Posted on 09/11/2007 2:06:34 PM PDT by knighthawk
We've reached that anniversary of the worst terror attacks in our history when some Americans are starting to feel distant from the event and no longer overly interested in marking its importance.
Six years with no attacks on our soil has helped some forget the horror of that day. A suggestion has been made that some have gotten Sept. 11 "fatigue." A Massachusetts nurse was quoted as saying: "I may sound callous, but doesn't grieving have a shelf life? We're very sorry and mournful that people died, but there are living people. Let's wind it down."
Let's not.
While marking the day may be no longer popular with everyone, the terrorist incursion on Sept. 11, 2001, is responsible for where we are today — in Iraq (for reasons right or wrong); in assessing ongoing terrorist threats; in heightened security at our airports and public buildings; and in the ongoing debate over how to combat terrorism and protect civil liberties at the same time.
We must not forget that dark day.
It is worth remembering the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks, and that terrorists want to strike again. We also must remember that Osama bin Laden continues to evade justice. If anything, today is a day to remind ourselves to not be complacent.
Last week's foiled plots in Germany and Denmark remind us that the threats are still very real. Two of the three men arrested in Germany for allegedly planning to bomb targets, including the U.S. Ramstein Air Base, were German nationals who had trained in camps inside remote areas of Pakistan. We already know that terrorist groups in that region gained strength in recent years after the United States got bogged down in Iraq.
In a video released over the weekend, bin Laden called on Americans to embrace Islam. Terrorism analysts said the tape was intended to show that bin Laden is still alive and continuing his campaign against the West.
President Bush called it a "reminder about the dangerous world in which we live."
It's true. We live in a dangerous world, but we cannot live in fear or be consumed by the politics of fear. Nor can we live in denial.
Even though intelligence officials continue to say there is no immediate and credible threat against the U.S., CIA director Michael Hayden acknowledged that al-Qaeda leaders are continuing to plot against the United States, and are working from bases inside Pakistan.
"Al-Qaeda is focusing on targets that would produce mass casualties, dramatic destruction and significant economic aftershocks," Hayden said. "Al-Qaeda's success with planting operatives in this country is less certain."
Six years after 9/11, our armed forces are stretched thin in Iraq and the world is still very unsettled. Numerous plots spanning the globe have been foiled, but Spain, Great Britain and other countries have suffered deadly attacks.
The U.S. remains a target. That's why we must never forget Sept. 11.
Ping
We as a nation are still reminded by stills and motion pictures of the Japanese treachery at Pearl Harbor. I believe that we as a nation should review the treachery of 9/11/2001 by the muslims on a continual basis and not just September 11. We as a nation did not go gently into the night for retribution against Japan. We should not do so in this case either.
http://kutv.com/local/local_story_253163632.html
KUTV) SALT LAKE CITY - Several Utah schools have decided to let Sept. 11, 2007 pass without observing the sixth anniversary of the unprecedented terror attacks against the United States — over fear of re-kindling the haunting memories for those who vaguely remember them, or introducing them to children who weren’t born yet.
But then, I seriously doubt they teach about Pearl Harbor, either.
“Memories of 9/11 should never fade”
We should always remember, but we should not always mourn. We should not give the Muslims the occasion to high-5 each other secretly because of our grief, as they did openly on 9/11 on many university campuses throughout the US.
When American students complained to campus police they were told that there was nothing the police could do. While brave American troops fight and die overseas the authorities at home show cowardice.
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