Ten years ago I was sat watching the news after a plane flew into the World Trade Centre. When the second one hit it was clear that this was no accident and the world changed. My immediate concern, however, was for The Son who had been in the USA for a job interview and was boarding a flight home from Boston, the source of the second plane to strike the towers. A very worrying hour or so before he managed to send out an email saying he was OK; although a couple of weeks stuck in post 9/11 America persuaded him not to accept the job.
That day resulted in a worldwide outpouring of sympathy for America. It would have been an ideal time for the West to reconsider its relationships with the rest of the world and foster some reconciliation.
Instead the USA has embarked upon ten years of bloodshed; very little of which has anything to do with 9/11 and none of which will result in American citizens being safer.
Iraq, where there were no weapons of mass destruction but plenty of oil. A country that had nothing to do with 9/11, although Bush made sure he mentioned Iraq and 9/11 in the same sentence enough times such that by the end of 2002, half of Americans polled believed that the majority of the hijackers were Iraqi (none of them were) and that Saddam was personally responsible for the attacks.
Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, rendition, black sites, torture, Homeland security, Israel.
Afghanistan, home to none of the hijackers, but maybe Osama was hiding there so let’s lay waste to the entire country in a war that can never be won. The Taliban may have gone, but they have been replaced by a totally corrupt puppet regime and a country that can only operate in conjunction with local warlords whose reputation for violence and abuse exceeds that of the Taliban.
And most recently, Libya, another country with a despot that we used to support (and a lot of oil), who is now deemed dispensable. The replacement regime may not be quite what was desired.
You can’t fight terrorism, you can only create conditions in which terrorism has no reason to prosper. Ten years on and the reasons to wish America harm have increased. A bit of a waste of 4 trillion dollars, and a terrible waste of 225,000 lives.
Today it is appropriate to remember the innocents who died ten years ago; but it is a tragedy and a disgrace that we will fail to remember the many more who have died since then in the name of the “war against terror”.
I remain deeply angry about what is being done, ostensibly in the name of “freedom”. But I am just an old fart with an opinion and my anger is as nothing compared to the unkown number of people in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan whose lives have been shattered by the events of the last ten years. They will want revenge,one day it will come, Fox news will be surprised and outraged, and the whole sorry cycle will repeat.
What a fuck-up.
Comments 🔗
2011-09-11| ron saysSpot on
2011-09-11| Pete saysI agree with 99.9% of what you said there, (but don’t call me out on that exact number). The one bit I have a problem with is the statement; “You can’t fight terrorism, you can only create conditions in which terrorism has no reason to prosper.”
The world as a community cannot create a Utopia where some group doesn’t feel left out or looked down on, whether it be a racial group, a political group or a religious group. It would be nice if that could happen, but given the nature of people, it just aint going to, is it?
On another note - I think you’ll find that the majority of civilian casualties in both Afghanistan and Iraq are due to internecine fighting, and are not directly an effect of the “WonT”. India and Pakistan are doing it themselves now, planting bombs in market areas and at temples for what?
2011-09-12| Barry saysWell said, and few would disagree with you. I was at the WTC a couple of days before and flew out of NY exactly 24 hours before the attack, and then watched it from my hotel tv in Tokyo where I’d checked in 30 minutes after the first plane hit. I was back in the US 11 months later, and was sickened by the brainwashing that was still going on as the first anniversary approached. As you say, it was all about Iraq and Saddam. In fact I was so sickened I haven’t been back to the US since. I can’t deal with these people.
2011-09-12| Spike saysI agree that a large number of civilian deaths are from in-fighting; but then the conditions for this were created by an invasion force that seemed to have zero plans as to what to do once they had occupied the country. Disbanding the Iraqi army must be one of the greatest cock-ups of all time, making 400,000 men with guns redundant.
The figure I used was conservative, some estimates put the civilian deaths in excess of a million. Oh, and also include the deaths, particularly of children, arising from the UN sanctions.
Whatever the figure, it’s a humanitarian catastrophe, and if you had suffered as the result of all this, who are you going to blame? Pass the suicide bomb please.
What I was trying to say, clearly not very well, is that if people are so pissed off with you that they are prepared to die to hurt you, hitting back at the communities/countries they come from is only going to create more people that want to hurt you. Take away the reasons for the hatred and maybe there is a chance for a less violent world.
Anyway, I will settle for 99.9% agreement.
2011-09-12| Sangy saysWell said. Though I too, disagree with terrorism has no reason to prosper. I would venture to say that the major cause of terrorism would be the West. And then, there’s Preah Vihear Temple.
2011-09-13| Spike saysIf you fancy a little more to be angry about: http://bit.ly/mD41fe
2011-09-13| John saysToday, despite being a regular reader for over 4 1/2 years, I’ve decided to quit your blog. You’ve gone from witty and amusing to depressingly political. Even if I agreed with your opinions, I still wouldn’t want them on this site, which has given me lots of laughs over the years. I reckon your main readership from now on are going to be rabid lefties and conspiracy theorists.
Hope ‘Stanley’s Pictures’ doesn’t go down the same tube.
2011-09-13| Spike saysI write this for my own amusement; and if a total of 4 out of 1,430 posts makes me depressingly political, then so be it. Some things just need to be said. Bye.
2011-09-13| Steve Hamilton saysDepressing that a post that more accurately describes reality than the crap churned out by the mainstream media and governments, is dismissed as a leftist conspiracy theory.
2011-09-14| galumay saysSpot on mate, love the site, love the mix of irreverance, politics and photography. Yours has become one of my ‘must check’ blogs. Also an X100 owner so we have that much in common!
2011-09-14| Spike saysThanks.
Trust you are enjoying the X100, I love mine!