Sept 11 and Beyond: The World Trade Center Bombing

I voted in the NYC Primary Election today ... my vote means nothing. This is not a cynical comment by a jaded voter, one who felt the candidates were all lacking in some fashion. It is a statement of basic fact: Election Day has been cancelled. There are no baseball games today and NFL games for this weekend are questionable, while many other games were cancelled. Amusement parks closed. All air traffic in the US shutdown. Wall Street trading closed for at least two days. Many schools and most federal offices have been closed. Getting out of (or in) Manhattan was difficult much of the day. Many of these things might be trivial, except they make what has happened especially real to those who families and friends were not directly involved. In other words, those who knew people who were on the flights or in the buildings (the World Trade Center and the Pentagon) involved in perhaps the biggest incidence of terrorism in recent history.

It all was unreal when I turned on my usual music station this morning at about nine and first heard about a plane (!) flying into the World Trade Center. It was even more unreal and shocking when I heard the emotion of a radio reporter who was a witness as one of the Towers just collapsed. A building over a hundred stories tall. The fact the Pentagon was also attacked was almost just an afterthought. Ditto another hijacked plane (four hijacked planes at least ... this took a lot of planning and effort) that crashed ... perhaps blown out of the sky to protect a likely target in Washington DC (a la "Executive Decision" as the WTC explosions felt like "Die Hard with a Vengeance"). Or the blowing up of the White House in "Independence Day." Movies are good comparisons to use, since this all feels as unreal as these films. A bomb ... okay. Hijacked planes running into buildings? Uh no.

This is the modus operanti of low tech terrorists, the type that a missile defense system (useful or not) will not stop. The type I fear is the most dangerous, as shown by the thousands dead ... a number that does not compare to any other terrorist act I know of. A number (not going into the monetary damage) not comparable really to the harm the likely terrorists have felt. Hundreds or thousands dead in Israel-Palestian wars over the years does not match the not unlikely ten thousand plus (over 40 thou work in the Towers on any given day ... and everything went to hell in less than an hour, much to little time to get a lot out) of innocents who died. There might be some sense to those who did this, ideology truly knows no bounds, but ultimately its moral depravity of the highest order.

We shall get through this. Humans ultimately are somewhat selfish beings from necessity, concerned with the welfare of themselves and their loved ones more than anything else. The world is too complex and dangerous for this not to be the case, though of course we are also members of society in order to have a better life overall. My point being that in some small way at least we will try to ignore this, to get on with our lives. As well as we should, since if we do not, those who did this will truly win. One reason why we should not put off sports for that long ... it's trivial next to today's tragedy, but trivial things help us get through the more difficult stuff in our lives. And just how wonderful a day of trivial things feels today, a day that ranks in dead and horror in many ways more severely than the last "day of infamy," Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor brought war, the internment of Japanese, and lots more ... what will this day wrought?

To end on a note of dark humor, I had a feeling when I heard this of the car bomb a few years ago that did some damage and killed a few people in the World Trade Center. "If you at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

9/12 [Response: Restraint]

As the infamy sinks in, they is of course much anger and call for something to be done. As discussed here, we must tread carefully. Calls for massive bombing of countries that harbor terrorists is not only overkill (perhaps killing innocent foreigners in numbers even greater than our dead, showing two can play at that game), the backlash will just encourage more terrorists. The same can be said, aside from the fact it is purely unamerican in a land of immigrants and freedom, concerning understandable hatred of certain groups. The diversity of the Arab world, as well as the Islam component (which after all includes many American blacks), is just to great for reasonable people to accept such stereotypes. Let us not let depravity drive us to a less form of depravity of our own. Somehow, let us remember to show some restraint, since we must live with the future consequences (e.g. guess who helped Afghanistan rebels, including Bin Laden in the 1980s to fight the Soviet Union)

While I was on the train today, a man looked up from reading his paper and said that he could just not bear to read the article in front of him. It named a friend who staid out of work on Tuesday because of a family obligation. I also saw last night that Barbara Olsen, conservative hero and wife of the US Solicitor General, had died. I wondered why ... not having it register that she was a fatality of terrorist act. She actually called her husband as it was in progress, the husband whose birthday celebration delayed her trip and led her to take that flight. I overheard a local boy ask if the war will come to our neighborhood ... these two people were but one of many who did directly face the war. Finally, the patriotism of the moment is well founded ... the call for prayers is a bit harder for an unbeliever to take. Prayer seems a bit too bitterly ironic in times like this.

