Lessons Unlearned from 9/11
by Rev. Michael S. Piazza

Five years later, what have we learned? In the immediate wake of the events of September 11, 2001, our country was too deeply in shock to adequately assess the significance of the events, or even to ask appropriate questions. The media unanimously repeated the facts just as they were given to them. They also repeated the Administration’s interpretation of what was behind those facts. Our grief was too deep, and our need for national unity too great. We believed what we were told, and, by and large, five years later, most of the country still has not begun to ask any serious questions.

I recently read two books that have left my head screaming unasked questions. The first was The One Percent Doctrine by Ron Suskind. This behind-the-scenes look at how a doctrine put forth by Dick Cheney is guiding our foreign policy both terrified and infuriated me. It also made me realize how little we really know about the most secretive administration in history. How has the mainstream media been so effectively co-opted? To use a word common from the Iraq invasion, the press has literally become “imbedded” with the powerbrokers of Washington to such a great extent that tough questions are not even being asked.

The other book I just finished is entitled Christian Faith and the Truth Behind 9/11 by Professor David Ray Griffin. Dr. Griffin was, for almost three decades, a professor at Claremont Theological Seminary. He is a leading process theologian, and I studied his work when I was in seminary. One might assume that he is writing about how Christians should have responded to the events of 9/11. Five years later, the Church ought to be calling us to repent, because we who are disciples of the Prince of Peace became such revenge-seeking, nationalistic warmongers in the days that followed that tragedy. However, that is not the real point of Dr. Griffin’s writing at all.

He has spent the past five years researching and writing three different books (The New Pearl Harbor and The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions). In each of these, he contends that 9/11 was an artificially contrived event to justify the expansion of the American Empire, the flood of money that has been poured into the military industrial complex, and the rightward shift of the American political system. Over and over, I kept wanting to think that poor Dr. Griffin had finally lost his mind. Surely he can’t seriously think that the Administration was complicit in 9/11 … but he does believe that and more.

As I read his book and then began to do some research on my own, I became more and more disturbed. In the end—well, at this point—I am unconvinced by Griffin’s argument. However, what I am convinced about is that, as a nation, we have lost our collective minds. Now, in fairness, that isn’t so unusual in the wake of a great loss or a tremendous grief. Over the years, I have counseled many people who have been so overwhelmed by grief that there was a time when they couldn’t think clearly, remember important things, or make good decisions. What is a normal, to-be-expected response to great loss becomes pathological when it continues unabated five years later. Reading these two books made me very afraid for a nation that is still not asking tough questions, examining more carefully the “official explanations,” and so susceptible to manipulation.

Karl Rove and company are not at all worried about the November elections. They are confident that the anniversary of 9/11 and other “terror threats” can be used between now and then to manipulate our votes. Why should they doubt a strategy that has worked so far? Even now, studies show that Americans believe that another terrorist attack is inevitable, and people are afraid. This is pathological, given the overwhelming odds against any one of us being killed by a terrorist. In 2001, nearly 3,000 Americans were killed by terrorists. That same year, 43,354 we killed in automobile accidents, yet we haven’t spent billions of dollars since 2001 making automobiles safer. The terrorists succeeded. Look at that word … they terrified us until, now, we are neurotically obsessed with them far out of proportion to the scale of their true threat.

I just want to ask, “Why?” Why are we so afraid? Who has an investment in making us afraid? Who profits by keeping Americans afraid? Obviously, our fear gives the terrorists power, sells newspapers, and improves ratings, but look at the other things our fear has allowed. Look at the budget deficit and ask what our reaction to it might have been if we were not so afraid. Look at the fact that we invaded a country that did not attack us, and that totally lacked the capacity to do so. Look at the civil liberties that we have freely handed over as a “Patriotic Act.” We have 40,000 more reasons to be more afraid of our cars than we do terrorists, yet our nation has been transformed in mostly awful ways because our fears have been exploited and color coded.

Dr. Griffin asks us to look at the videos of 9/11 and ask what the odds are that those two buildings imploded so perfectly. He contends that no amount of jet fuel could have brought them down so quickly and neatly on their footprints. I don’t agree with the conclusions that he draws, but I am grateful that he has made me begin to look at these things for myself, rather than simply believing what I was told. If we do not learn that lesson from 9/11 then the terrorists did more damage to America than they could ever have dreamed of doing.

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From H4PJ Subscriber Michael Bell:

(It’s) amazing how conservatives are already trying to re-write history on how we got to 9/11 5 years ago by producing, scheduling for broadcast, and hyping over the radio waves the ABC Mini-Series called Path to 9/11. It seems most don't realize that Clinton was the only one to launch a missile attack prior to 9/11/01.It was Republicans who accused Clinton of wagging the dog after the missiles were launched saying Clinton was trying to distract the public from the Monica Lewinsky affair. And, folks don't realize that Clinton developed a plan to go after Al Qaeda for the USS Cole bombing in December 2000. Since it was so close to the incoming Bush administration, Clinton requested meetings with the new Bush administration to go over these plans but Bush was not interested.

Finally, 5 years after the 9/11attacks, Bush still hasn't caught bin Laden. As we know, most of the troops and resources were moved from Afghanistan to Iraq before bin Laden could be caught, even though bin Laden was supposedly cornered in Tora Bora.

Hundreds of copies of DVD's of this movie have already been sent to conservative radio hosts and bloggers and none made available to liberal radio hosts and bloggers, even though they were requested. Yet, ABC says it’s irresponsible to criticize the falsehoods in the movie because the editing hasn't been completed. Odd.

Considering that the Republican National Committee has used fear to win elections during the past 6 years, I can't help but wonder if this movie is a gift by ABC/Disney to Republicans to help them keep control of Congress for another 2 years. The thinking is that if this movie convinces enough folks that Democrats can't be trusted on national security and if they win control of the house and/or senate this fall, we'll be attacked again.

ABC certainly isn't using the movie to sell ads - it will run almost commercial free. And another irony is the fact that what little focus the movie does have on the Bush administration is on Episode 2 of 2 of the mini-series that is scheduled for Monday evening. However, ABC will likely be airing a presidential address Monday evening and starting the remaining episode later - to the point where it will be too late for most folks to see episode 2. It is somewhat comforting to see conservatives like Bill Bennett and Fox News Chris Wallace come out against the ABC movie.

See links below to videos about the controversy, including scenes that contain lies.
...Michael

RELATED LINKS:

News Article AP/Yahoo:
Senate: Saddam saw al-Qaida as threat

Max Blumenthal Blog Commentary:
Discover the Secret Right-Wing Network Behind ABC's 9/11 Deception

Think Progress:
Tell ABC to Tell the Truth

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