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Tue. Sep 11, 2001

Terrible Resolve 4

The shock is somewhat beginning to fade. I no longer have the passing thought “It was the pepperoni. I’m gonna wake up in a minute.” Passions are inflamed. We all want to … do ... something. Right now, there’s a 6 hour wait to give blood at the Atlanta Red Cross. But I think there’s some important things to keep in mind during this frustrating time of being able to do nothing about the disturbing images we’ve seen:

· We’ve seen the “celebrations” by Palestinians in Israel upon hearing of America’s tragedy today. Now maybe we have a little better idea of what Israel has been living with for decades. It has been visited upon our mainland.

· Having said that, it is important to remember who we are dealing with: people of fanatical belief. Note, I did not say Muslims. The vast majority of those of Islamic faith are moral people little different from your Average American. In fact, many of them are Average Americans. To condemn an entire faith because of the actions of a few would be like condemning all Christians because a few extremists murder abortion doctors to “save lives.” But it’s an easy image for an enraged mind to grasp: All those people are bad, and we can most quickly put a stop to this by eliminating them. There lies the slipperiest of slopes. You’ll find Hitler at the bottom of it, Milosevic about halfway down. In fact, it seems clear those who perpetrated this very act take that view as well; we Americans are all infidels because we do not believe as they do, and therefore we are all cattle worthy of slaughter. I wonder how many innocents of the Islamic faith were among the thousands killed today, as they were peacefully trying to go about living their lives in Manhattan?

· We all know who we think did this. But remember how certain we were of the something similar in the days after the Oklahoma City bombing. It did indeed turn out to be someone of fanatical beliefs, but they were homegrown. That was only proven once evidence started being collected. You’ve seen the images; how will they find the body of the hijacker(s), when the once high floor they hit is now on the street? This is a “crime scene” of unimagined proportions. Answers will not come quickly, if ever, despite Americans’ desire to get them, the the media’s desire to provide them (lot of that going on already today).

· It might seem like a cheap shot … but … how much good would a fully functional missile defense have done today, during what is by far history’s largest attack on the American mainland? It may not be a valid argument against it, but my point is this: all this attack took was time, planning, and a couple dozen fanatics. No high technology. No nuke or bio-bomb. No multi-stage missile. Without some insight into the attack plans, no defense could have stopped it. No matter how much we spend on missile defense, we will always be vulnerable to assault by a rogue group/nation.

And one last “meta-note.” The decline of CNN is official. It’s one thing to move towards a more “info-tainment” approach during regular times, but in a major breaking story like this, you’ve got to have the juice to turn on the Big News Machine, as they always have. They were the first channel I turned to this morning, and it has been sadly amateurish in comparison to their coverage in the past. CBS, by comparion, has been all over it. Thanks, AOL/Time Warner, for ruining a worldwide focal point in time of crisis.

Tue. Sep 11, 2001

Terrible Resolve 3

I know you’re in shock, like me. But think about those who had a loved one on one of the hijacked flights. Take the punch in the gut you feel from this day, and multiply it by a thousand. Then take a moment to pray for those folks. Our national tragedy is also a very personal one for thousands of families today.

Tue. Sep 11, 2001

Terrible Resolve 2

Dave Winer is doing his usual admirable job, so visit him for various links and commentary he has found on today’s attack. And just like the Georgia DOT, the NY DOT has traffic cams, and while the site is currently very slow in responding, there are a few real time views, still images and streaming video.

Tue. Sep 11, 2001

Terrible Resolve

Terrible Resolve – I awoke to tears today. I just watched one of the Trade Towers collapse. The Pentagon is in flames. I have a thousand thoughts running through my mind. But one rises to the top, a half-century old quote from Admiral Yamamoto just after his forces attacked Pearl Harbor: “I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping giant, and aroused in him a terrible resolve.”

Terrible resolve indeed. How many millions of Americans feel the same this morning? I wonder how the enlistment offices are doing today? I’m about ready to sign up myself. I hope Dubya matches his dad’s resolve of a decade ago: “This aggression will not stand.”

Much is yet to be determined, but one thing is for certain: War has been declared against us. In their mind, it’s been that way for some time, but there should no longer be any doubt in our mind. We have minimized these events in our own minds by calling them “terrorist actions.” Like it or not, this is WAR. It will continue to be waged against innocent Americans in an organized manner, until we do something about it.

The second Trade Tower just collapsed. Out of the rubble, we must rise and overcome those who would destroy us.