9/15

The candlelight vigil (and lightening of candles overall) at around seven o'clock Fri night (EST) was a nice simple gesture. I reckon I am not alone in being a bit worn out with all the news coverage, coverage that at times was so massive and continuous that errors was reported as fact. News makes things real to us, especially the pictures and words of those who report what we are thinking and feeling, but news also makes things a bit unreal. This is true even for those who live and work in NYC, especially those who (as we must and many feel is best) go about our everyday lives. Less important things, though things that symbolize normalcy, like sports (cancelled for the weekend) affect us the most at times. Nonetheless, as I read, think, and talk about the events, I can't help being deeply affected. At times, I feel myself get full of emotion, it all is a bit too much.

We have all done better than can be expected over the last few days. For instance, little was said about a notable thing: no looting or comparable criminal activity to take advantage of the disorder and wreckage. (I presume some apartments and living areas that had to be abandoned, at least temporarily, were robbed though) The Arab bashing (as if Arabs and Moslems weren't among the victims) has occurred, even though helping terrorists kill what makes this country great (free speech, equality, opportunity for all, peace, etc.) is a horrible thought. Mayor Guiliani, a jerk in some ways, is as usual, wonderful in a crisis situation. Investigations and international coalitions are being developed, though (I'm sorry, it is not anti-American to criticize leaders in times of tragedy) President Bush is not my favorite person to be the leader in such a tragedy.

Nonetheless, he is what we have, and I know (hope) he and his staff (and the government at large) will do a pretty good job handling this. We have entered the unknown here though, and the future is scary. As is usually the case, there is a sense from me that this all is happening out there. This is true up to a point, though a bombing a few miles from where I work is not that far "out there" at all. A co-worker is deeply affected by it, she apparently thinks about it all the time. My supervisor might have lost two people in the World Trade Center; a friend of his had to leave his apartment in the area, and someone walked miles to retrieve his dog. So, though I keep the whole thing at bay (most of the time), trying not to be affected is therefore impossible.

9/16 Normalcy ... What We Must Do

As days past, and the time to try to go back to normal (Wall Street, sports, television, and so on), the long haul is approaching. One thing that must be face is the death toll: an estimate of forty five hundred or so missing in the Towers bombing (hundreds died on the planes and in the Pentagon) was put out. This is roughly ten percent of the average that work there, which is (hard to say) somewhat a good number. Think that they had less than an hour really to escape, often from high up. Also, the investigation and plans to strike back continues. As noted by an international reporter who is knowledgable of the area, we must look at moderate and secular individuals and governments in the region (including in Afghanistan itself, where a rebel leader was assassinated on the eve of the bombing) for aid.

We must also attack terrorism headon, include the governments that support it. Next, we have to face up to fundamentalism, and realize some forms of it are legitimate (we have a strain in this country, our own President is a born again Christian), but others are dangerous. These things are not limited to the Muslim and Islam world ... if terrorist acts are ok for the IRA, for instance, is the only problem with this one the fact it is against us and is too great in its death toll? Remember, there is a point to all this: to inflict terror, not just for terror's sake, but to gain power and influence. Inhuman acts have human reasons behind them.

Finally, Israel is being used by some as a nifty scapegoat for the Anti-American mindset behind the bombing. Nonetheless, the alleged terrorists hate moderate Arabs and Islam almost as much, if not more. They want a holy war, and Muslims not with them are enemies as well. Also, even if the terrorists only hated America, our support of Israel is only an easy target. The hatred of the West and modern life is much broader than that. After all, US influence in the region is not based on a love of Israel as much as balance of power and need for the area's resources (especially oil). Also, this influence has over the years included armed attacks, including the Gulf War, bombing of Sudan (to retailate against an attack on our embassy), and of cource Israel attacks to defend its borders. Attacks that killed a lot more innocent lives than we may want to think about, and thus adding to the hatred of us. We must face up to our actions as well, actions that must be added to a world in which horrible carnage is seen as acceptable policy.

