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9/11 Anniversary Exposes War on Terror Faultlines
The seventh anniversary of the 9/11 atrocities exposed fresh cracks in America's War on Terror today after it emerged that President Bush secretly authorised US special forces to conduct ground operations inside Pakistan without Islamabad's approval.
The cross-border incursions by US special forces and drones have provoked angry protests in Pakistan’s North Waziristan region. (Mohsin Raza/Reuters) The news, in a report from The New York Times, was corroborated by Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has confirmed that he had ordered a new strategy for Afghanistan focusing on both sides of its border with Pakistan, including those tribal areas that have become a virtual safe haven for al-Qaeda.
"I'm not convinced we're winning it in Afghanistan. I am convinced we can," Admiral Mullen told a congressional committee in Washington.
The new strategy was welcomed by President Karzai of Afghanistan, who said that he had been pushing for such a shift in focus for years to help tackle the Taleban insurgency at its root.
But Mr Karzai warned that he opposed the long-term presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan, where there are some 71,000 troops under either Nato or direct US command.
"It is natural that the international community cannot stay here forever and it is not good for us that they stay," he said.
Citing senior officials, The New York Times reported that Mr Bush secretly approved the new incursion orders in July. The report follows a wave of missile strikes targeting militants in Pakistan that have been attributed to US-led coalition forces or CIA drones based in Afghanistan.
Those attacks have caused many civilian casualties, angering many Pakistanis and straining relations with Pakistan's civil and military leadership.
Last week, Pakistan for the first time accused Afghanistan-based troops of carrying out a direct attack on its territory, a raid in the South Waziristan tribal zone that left 15 people dead.
In a statement today, General Ashfaq Kayani, the Pakistani army chief. strongly criticised the raids and insisted there was no deal allowing foreign troops to conduct operations on Pakistani soil. "The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country will be defended at all cost," he added.
Meanwhile, John McCain and Barack Obama, the Republican and Democratic rivals for the White House, called a truce in their increasingly bitter contest as a mark of respect for those who died in America's worst terrorist attacks. With campaign advertising suspended, the two men were to make a joint appearance at Ground Zero, the site of the former World Trade Center in Manhattan.
"There will be no speeches," Democrat Obama's spokeswoman Linda Douglass said."This is going to be a moment when politics are set aside."
Heavy security was in place well ahead, with streets near Ground Zero closed and buses re-routed before ceremonies starting at 8.40am (1240 GMT). Two separate minutes of silence were to mark the moments when the two hijacked airliners struck on September 11, 2001, destroying each of the Twin Towers and killing some 3,000 people -- at 8:46 am and at 9:03 am.
Ceremonies included additional minutes of silence commemorating the collapse of each tower, as well as the traditional reading out of all victims' names.
Over the last week the White House contest has degenerated into name-calling, climaxing with the row over Mr Obama's branding of the Republican campaign of Mr McCain and running mate Sarah Palin as "lipstick on a pig".
But Mr Obama set the tone for the Ground Zero event, saying last night that that 9/11 showed"that here in America, we all have a stake in each other; I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper - and we rise and fall as one nation".
- Posted in
112 Comments so far
Show AllI am sure we can all agree that NEITHER side should Politicize this day...makes me Heartsick when they do
Why not? The entire event was about politics and power.
No, we can't all agree, nor should we. Mourn?, yes, for the tragedy it was and for the continuing tragedies perpetuated as a result.
Politicizing this day has been a friggin Republican and Conservative tactic from the very moment those towers came down. Rummy, Cheney and Bushie were planning on grabbing Iraq the moment those towers came down in a sick, cavalier way. That should have made you heartsick. Instead the Republican-Conservative asswipes were too busy prostrating at the feet of Nationalism nd Patriotism and chomping down on all the vomit spilling out of Bush and Dick.
Well, we had the golden opportunity to smash the Taliban and Al Quaida once and for all and they were right there in Afghanistan but we FUCKING BLEW IT when we went to Iraq on false information about WMDs when the real motive was oil and inflating the value of Saudi oil. Look what happened. Al Queda is not only in Iraq but they've regrouped and regained and the Taliban have pretty much taken back Afghanistan save Kabul. Homeland security is a SICK joke.
By the way, despite the airport in Newark, NJ not doing its job of stopping the hijackers, it still gets a pay raise. And the regular worker would get a pink slip for doing a piss poor job on security ! So now, we have more big government for nothing ! It's time to ABOLISH DHS, CIA, FBI, and NSA and reform the Pentagon big time. Government that polices the least governs the best.
