I Was Here.

Having recently discussed the fact that the United States did not respond to the 9/11 attacks with a nuclear weapon, some friends and I got into a heated debate over our response to those attacks.  We all had strong feelings, and naturally, most people cringed at the thought of the U.S ever using a nuclear weapon against anyone.  In fact, that I even mentioned it made some people very angry with me.  I understand where they’re coming from, and I understand their dislike for the topic altogether.  However, the individuals most angry with me happened to live outside of New York, but -

I was here.

They weren’t.

I was here when the attacks took place.  And it was outside my window that a thick, black plume of smoke rose into the sky.  I shut my windows and worried about taking my child outdoors for a long time.  I heard fighter jets flying over my house.  The attacks took place only ten minutes away from where I lived.  The phones were not working properly, the roads were closed and chaos was everywhere – surrounding buildings also fell by The World Trade Center – thousands were missing/dead.  This was not a good day for New York or its residents to say the least. 

My sister-in-law’s brother worked in the city.  He was there when it happened.  Body parts were falling from the sky to the ground before his eyes.  He now takes medications for a panic disorder that did not exist prior to 9/11.

I also met a beautiful little girl, about 5 or 6 years-old at the time.  Her father was killed in The World Trade Center.  Her mother told us that the child took on, or tried to take on, the role of her father in the wake of his death. 

Our city had changed.  Gone were the Twin Towers that we were all used to seeing.  Our skyline was different.  Our residents, thousands, had died.   This is not to say that the deaths of others from all over on 9/11 meant any less to me.  But somehow, my impression is that those outside of New York (or Washington) had a different experience on 9/11.  It didn’t happen near their homes, it didn’t change thier skyline, it didn’t kill their neighbors.  Maybe it was more “real” for those of us living here, maybe it hurt us more deeply because it happened so close to home.  Maybe this is why they fail to see how I can say that we should have launched a nuclear weapon and hit Afghanistan.  Yes, it is irrational, and it is cruel, and to say that killing the innocent in harming our enemy is something I’d be happy about is wrong.  But to know that the terrorists and those that aided Bin laden and his crew would have been incincerated the same way that our people were incinerated in the World Trade Center would have given me some comfort.

I love my country and I respect that those in charge must know better than me when it comes to all of this.  Well, I sure hope they do.  But, I’ve been reading Woodward’s book, State of Denial, and that doesn’t paint a pretty picture of what is going on with the war in Iraq.   But keeping a focus on Afghanistan for now, I have to say that we blew it.   We had the one and only chance to wipe out this vicious group of people that attacked us on 9/11.   We also blew it in that we did not show other terrorists what we’d do to them had they messed with us again.  So, if our response in Afgahanistan was weak, well then there is the logic behind the insurgency in Iraq.  This may be why the problems continue.  And now things with Iran are getting ugly too.   And for a White House that makes “cut and run” look weak, I have to question their smarts on how they’ve handled this from Day One.   Personally, I think we could have done better, and the manner in which we responded in Afghanistan may have created some of the tensions we are experiencing all over the Middle East today.

It seems that the current administration is content to blame it all on Bill Clinton.  Well, Bill Clinton was not in the White House on 9/11.  Bill Clinton did not call the shots on 9/11 and during the aftermath.  Bill Clinton did not execute the poor strategy seen today in Iraq, and Bill Clinton did not let Bin laden get away when we had him cornered in Tora Bora.  These disasters were done on Bush’s watch.  Suffice it to say, Bush’s response to 9/11 was too weak.

So, for those that think my logic is somewhat crazy and somewhat cruel, and for those who are against fighting back with force to put a stop to a growing threat that gets uglier by the minute, I was here.  And perhaps it is that alone that gives me a different perspective. 

New York still remains the Number One target for terrorists.