All of this does not justify the infamous acts, but it helps to explain them, as well as the breadth of the problem before us. I fear few, including the government itself, truly knows or wants to accept this. Bin Laden and others have amassed thousands of supporters, including many in this country, spread all over the world. Their grievances and desires are both broad and hard for us to understand and respond to. Respond we must.

Update: Symbolizing the theme of this essay, written last week, is the fact that last Sunday marked the official ending of the national period of mourning. The flag is no longer at half-mast, military and other forces are being put into action, and the period of waiting is surely upon us. Furthermore, there was a primary election in NY, though the current mayor feels he needs a few more months in office (at least). Though the favored candidate (Mark Green, as well as the Republican candidate Michael Bloomberg) support him, would this radical altering of the change of command be worth it for such a short period? The current term limit law that makes Guiliani unable to run again is flawed (a situation like this one shows but one time when a mayor might deserve a third term), but playing around with the rules is not the ideal solution. Meanwhile, a march for peace in favor of a alternative strategic view, took place in DC.

If you click the flag shown above, you will see comments by a former Chief Justice of the U.S. and failed presidential candidate that eloquently expresses the principles behind flags that are now waved and displayed more than ever. I myself decided to put a little flag on my door and to leave some extra flags at various places where I have been. Nonetheless, we must not fail to remember that the flag is just a symbol of our nation and its principles. This is often forgotten by those who want to treat the flag as some holy object that is more important than the principles "for which it stands," as well as those who think "America first" just means support of its power or popular opinion.

Furthermore, the complexity of our way of life makes the simplistic response to the bombing at least somewhat troubling. The response makes sense since such an attack naturally involves certain instinctual responses such as those expressed by myself (the 9/11 thoughts stated above were written the night of the attack). Also, the act of killing thousands of innocents is clearly inhumane, and apparently (after all no one has yet to admitted to the attacks or said why they did them) done by individuals with corrupt motives (even strong supporters of third world peoples are likely to shun Bin Laden's ultimate ends). Finally, we clearly need to prevent this from happening again, which will require the unity and assurance of our cause that is currently being promoted.

Nonetheless, a single-minded response to the tragedy has its limits. First of all, we must at some point accept that we are in this for the long haul, and step out of total crisis mode. This includes being able to go about our everyday business within certain surely hazy limits. This must involve a reduction in the wallowing in our victimhood, an annoying example are drops and soundbites on local music stations. Praise of rescue workers, government leaders, and other support and military personnel is well deserved, but even the most well deserved praise need not be overdone -- at some point it loses some of its value and true feeling. It might be a bit too soon, but I do believe the "long haul" has arrived, and we must be a bit hardened to get through it all.

I do not mean to be harsh or inhumane when I say these things. I live in the city. My supervisor lost friends in the bombing, a co-worker quit because she did not want to come into the city anymore, and others I know were deeply affected by the events. The loss (which was once estimated to be under five thousand, but now has shot up to close to seven thousand, though the true numbers are unclear) is horrible, though not touching me as much as those who knew and loved victims and survivors. Nonetheless, it is not unjust to remember that other nations (including many Muslim nations, like Afghanistan) have dealt with loss of much higher numbers over the last five, ten, twenty years. The shock of such a horrible event in a land that seems so safe is a large part of why we feel so victimized. As we get through this, let us remember our place in the history of violence and loss, remember we are not alone. Also, something can be said about a more reserved way of dealing with this, including using humor and everyday things like sports and regular exploits to have some sense of "normalcy."

We also are rightly angry at those who did this, but it is also good to know our enemy. What are their motives? Why do they want to kill us (one short answer: rabid fundamentalism is a response to the trials and tribulations of a Third World people trying to survive in the modern world ? a competing world view and culture is surely a likely source of anger and resentment)? An understanding of the complexity of our enemies and others who are not that happy with us will also stop us from painting the Islam World (nearly a billion strong) with wide brush. We can do this without justifying what was done or not responding harshly and resolutely against those who did it.