Yeah what you say would be true if the Official story was true... but it's not. Therefore, there was no need to "smash Afghanistan" was there.
Have you considered the possibility that AlQaida is fighting a just cause? Have you considered that BinLaden may have been speaking the truth when he denied responsibility for 9-11 while accepting responsability for other attacks? Have you considered that the Taliban are actually the Pashtun and thus have a certain right to determine what happens in Afghanistan? Are you aware that the present puppet regime in Afghanistan is composed of the Northern alliance which is a mafia-like gang representing only a small part of the population as opposed to the Taliban who represent a sizable portion of the population? I don't like religious fanatics very much at all, but have you considered that the US is populated by religious fanatics as well? Finally, have you considered that the US is meddling in the affairs of many nations while the Taliban limits itself to its own country? Finally, have you considered the possibility that the twin tower attack was a set up in collaboration with the Israeli secret service? I think you haven't..................lizard
It is an illusion to think you can smash some internal group in a country through invasions and bombings. Cutting off their supplies or helping to build a positive alternative would make more sense. Brutality will increase hate for the US.
Besides we nurtured the Taliban and helped it grow in order to fight the Russians. The Taliban used to be known as "Freedom Fighters". I honestly think that our government needs Taliban and Al Quaida to justify their military spending and incursion into democratic rights.
Joe
Take a Tums....
Over four thousand of our finest have died because YOUR President lied. Over six hundred thousand Iraqis have as well. This year Afghanistan dead and wounded reached record levels.
On this seventh anniversary of the events of 9/11 we as good citizens must reflect upon the fact that Bush allowed bin Laden to escape his trap in Tora Bora. We must speak about exactly who it is that supports our troops, you neocons whose policies create more dead and mained, or the progressive who understands that this nation can no longer use our military in so poor a fashion, in insufficient numbers, without armored vehicles or body armor as well. Diplomacy and good police work are the only ways to defeat terrorism, and that is how one supports the troops.
This is a fine day to reflect upon the policies that are so very ,very bad , not only for our nation, but for the world as well. This is a fine day to rededicate ourselves to changing the course of this nation towards one in which humanity, decency, fairness and equality rule and militarism for profit is ended forever.
We see things, not as they are, but as we are.
Anais Nin
I don't agree at all..............lizard
How about the people in Iraq who did not have a thing to do with this shit?We bury our colective head in the sand again;disgusting.Tony
And as far as being "my" brothers or sisters keeper do we stop at an artificial border to proclaim brotherhood?Tony
Smoke and mirrors-nothing to see here folks, move along . . . MOVE ALONG!
I agree - MOVE ALONG - Comments may have more value if some stick around.
This is the way it seems.
DON’T BOTHER ME
The “SUPPORT THE TROOPS” decal is on the vehicle and I have to go shopping so don’t bother me.
They volunteered and should just do what they are supposed to do so don’t bother me
Flags at half-mast, memorials country wide for 32 students killed by a crazy man and for the troops, what? I mourn for the students so don’t bother me.
300 million people maybe a million in uniform and we all have things to do to promote our version of freedom so don’t bother me.
Depleted uranium, post traumatic stress disorder, missing arms, legs and other parts and disgusting extensions in country and where is the rest of the 300 million? We’re busy “SO DON’T BOTHER ME”
A war of choice, over 3000 dead Americans many more maimed for life and the Iraqis not even mentioned! How sick is this? And we cannot be bothered. Tony 4/20/07
"Mr Obama's branding of the Republican campaign of Mr McCain and running mate Sarah Palin as "lipstick on a pig".
I totally disagree with Obama's representation....there are just some things a pig would not stoop to. Even pigs have more self respect than to try to present the emcumbent as the agents of change.
When McPalin says "change", they mean that is all you will have left in your pocket when they are donw with you.
"The only means of strengthening one's intellect is to make up one's mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts." - John Keats
Where did the distinction come from that says ground troop incursions by US forces are a violation of national sovereignty, but missle strikes into the same geographic region from Predator drones are not a violation of national sovereignty?
Furthermore, has anybody thought much about the potential long term consequences for US national security in drawing this artificial distinction? If it's now become acceptable international behavior for Uncle Sam to bomb suspected terrorist civilian targets overseas (and not treat such activities as an unlawful act of war), then who are we to complain if terrorists - or other states' intelligence services acting in consort with terrorists, of posing as terrorists - target civilians for bombing attacks on American soil?
So happy 7th anniversary of 9/11.
