L1011
14th Sep 2001, 15:07
Sympathy is too trite a word to describe the emotions the whole world feels for the occupants of the buildings and the passengers and crew of the hijacked airplanes. It is truly a crime against humanity.
The following are excerpts from an article written by an American journalist. It allows another point of view to the tragedy. No doubt I will be flamed by many of our resident bigots. Just try to remember that freedom is speech is enshrined in the U.S. constitution.
null'It's not the US they want to destroy. It's our arrogance' By Reeta Sinha
...When terrorists crashed passenger
planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon building in the US, someone, some group of people, was pushing back. The message seems pretty clear: the wealthy, powerful king had to be knocked off the hill.
What would drive some people to take such extreme measures? Why would anyone go to these lengths to hurt the United States?
I can come up with only one answer. It's not us they hate. It's not the US they want to destroy. It's our arrogance.
But it isn't the US these terrorists want. They don't want our land, our buildings, our wealth, our leaders or our people. I think they are just sick and tired of being pushed around. As I write this, I don't know who
'they' are. It doesn't matter whether these terrorists came from outside the US or from within. As we saw with the Oklahoma bombing a few years ago, there are many inside the US who feel pushed around, who feel they are not included when US leaders tell the world, 'we are the best, we are the smartest, we are the most powerful, we are No.1.
The question is being asked repeatedly by media analysts: how did the US miss such a sophisticated attack? In my opinion, the answer is simple. The US arrogantly underestimated its perceived and known enemies.
Because we're No 1. They are scum, they are evil, they're cowards, and they are stupid. How could 'they' ever get us? White extremists or Arab terrorists, we're better, we're smarter, we're ready. We have stealth
bombers and space-age missile defense systems, we can land on the moon and go to Mars. We're rich, we're invincible. We're America.
The reality is we're so full of it and now, thousands of innocent people have paid the price for the arrogance of some in the US.
It doesn't take much to realize just how well organized and clever these terrorists were. While the US and its allies talk of arsenals filled with expensive high-tech weapons to combat biological warfare and fight star wars, a group of people using nothing more than knives and combined brain
power brought the US to a halt. Consider the following:
Four commercial planes with huge quantities of fuel simultaneously hijacked from four metro US airports Four sets of hijackers who knew how to pilot the jets (unlike many previous hijackings in the world)
Two strategically critical targets selected
Two successful strikes to the World Trade Center towers where the buildings were structurally most vulnerable No US media outlets affected, ensuring maximum visibility to these attacks.
To this point, no evidence available to determine who is responsible, leaving the US powerless to retaliate These terrorists have made a mockery of the CIA who seem to have no clue that an attack of such magnitude was even possible, let alone imminent. They have put the FAA to shame, as its radar screens showed four flights veering off-course and, apparently, with no indication the planes had been hijacked. Airport security has been deemed lax for years, yet there have been no noticeable improvements. The terrorists have left US leaders virtually powerless -- they can only repeat the now almost meaningless
words claiming US greatness, strength and its resolve to hold other countries responsible, never once recognizing its own weaknesses and faults.
As calls for retaliation (against whom?) grow, as news analyses continue into the early hours of the morning after, I doubt it matters -- all this talk of US superiority and freedom. Imagine for a moment you are sitting in those planes, facing certain death, or in an office in the Pentagon or the World Trade Center, unaware just how close death is. Terrorism is about people. Perhaps one day the world's leader will realize this.
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The following are excerpts from an article written by an American journalist. It allows another point of view to the tragedy. No doubt I will be flamed by many of our resident bigots. Just try to remember that freedom is speech is enshrined in the U.S. constitution.
null'It's not the US they want to destroy. It's our arrogance' By Reeta Sinha
...When terrorists crashed passenger
planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon building in the US, someone, some group of people, was pushing back. The message seems pretty clear: the wealthy, powerful king had to be knocked off the hill.
What would drive some people to take such extreme measures? Why would anyone go to these lengths to hurt the United States?
I can come up with only one answer. It's not us they hate. It's not the US they want to destroy. It's our arrogance.
But it isn't the US these terrorists want. They don't want our land, our buildings, our wealth, our leaders or our people. I think they are just sick and tired of being pushed around. As I write this, I don't know who
'they' are. It doesn't matter whether these terrorists came from outside the US or from within. As we saw with the Oklahoma bombing a few years ago, there are many inside the US who feel pushed around, who feel they are not included when US leaders tell the world, 'we are the best, we are the smartest, we are the most powerful, we are No.1.
The question is being asked repeatedly by media analysts: how did the US miss such a sophisticated attack? In my opinion, the answer is simple. The US arrogantly underestimated its perceived and known enemies.
Because we're No 1. They are scum, they are evil, they're cowards, and they are stupid. How could 'they' ever get us? White extremists or Arab terrorists, we're better, we're smarter, we're ready. We have stealth
bombers and space-age missile defense systems, we can land on the moon and go to Mars. We're rich, we're invincible. We're America.
The reality is we're so full of it and now, thousands of innocent people have paid the price for the arrogance of some in the US.
It doesn't take much to realize just how well organized and clever these terrorists were. While the US and its allies talk of arsenals filled with expensive high-tech weapons to combat biological warfare and fight star wars, a group of people using nothing more than knives and combined brain
power brought the US to a halt. Consider the following:
Four commercial planes with huge quantities of fuel simultaneously hijacked from four metro US airports Four sets of hijackers who knew how to pilot the jets (unlike many previous hijackings in the world)
Two strategically critical targets selected
Two successful strikes to the World Trade Center towers where the buildings were structurally most vulnerable No US media outlets affected, ensuring maximum visibility to these attacks.
To this point, no evidence available to determine who is responsible, leaving the US powerless to retaliate These terrorists have made a mockery of the CIA who seem to have no clue that an attack of such magnitude was even possible, let alone imminent. They have put the FAA to shame, as its radar screens showed four flights veering off-course and, apparently, with no indication the planes had been hijacked. Airport security has been deemed lax for years, yet there have been no noticeable improvements. The terrorists have left US leaders virtually powerless -- they can only repeat the now almost meaningless
words claiming US greatness, strength and its resolve to hold other countries responsible, never once recognizing its own weaknesses and faults.
As calls for retaliation (against whom?) grow, as news analyses continue into the early hours of the morning after, I doubt it matters -- all this talk of US superiority and freedom. Imagine for a moment you are sitting in those planes, facing certain death, or in an office in the Pentagon or the World Trade Center, unaware just how close death is. Terrorism is about people. Perhaps one day the world's leader will realize this.
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