By a bizarre coincidence the night before Sept. 11 2001, my husband and I were talking about what safe, secure lives we led compared to our parents who experienced the depression, World War II and the horror of the holocaust.
The very next day that sense of security was shattered. As we drove home soon after the attack (the College where we both taught was immediately closed), my husband said, “The worst thing about this is what our government is going to do in response.” Minutes after the attack he was already focused on the erosion of civil liberties he saw coming in the aftermath.
I was focused on my fears of further attacks. It took me a while to get over that sense of foreboding that another attack was in the works.
But my husband was focused on the real problem. It turned out to be just as bad as he predicted—the war in Iraq, Guantanamo, torture etc. etc.
The tragic loss of life on 9/11 became justification for a far greater loss of life in Iraq.
With the Obama administration, we are slowly (much too slowly) beginning to undo the damage we inflicted on ourselves in response to September 11.
I agree that the Obama administration is beginning to undo some of the damage we inflicted on ourselves in supposed response to 9/11, but Afghanistan may prove to be Obama's Vietnam.
ReplyDeleteI too worry that Obama may be making a huge mistake in Afghanistan. And John McCain’s support for more troops really makes me worry.
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