One of the biggest and most dangerous lies about that atrocity was the first lie that was told: it was not a day that suddenly changed everything and gave the White House, CIA, and Pentagon freedom to make up a whole new set of international legal rules as the United States sees fit.
What goes around still comes around eventually.
Bill from Saginaw
I find it hard to be so frivolous about the death of so many people, in any country.If people wanted revenge, they should hit a military base or the White House! (we will never know if they really tried, as the MSM/Bush has morphed the flight that went down in Penn., as people rushing th cockpit to "keep it from hittin the WH"--what BS! That is NOT what I would be thinking about--you?)
Of course the US is largest perputraotr of violence in the world--and the Am people have not done enought to object. (And neither candidate is willing to stop it, as far as I can see)I know everyone thinks that there were a bunch of stockbrokers in there (there were--they all deserve to die? That is a discussion for economics). There was a busload of kids, waiters and waitresses. all kinds of people that had absolutely no control over the US military. If we have so much control, why dont we stop it? The deaths of the rescue persons , largely due to lies of the Bush Admins. are nothing to say "what goes around comes around" about either. The people who purpetuate this horrible violence against civilians in this country , for the most part, didnt work at the WTC. If you condeman violence against innocent civilians by the US (which, I most certainly do!), how can you say that US civilians should pay the price for the US govt??
No one asked to be born here. No one asked to be born brown, or white, or black, male/female or to get old. NO ONE deserves to die for getting in the way of the multi-natl corp.
Bin Laden agreed with you. He said he couldn't have carried out the attack because it would be against his religious beliefs to attack innocent people? lizard
It’s remarkable isn’t it? American ground and air assaults occur on a daily basis now, all around the world, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and it gets less attention on US tv than the weather.
Politicians "setting aside politics" is like lungs setting aside air; it can't be done for more than a minute or two without inducing unconsciousness and death. It's an abnormal and unstable state, and must quickly return to normal conditions.
What's more, "apolitical" pious and sentimental claptrap is still pious and sentimental claptrap.
And "...fresh cracks in America's War on Terror..."? Can one still ask "WTF?" in the Reformed Comments?
The entire enterprise is founded on a fiction in the first place; it's a self-confirming, self-expanding, self-justifying war on a noun.
Its "cracks" are like cracks in a blob of mercury, or "T-1000" from "Terminator 2: Judgment Day". When deformed or divided, the bits just gather themselves back together and morph into whatever shape the (bipartisan) political-military-corporate nexus desires, and the public will bear.
Well said, Little Brother!
http://www.nyc911initiative.org/
Calling all New York City residents
and supporters of truth and justice!
Updated 9/9/08
30,000 Signatures! Thanks to all the hard-working petitioners who have spent months on this historic effort, we have now gathered over 30,000 signatures of NYC registered voters!
This is the minimum requirement to submit a ballot initiative to NY City Council. Now the foundation has been established. From here we will build and create a winning campaign that will result in placing the Initiative for a new, independent, comprehensive 9/11 investigation on the ballot in 2009. Read on...
Count me in!
No real American stands in the way of an investigation into a mass casualty disaster in one of their cities.
This is the best news I've heard in a long time! It's a real spark of hope. Blessings on all who're working on this.
That cry for the truth gives far more respect to any who perished than any number of minutes of silence.
A moment of silence indeed, hell, white-washing, prevarication, and silence is all that has surfaced on salient questions after 7 years, asides from a concerted effort to label those demanding answers, conspiracy theorists.
Personally I feel that Americans, despite any tendency in some towards self-delusion, or a short attention span trained by constant media bombardment, cannot really mend their fences at home or abroad until they face their ghosts and especially this ghost which was made so quintessential by hanging so much hate and fear on its appearance.
The pile of cr#p already under the carpet is too high and so is the smell. It goes all around the world.
Why can't you submit it to be on the ballot this year? We need a true investigation and we need it sooner rather than later!
The Sheriff promised 7 years ago to bring in Bin forgotten DEAD OR ALIVE.
If I could go off the subject a bit,
Yesterday at least 3 third party cadidates got together to agree on the major issues concerning 9/11. A point of view you wont hear from Obama or McCain. The News Hour on PBS dismissed this with a glancing comment about Ron Paul. Given they are the MSM outlet with the least corporate influence and most citizen/member accountability please take a minute to let them know how you feel about third party marginalization.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/aboutus/feedback/2008/convention/2008/08/conv.html
Also you can read the agreement here
http://www.votenader.org/weagree/
Thank You
desert...i guess it might be a good idea to keep tabs on what the mainstream media is up to. but after their pravda-like coverage of south ossetia flare-up, how seriously can one take them? best not to watch the news hour or waste keystrokes imploring them to be fair.
sad that you feel that way, I'm not saying they're good at all.
