Thanks, circletimessquare. I agree. And it's sad that so many of those above deplore the event and in the same breath virtually applaud the need for 9/11 as just, perverted payback--sad as the deaths and destruction were, they always add--for American sins? As you point out, the victims were not the policy-makers, not the pols making the decisions that would anger someone eno
ugh to carry out a 9/11, but of course terror isn't meant to distinguish John Doe citizen from government officials (not that a government official should be fair game in such an atrocity either); I know, I know, our jets don't make any distinctions, but at least we take steps to minimize--what do they call it, 'collateral damage'?--at least that's my hope, whereas killing innocents is just a wonderful bonus, is in fact a stated goal, for terrorists. But then again, it's probably considered terribly naive to see anyone as an innocent these days. Yet as for our reaction immediately following 9/11, what did the world expect us to do, meditate or cry mea culpa, mea culpa? Would Ireland have hoisted the white flag and gone straight into navel-gazing mode? Would Australia have spent untold months or years sifting the debris to find definitive proof of the responsible party rather than acting quickly on good if not perfect evidence? I don't think so. And would, in fact, any nation with the means to strike back and to strike back damned hard have acted any differently?
I'm sorry for Ireland's troubles, but how they're dealt with is up to Ireland; and an American citizen has no more control over U.S. government policy than an Irish or Australian citizen has over his government's policies. I challenge the Irish or Australian citizen to rectify any problem, large or small, with his government with the speed he seems to think the average Yank can accomplish with his government. All that either can do is the time consuming, slow process of voting in hopes of electing those who *can* make the changes the voter thinks is necessary.
No, only a fool or a terrorist could hallucinate a justification for 9/11, which should be a day of remembrance for Americans (not Europeans, not Asians, not for anyone else unless they feel so inclined); it shouldn't be just another dreary, international occasion for bashing the U.S.; on a day like this, that's just piling on; the victims and their families have already lost too much. Anyone with an axe to grind has the other 364 days of the year to do so.
Slashdot Mirror
You nailed it, but I'm hoping gig was just bs-ing; otherwise, his head has been up Job's ass so long he hasn't seen daylight for years.
Thanks, circletimessquare. I agree. And it's sad that so many of those above deplore the event and in the same breath virtually applaud the need for 9/11 as just, perverted payback--sad as the deaths and destruction were, they always add--for American sins? As you point out, the victims were not the policy-makers, not the pols making the decisions that would anger someone eno ugh to carry out a 9/11, but of course terror isn't meant to distinguish John Doe citizen from government officials (not that a government official should be fair game in such an atrocity either); I know, I know, our jets don't make any distinctions, but at least we take steps to minimize--what do they call it, 'collateral damage'?--at least that's my hope, whereas killing innocents is just a wonderful bonus, is in fact a stated goal, for terrorists. But then again, it's probably considered terribly naive to see anyone as an innocent these days. Yet as for our reaction immediately following 9/11, what did the world expect us to do, meditate or cry mea culpa, mea culpa? Would Ireland have hoisted the white flag and gone straight into navel-gazing mode? Would Australia have spent untold months or years sifting the debris to find definitive proof of the responsible party rather than acting quickly on good if not perfect evidence? I don't think so. And would, in fact, any nation with the means to strike back and to strike back damned hard have acted any differently? I'm sorry for Ireland's troubles, but how they're dealt with is up to Ireland; and an American citizen has no more control over U.S. government policy than an Irish or Australian citizen has over his government's policies. I challenge the Irish or Australian citizen to rectify any problem, large or small, with his government with the speed he seems to think the average Yank can accomplish with his government. All that either can do is the time consuming, slow process of voting in hopes of electing those who *can* make the changes the voter thinks is necessary. No, only a fool or a terrorist could hallucinate a justification for 9/11, which should be a day of remembrance for Americans (not Europeans, not Asians, not for anyone else unless they feel so inclined); it shouldn't be just another dreary, international occasion for bashing the U.S.; on a day like this, that's just piling on; the victims and their families have already lost too much. Anyone with an axe to grind has the other 364 days of the year to do so.