September 11, 2024
23 Years On
As those of us in the U.S. watched those brave firefighters and policemen run fearlessly into danger from which 403 of them and nearly 3000 of their countrymen would never return, we drew inspiration from the first responder's sacrifice and resolved to pursue the perpetrators to the ends of the earth.
23 years on, the results of our nation's efforts to address this atrocity would be unimaginable to most of us at that time.
The "experts" predictions of how the next 20 or so years would go proved far less accurate than writers of dystopian science fiction.
Ignoring most of the the bat-scat insanity of current year, and focusing on the perpetrators of the debacle and terrorism in particular, the prognostications of foreign policy wonks and intelligence analysts proved to be bunk, leaving us with thousands of our best dead in Mesopotamia and the Hindu Kush. The Taliban, who, with their allies in Al Queada, perpetrated the vile act of mass murder we commemorate today, are now in charge of Afghanistan, as they were when our punitive expedition went in to slay them. These barbarians leveraged this administration's shameful withdrawal under fire and it's associated incompetence to acquire vast quantities of ordinance abandoned in the pell-mell retreat;
...ordinance that they are using not only to oppress their own people, but to finance themselves by supplying very bad actors with weapons as well as spread their medieval ideology around the world, but this time with purpose built munitions to supplement those extemporized from airliners.
Far from making us safer, the security measures implemented after Sept. 11, have instead focused with impressive effectiveness on rooting out grass roots dissent and engaging in censorious policies to attack those who take umbrage at the Acela Corridor's consensus.
This laser-like focus on political opponents has necessarily come at the expense of vetting the vast multitudes of individuals who stream across our boarders with the blessing of the current administration, apparently in the hopes that they will swing elections in their favor, since, being quite disappointed with the American Citizenry, they have resolved to import another, more compliant one.
Amongst the small percentage of illegal border crossers that are being confronted are a disturbing number of those with connections to terrorist organizations.
Source: A Customs & Border Patrol Report
So our country is filling up with people who share the ideology and goals of those who inflicted upon us such torment 23 years ago today.
This does not include those from less feral but no less troubling regimes, particularly China, which as Dr. Weinstein notes here, is placing a vast number of individuals in our nation for an unclear but likely not benign purpose.
Time stamp is not working for some reason: the relevant dialog begins at 04:06
Far from being safer than we were, I fear we are vastly less so.
I further fear that we stand on the precipice of something far worse than the events we so solemnly commemorate today.
What is likely coming down the pike is dark indeed. I fear that what is on the horizon is going to be far worse in many ways than the events of 23 years ago.
So do not forget them.
Get to know your neighbors.
If you can, get out of the cities.
Be as prepared for utility and societal disruptions as you can make yourself.
And be not afraid.
For dark times may well be coming, but dark times do end eventually.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at
04:38 PM
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