I just stumbled onto the comment page and its given me some hope, thought we could add to that.
we don't have that many outlets, I feel this one is worth it.
Thank you for the link. Boy, what a breath of fresh air. This agreement is impressive and so simple and reasonable. Almost nobody will notice---------------------------------------------lizard
I note that 54 days before the next Presidential election there has been no new terrorist attack on American soil – so to keep the fear roiling, let’s cue up that footage of the old attack. Yes, it was a tragedy, but it was one that could have been prevented if NORAD had acted on the information it received, and even so, at least half of the victims would still be alive if this administration had not recklessly chosen to abuse the Godzilla protocol under FEMA’s aegis to achieve its “new Pearl Harbor.” This episode of public mourning benefits the GOP just before an election and no one else.
Cheney knew.
Heck, Cheney RAN the 911 scam.
This is pretty clearly established. He was in command of Norad at the time and prevented action............................lizard
I feel sorry for the 3,000 who died on 9/11 but not as sad as I feel for the 3 million brown people America has mass-murdered in the Middle East since then, for absolute NOTHING, except trillions of cash in the pockets of Bush's and his Democratic donors.
But don't be sad, folks, another 9/11, bigger and more terrifying than the original movie, is in the works. Stay tuned. It's time, Americans need to be kept in fear and brainwashed.
By the way, why is Obama against a 9/11 investigation?
Because Democrats benefit from the 'tragedy' as much as their clones the Republicans do, that's why. They want this phony 'war on terror' to go on, indefinitely. The river of oil, cash and blood must continue to flow.
Can y'all say "Cambodia"? Cam-BO-dee-ah? Sure y'can.
Obama says widen the war in Afghanistan, so the Republicans counter with attacking Pakistan. More and bigger war - the MIC answer to Democracy. We're screwed, people - the MIC is in charge and cannot be stopped. Not by Obama, not by Nader, Kucinich, Barr, Paul, McKinney or Sheehan. It has swallowed us whole and it's only a matter of time until we're digested and shit out, our gold fillings used to fund the neverending state of conflict.
Always nice to see the optimistic comments out here.
The one sure way to lose is to convince yourself that you are defeated.
----------------------------
"To know, and not to do, is not to know"
www.samsonsworld.blogspot.com
Sorry Samson, I don't see any way out. I am crushed and defeated. The MIC cannot be overthrown; we have to wait for it to die violently of its own weight. Voting for Nader certainly isn't going to fix things.
Welcome to the anniversary of the U.S. equivalent to the burning of the German parliament - The Reichstag Fire in 1933. This event allowed the corporate fascists to gradually suspend civil liberties and enable the Repub... er, National Socialist Party sieze control.
Sound familiar?
But I could be wrong !
Forget I mentioned it
Your heart was in the right place for a change, Snowy.
Thanks...I tried
You need to try much harder. You need to reevaluate your entire political position in the light of our Bill of Rights and you need to do it now. You need to stop turning off your brain and regurgitating memorised mantras that are simply falsehoods. In short, you need to become a better citizen.
What better day than this one to do so?
We see things, not as they are, but as we are.
Anais Nin
Surrender to "Groupthink"?...I don't think so
OK, that's funny. Snow wolf, who daily spews the Groupthink of the corporate media, which, in turn is the mindset of our corporate overlords, thinks that standing up against CommonDreams readers is somehow a sign of independent thinking.
Ha, ha. Good one, snow.
Oakknot
I tried to voice my opinion to PBS, but they thought I was too verbose. What else should we expect?
actually I just read your post on PBS, thanks
I absolutely agree with SnowWolf regarding the politicization of Sept. 11th on this day or for that matter on any other day. Unfortunately it is too late . Your government has chosen to use this date as a justification to commit some of the greatest atrocities, at home and abroad, in the history of your nation. I am sure you all watched the obsene exploitation of this horrible day by those who claim superiority in keeping your nation safe. You all know who I am referring to here. Those who poll after poll indicate that the American people view as tougher on terrorism. The republicans. If one is so concerned with the politicization of this tragic day one must indentify exactly how and why it was so sucessfully politicized in the first place. Hundreds of thousands of people have been slaughtered in the name of 9/11. Perhaps we should also commerate those who were slaughtered in Iraq and Afghanistan on this day. Were they not victims of 9/11 also? Or would doing so somehow inconviently politicize this tragic event?