Furthermore, we can admit to some mistakes, and justified grievances by some of the masses who oppose us. Such grievances have set up a perilous atmosphere that must be faced, or we will be like a homeowner who plasters holes without fixing the roof. The holes must be filled (terrorists like Bin Ladin must be stopped or more realistically reined in as much as possible), but fixing the roof (the policies and world environment that causes the problems) must be the ultimate concern. It is upsetting that anyone who suggests that we must face up to the underlining causes (that we have some role in) is seen as anti-American (one member of Congress was hesistant to agree to giving the President a wide discretion in the use of force without further debate; she currently is getting death threats) or naïve.

If, as has been suggested, this will be a long process (ten years has been estimated, complete success is something of a pipe dream), policy must be involved as well as military action. Action against countries that help and protect terrorists must be joined with policies to help the masses that ultimately give them legitimacy. After all, we can easily ask the Russians about trying to defeat the Afghans, or perhaps the British, who have thier own history of defeat of trying to vanguish a mountainous people with little more to lose in the middle of nowhere. We want to strike back now, but Clinton struck back when our embassy was struck, but did little damage, except to the innocents killed. After all, the people who are leading the fight have little to lose, a lot less than we do in the long run. Oh, and Bin Laden and his friends will just love a long drawn out war, more chance to strike the infidels, get recruits, and make us suffer. We should question just how useful war truly is in this case.

Finally, let us remember that the terrorists have bombed our military headquarters and center of our way of life (major business center in New York City ? a perfect target for their ends) to threaten our way of life. Therefore, responses that violate this way of life help them. This includes living in fear, reducing our basic liberties, and threatening groups just because they look like the terrorists. Also, our actions will have unintended consequences, not just limitations of liberty and fair play that will not just be used to handle the immediate crisis at hand, but also diplomacy and policy in general. Therefore, doubts on the right way to proceed is not anti-American, since democracy (not just rule by the President or a small group at top) and dissent is our way of life ? it is what America is all about. Finally, surely criticism of presidential policy is not illegitimate, even now, nor should we ignore all the other problems of our society.

There are five stages of getting over loss among them anger and eventually comes acceptance. I do not know if we ever can truly have acceptance, but understanding is possible. It is time to start to try to understand this tragedy, to deal with it, and flag waving is not enough. Life is a bit more complicated, harsh, and confusing for that. A final symbol of this might be that the name of the campaign against the terrorists was once "Infinite Justice," a name that was soon seen as to have too much of a religious connotation ("the infinite" is God, only God can supply "infinite justice," so says Christians, Jews, and Moslems). The name has a certain basic appeal, but it turns out that things are just a bit more complicated than that.

November 11

The terrorist attacks struck the US two months ago, though at times it seems much longer. Remember when the biggest foreign policy crisis was a crash of a US intelligence plane in China? Well, a sign that the US was going back to normal was a overseas trip by the President to China, who we now must respect as an important force and potential ally. There is plenty of politics both in the city of NY as well as the nation as a whole to keep one's mind off terrorism, but one is hard pressed to imagine a time when the acts was not an accepted part of our vision of the nation. A few things keep us from knocking it out of our minds totally, including ongoing anthrax attacks.

I probably partly selfishly was annoyed when a reminder of the events showed itself in a personal way. I work a block away from St Patricks Cathedral, the site of numerous funereals for city workers (mainly firemen), who died on September 11. These events, given all the deaths, continue to occur, blocking traffic in the process. One day I was just annoyed to see yet another funereal (so many in fact that requests were put out to civilians to come, since officials were too spread out to have the suitable number of mourners) two months after the events. This is partly because I'm a private person in various ways and think personal funereals should not be such public affairs. To quote an old motto, we should never forget, but I do think the time for public event funereals is about past.

I expressed this opinion to someone, and she was (suitably?) annoyed, feeling we should have as many funereals as necessary to honor the dead. Also, this perhaps heartless desire to rush things angered firemen in a different way, leading to a somewhat out of hand protest of the mayor's policy to not allow fire officials to oversee the search for bodies at the World Trade Center (let's end this "Ground Zero" stuff too; it sounds stupid). Many even criticized Mayor Guiliani, whose patriotism and concern for police and fire officers is not easily questioned. Nonetheless, I think the mayoral election is truly a suitable seminal moment, a moment that counsels us that it is time to move on. Oh, a few days later I saw camels (probably for the Radio City Music Christmas show), and it made me smile. Time passes ... sometimes for the good.

