If it looks like a Duck, Walks like a Duck, and Sounds like a Duck, it's probably a DUCK!! Let's run this down. All Muslims may not be terrorists but so far all terrorists have been Muslims by birth or conversion.
Many other soft, fleshy, weak willed, self-centered Americans think Presidential candidate (Self-proclaimed War Criminal, Flipflopping, Medal Stealing, Hero Slandering, Coward) Kerry, want to ignore the problem until it goes away.
These heirs to luxury do not know what sacrifice means, they dishonor the heritage of their forefathers. What would their grandparents think of their inability to muster the courage to confront the evils of our time.
United we will stand as a beacon of freedom to the world. Divided we are doomed to Fall, and great will be the fall thereof. We have too many willing to risk the solidarity of our Nation for their own selfish desires. Most of them are liberal organizations. Gays, PETA, ANTI-RELIGIOUS GROUPS, some Lawyers. They attack the very principles that set up the system that gives them the freedom to think, feel, and act as they do. (How dumb can you get.) There is no loyalty only self-interest. The sad part is they don't see it. When they destroy the founding principles of America they will still be too blind to understand they and not someone else is cause. So Freep on FReeper, and May God continue to Bless America. If Muslims want to be our friends let them first act as friends. Otherwise they are the enemy.

[Jim Noble]

Well, I hate to promote negativity on such a glorious morning for JimRob and the posse, but I agree with every word Mark Helprin has written on this subject, including the above article.

After W is reelected, there is major, major reconstruction needed at the War Department.

[meenie]

The biggest problem we have is the tendency for the upper echelons in both parties is the effort to use terrorism to enhance their power. Instead of making decisions on how to best fight terrorism, the most important decisions are how can we capitalize on it to defeat the particular opponent. The United States is committing national suicide by becoming so politicized it cannot function in a sane manner. The terrorists may have different objectives but they have a common purpose, the defeat of the US. We lack that sense of purpose and until conditions cause a unity in goals, they have the advantage.

[Cindy]

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001: ATTACK ON AMERICA (Updated)
http://www.truthusa.com/911.html

[Tom D.]

This is withering to both parties and both candidates:

"We have watched the division of the country into two ineffective camps, something that is especially apparent in an electoral season. On the one hand is John Kerry, a humorless Boston scold, in appearance the love child of Abraham Lincoln and Bette Midler, who recites slogans that he understands but does not believe. And on the other is the president, proud of his aversion to making an argument for his own case, in appearance a denizen of the Pleistocene, who recites slogans that he believes but does not understand."

Mark Helprin, Mark Steyn, Daniel Henniger, and P.J. O'Rourke are the best writers of the 21st Century.

[KangarooJacqui]

Mark Helprin, Mark Steyn, Daniel Henniger, and P.J. O'Rourke are the best writers of the 21st Century.

I like you for your taste and distinction, alone :-)

[Tom D.]

Thanks.

[Revolting cat!]

'Nother one by Helprin: War in the Absence of Strategic Clarity

[Revolting cat!]

Mark Helprin is right (or not), but he's in a wrong country. I just got through reading reader responses to this essay on OpinionJournal.com and most of them are negative and quite predictable at that. As usual for Helprin, the post isn't drawing many responses here. (Are we all dumbies?)

In those other countries, where multiple parties rule and a citizen of voting age does not have to pledge allegiance to any particular party, and if he does, she becomes a party member and pays monthly dues, there political commentators can develop and publish objective and independent analyses without being accused of being in bed with the oposition party.

Here, in paradise, duality rules. It's still a monochrome world. It's still Coke or Pepsi! You cannot criticize the current supreme ruler without being accused of supporting his main and only opponent. Go to OpinionJournal.com to see the evidence of this. A giant failure of imagination in a black and white world.