And what did we learn from 9/11?

With 0nly one day left to go before 9/11 I felt an obligation to join pundits in stating what we learned and what we should have learned….

To start with –al Qeada= Why did you think killing 2,000 people at random would further your cause. You didn’t want Americans stealing your recourses and holding you back. OK. But look at the reaction by Americans to innocent people loosing their lives. No one in the U.S. at that time supported you. Even the Arab world didn’t really support you. The PLO had asked you not to help them. Many traditional paramilitary groups (labeled terrorist by the US) denounced what you did. Your group has been fading out and dismissed even by Islamic groups. You stood alone. What have you gained?

Patriotism –Nationalism—Fascism, it doesn’t take long for the dots to connect. First flags—U.S. flags. It all seemed harmless enough. But one step leads to the other and the next. People were shocked, then angered and then—like a beehive hit with a baseball bat, sanity gave out to all forms of jingoism, racism and a backlash against the Moslem religion.

The news media and the politicians didn’t help the situation by capitalizing on US anger. Possibly one of the worst presidents of all times, George W. Bush, pushed for a war into Iraq. It had nothing to do with 9/11, but thanks to a willing press core and a lack of opposition to reality from congress, we went to war in Iraq to recreate the country in our own distorted image and likeness.

We have learned that a government of the Democratic Party, President Barack Obama, has only shifted, not ended our empire building objectives. Instead he has moved our nation building efforts from Iraq to Afghanistan. And if that is not enough, he has taken advantage of the instability of Libya for even more “nation building” which is another name for extending our empire.

We hear that soldiers fight for our freedom while we sleep at night. Nothing could be farther from the truth. They fight for our gasoline and hegemony over the middle-east. We don’t need that and it is a bold face lie our government and press have fostered on us.

Only truth will set us free. Not lies—propaganda and false patriotism—but truth and truth alone will set us free!!!

-សតិវ អតុ