Free Republic

In the decade since the September 11th attacks, our running analyses of what we should have done in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would make Captain Hindsight proud. But in a great new Afterburner from PJTV, Bill Whittle makes the simple yet brilliant case that with the information we had, Americans behaved not only intelligently but honorably, and that freedom isn't free. Afterburner with Bill Whittle: What We Did Right Ed Morrissey has a more thorough rundown at HotAir, but I'd like to highlight several crucial points raised by Mr. Whittle that I think are overlooked all too often:...

Members of the group 'Muslims against Crusades' hold placards as they gather during an anti-U.S. rally, held close to the memorial ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11 U.S. attacks at the Memorial Garden, adjacent to the U.S. Embassy in central London, Sunday Sept. 11, 2011.

During the ceremonies today at Ground Zero on the 10 year anniversary of the attacks, the crowd was noticeably silent when Obama walked to the microphone. But the reaction was entirely different for Bush.Bush Cheered at Ground Zero… Silence For Obama (Video) Posted by Jim Hoft on Sunday, September 11, 2011, 2:16 PM During the ceremonies today at Ground Zero on the 10 year anniversary of the attacks, the crowd was noticeably silent when Obama walked to the microphone. But the reaction was entirely different for Bush. FYI: This video was taken from the ABC broadcast. They had trouble with...

Eyewitness to History: Recalling BushÂ’s Leadership on 9/11 A first-person account of President Bush's response in the first moments of the attack. September 11, 2011 - 12:00 am - by Stephanie Maier In 2001, I was a regional director for the Republican Party of Florida, responsible for grassroots activities in ten key Republican counties from Manatee down to Collier. A regular part of my job included attending presidential visits to my region and providing staff support by doing whatever was needed, from site prep to corralling guests, media, and bystanders into some kind of organized chaos.Presidential visits were always exciting,...

As we look back ten years after 9/11, we would like to ask America this very sobering question. Have all our goals, pledges, “noble” aspirations, promises and futuristic dreams for our nation, our people and our world - which were made on September 11th 2001 - come to fruition or has our nation and world these last ten years achieved an even greater state of lawlessness and calamity? That is the question to be asked indeed! Let's take a look at America ten years after 9/11. Have all our goals, pledges, “noble” aspirations, promises and futuristic dreams for our nation,...

Governor Palin: Ten Years Ago Posted on September 11 2011 - 11:28 AM - Posted by: Stacy Drake Via Facebook: Ten years ago today, ordinary Americans went to work or boarded a plane and found themselves fighting on the frontlines of a battle they did not choose. They acquitted themselves with grace and courage, just as the thousands of men and women who enlisted to fight in our armed forces—many on the anniversaries of this day—in order to exact justice for their fellow Americans. We will never forget those who died ten years ago today, we will never forget those...

As dawn broke on Sept. 11, 2001, America was asleep -- believing itself to be prosperous, safe and secure. Hours later, we gazed in horror and disbelief as the Twin Towers collapsed in a maelstrom of flame, smoke and debris. What did we learn? First and foremost, that there is evil -- real evil -- in the world. Evil regularly resurfaces in history. A generation ago, it took the form of the Soviet menace, and before that, of Hitler and his gas chambers. On Sept. 11, it crashed in on us in New York City, where it destroyed our complacent...

<p>Waiting to be interviewed on the radio the other day, I found myself on hold listening to a public-service message exhorting listeners to go to 911day.org and tell their fellow citizens how they would be observing the tenth anniversary of the, ah, “tragic events.” There followed a sound bite of a lady explaining that she would be paying tribute by going and cleaning up an area of the beach.</p>

Donors have contributed $52 million to build the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa., but $10 million is still needed. Former President Bill Clinton declared Saturday that he and Speaker of the House John Boehner are going to do something about that. “Since I am no longer in office, I can do unpopular things,” Clinton declared at the end of his remarks at Saturday’s dedication ceremony.

Fear is a powerful weapon. Its destructive force can be more devastating to a nation than a nuclear explosion. It is the primary tool of terrorists. After the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, dozens of “patriotic” Americans carrying flags gathered in the Southland to march on a mosque in Bridgeview. More than 200 police officers were called to the scene to prevent violence. A man from Pakistan, who wasn’t even a Muslim, was bashed over the head in Chicago because “he looked like one of them.” A neighbor of mine, a woman who grew up in Palestine, suddenly disappeared. This...

Like a ship pulling away from shore, time brings distance to all events. No pain is as fresh ten or twenty years later as on the day it happened. The shock of the impossible becomes the new normal and then it becomes more background noise. "A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic," said Joseph Stalin. This is something that the statisticians in Berlin, Moscow, Tehran and Riyadh know quite well when they count up their numbers. But compound death is not a statistic, it is incomprehensible. The banality of the media coverage of September 11...

Late in the morning of the Tuesday that changed everything, Lt. Heather “Lucky” Penney was on a runway at Andrews Air Force Base and ready to fly. She had her hand on the throttle of an F-16 and she had her orders: Bring down United Airlines Flight 93. The day’s fourth hijacked airliner seemed to be hurtling toward Washington. Penney, one of the first two combat pilots in the air that morning, was told to stop it. The one thing she didn’t have as she roared into the crystalline sky was live ammunition. Or missiles. Or anything at all to...

Almost all of them jumped alone, although eyewitnesses talked of a couple who held hands as they fell. One woman, in a final act of modesty, appeared to be holding down her skirt. Others tried to make parachutes out of curtains or tablecloths, only to have them wrenched from their grip by the force of their descent. The fall was said to take about ten seconds. It would vary according to the body position and how long it took to reach terminal velocity — around 125mph in most cases, but if someone fell head down with their body straight, as

  The tenth anniversary of 9/11 is upon us. Rather than ruminating on pious platitudes or reporting the trite remarks of gaseous politicians, I thought it might be appropriate to update some prior columns that attempt to shed light on the subject. This is this fifth.   Still Angry About 9/11 David C. Stolinsky Sept. 9, 2011   http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/f/fd/20051023193321!National_Park_Service_9-11_Statue_of_Liberty_and_WTC_fire.jpg   Ten years later, I am still angry about 9/11. Many people are not. In fact, many people barely remember 9/11. They see nothing wrong with building a mosque at Ground Zero. They do not realize that Ground Zero is...