November 17

Though a few cases of anthrax still come to light and a war is being fought in Afghanistan, it doesn't seem that we are exactly in "war mode" or anything these days. The Yankees losing the World Series appears to be raising more emotions than terrorism and war, which is a good thing in many ways. After all, President Bush had a national address last Thursday, and only ABC (not much on 8PM Thursdays on ABC) showed it. Yes, "The Tick" is more important than President Bush rallying the country to be strong and fight the good fight. The fight will be extended and no clear victory is likely any time soon, so going back to ordinary business is a good strategy. Still, it gives one pause.

The fear partly is that the usual policy of just putting foreign policy concerns on the back burner and in the hands of a few experts will again prevent a true solution or serious treatment of the problem. This is intermixed with the fear the current crisis (and the trust of a select few to address it) will be used to put in place unwise laws and policies. President Bush and company have put forth some strong and reassuring words when the nation needed them, and a show of unity in Washington was wisely expressed. There are limits to this rosy picture nonetheless.

For instance, the way the government is handling things is decidedly mixed. Are we substaining serious damage on the Taliban, or are they courageously hanging on? One wouldn't know from conflicting reports. Also, "united we stand" is a nice motto, but surely doesn't quite describe current political decisions. President Bush differs with Congress on how much money the future will need (apparently, the terrorist act did not seriously increase the necessary budget numbers). Federalizing airport security is a matter of debate, the logical suggestion international airports require some federal oversight and including perhaps federal workers seen by some as a Democratic attempt to give jobs to politically friendly unions. Also, the rather disjointed response to anthrax attacks (as well as the first few minutes of the terrorists seizing airlines) shows full assurance in "our commander in chief" is a tad ridiculous.

Other problems and complications showed themselves. For instance, the Red Cross had a bit too much excess of riches the days following September 11. They were given so much blood that some went to waste, and more funds than they reasonablely could use directly toward the victims of the attacks. The reasonable decision to put aside some money for broader future purposes that still are related to the effects of the attacks as well as use some blood for its new frozen blood reserve was criticized as deceiving. Red Cross even offered to give people their money back once the controversy came to light.

The head of the Red Cross basically lost her job (she officially announced she soon will resign), even though technically she did talk about how help was needed for "September 11 and its consequences," since obviously people ignored the qualifier. The Red Cross later relented and said that all the money will go to the victims of the attacks. Still, there is a limit of goodwill and donations, and the costs of the attacks will be much deeper than helping those who lost family members. It is all nice and good to say America will give later on if necessary, but honesty dictates we admit that the weeks after the attacks was a special time that was basically unique. A somewhat broader purpose would have been accepted, but instead people get cynical because they feel they were lied to. Thus, Red Cross' decision to give all the money collected to the victims is the proper course, even if it might not be the best use of the money in the long run.

A response to terrorism should not trample on our constitutional liberties. Nonetheless, the rules should be a bit more flexible, but only if the underlining principles remain. Therefore, broader powers over searches and seizures might be legitimate in some cases, though concerns have been raised. The fact that the people indirectly by their representatives in Congress set in place such rules also is important. On the other hand, troubling unilateral action by the executive, such as (1) listening in to lawyer conversations (2) detaining thousands (including legal residents) for months without a hearing and (3) secret military tribunals (again including legal residents as well as foreign nationals) without appeal and greatly restricted protections of suspects is quite troubling. Power that is not likely to disappear once the immediate danger passes, and likely to affect citizens as well as noncitizens, legal residents as well as illegals.

Meanwhile, the President slips in a change of policy that makes it easier for prior presidents (and now vice presidents) to limit the publication of their official papers. Next, the supposedly states rights administration (in office partly by a Supreme Court ruling that gave state control over federal elections more emphasis than the equal right to vote and in part democracy itself) interferes with states power over medicine, be it medicinal marijuana (California) or doctor assisted suicide (Oregon). The Surgeon General (Clinton holdover, criticized for the results of a sex study the administration didn't like) is not being used to help the public understand the anthrax scare. And finally, how about some talk of energy conservation? Few things are more important when reliance on foreign trouble spots for oil is part of why we are in this mess.

I might be criticized myself for putting forth such negative views in a time like this. After seeing the level of negativity and shallowness in my very own NYC mayoral race, I would respond in part that I'm not alone. Also, I already put forth a more patriotic and emotional expression of my reponse to the events. A healthy skepticism is warranted now, as well as a concerted effort to fight the current menace. A fight I'm sure we will win, though in an incomplete and flawed fashion as is necessary by the acts of morals. And finally, just as concern about Mariano Rivera blowing a save in Game Seven of the World Series is not frivilous in times like these (life is full with things equally not life shattering), expressing a concern that our response is partly misguided is not unpatriotic. True Americans wish for a great America, not one in which its flaws is ignored in the struggle toward greatness.

December 23

At times, I think I don't worry enough about the horror of September 11th, trying to find fault with the government's response or to avoid all the hype and continual news coverage. For instance, the NY Daily News has a basically daily update of some news of victims, survivors, and heroes from that day. As an example, recently we found out a mother of two young children died of cancer, after promising her kids that though she might be leaving, their daddy will still be there. Of course, he died in the Trade Center (he worked in the trades, which admittedly got my attention since my own dad along with my brother, was/is in that field). Still, I read something (from Howard Zinn, a leftist critic, of all people) that reminded me that stories that gave faces to this tragedy are very important. Real people are at stake here, and we must not forget it. I added a link at the top of the page, a story by Zinn reminding us of the Afghan civilian victims to further this point.

Since I wanted to repent a tad, I decided to see a play called "The Guys," starring Sigourney Weaver and Bill Irwin (if I learnt about it sooner, I might have seen Bill Murray in his part, but a lesser known actor added a realistic touch to it). It was based on fact and tells of a writer who helps a fire captain write eulogies for eight of his men who died in the attack. The writer is really a stand-in for us, and part of the play is her telling how she (and therefore we) feel. The play is being shown in downtown Manhattan ("The Flea" at 41 White St), not that far from "Ground Zero," and the theater itself was in a small way of the victims, since it lost a decent amount of money from drop in attendance. It was hard to watch at times, but like the stories in the paper, humanized the tragedy, and helped us in some small way to understand the feelings of some of the victims of it.

As we continue in this waiting period moment of the war, one big issue is the President's State of the Union. As an aside, the adminstration's struggling with the POW status of Al Qaeda members in the prison in Cuba, is in part heartening (Powell's voice of restraint and knowing how we treat them will serve as a precedent for the future, including when we or our allies have people caught) as well as aggravating (there is still a debate that international law dictates certain basic rights for all prisoners, not just a "trust us" from the government). One part that troubled me is his use of "axis of evil" to define Iran, Iraq, and North Korea as some form of terrorist threat network out there. "Axis" is usually taken to mean a connection, such as "The Axis Powers" of WWII (Germany, Italy, and Japan), but they aren't allies.

Yes, they are threats, but the wording makes them seem connected in some major way or at least equally a problem. Furthermore, he made it seem like we are at risk of war with each of them, scaring certain allies of ours, and riling up the nations themselves. Iran, in particular, must be treated carefully, since in actuality there are many positive voices in its society (a democracy in name, and in various ways in fact). The real target seems to be Iraq, and all the talk that people in the Bush adminstration would just love to go in and attack it to overturn Saddam Hussein (still peeved we didn't do it in 1991 in the Gulf War, as if regional opposition didn't matter), is a tad scary. Finally, how about tossing in Saudi Arabia as a threat, since many on those planes came from there? Oh and women have to be completely covered and don't have many rights there either. They might be our allies, but they are trouble, and we should find a way (without losing face) to downgrade our presence there, as well as being much less reliant on their oil. A better plan than invading Iraq or tossing words like "Axis," without apparently knowing just what the implication of them truly are.