Nuke's

(Originally published 9/11/06)

Four events today have helped to shape this entry, and have made this day one to remember.

First was the cnn.com stream of 9/11 “As It Was”. It took me back in time in the way that only television can. I was there, or more precisely, I was here, watching the events unfold, knowing the outcome, but glued to the broadcast nonetheless. Thank you CNN. Ya’ll did a great job.

Second was the plethora of images and content on the internet itself. Photographs, commentaries, recollections, prayers, memories and thoughts that have had five years to grow into a certain perspective.

Third was the actions and words of President Bush. From the compassion shown to the surviving families of the dead, to his Address to the Nation, the President reminded me yet again why I voted for him, and why he is the right man to lead the country in this most difficult time.

The fourth was the conclusion of ABC’s The Path to 9-11. As I mentioned last night, this was a well-acted, made-for-TV movie that hammered home one central theme: Whether we recognize it or not, this country is at war with an enemy that is determined to kill or convert us. There was no deviation in that theme tonight.

Politically speaking, the movie revealed both winners and losers. And, as powerful a medium as television is, those who will be viewed as losers have and will protest loudly of certain historical innacuracies in this dramatic re-creation. Personalities, and politics held sway over principles during the 90’s as well as into the new Administration. The cancer of Political Correctness, lack of interdepartmental communication, and a Judiciary interpreting a set of laws that were designed for a people who are law-abiding, not for those who wish to manipulate them for criminal advantage, painted a visual recipe for the inevitable failure to connect the dots.

There were winners as well. I came away from the movie with a different outlook on Richard Clarke. A man caught in the middle of a Clinton Administration more concerned with style over substance, and a Bush Administration which with a certain arrogance, dismissed his expertise as well as his interest in cyber-security as being a necessary holdover from the previous administration, but one that would no longer have the ear of the President. Also, Masood, the leader of the Northern Alliance, was one of the show’s more interesting characters. I laughed at his characterization of bin Laden as a poseur, who would rush Schummer-like to the cameras to have his picture taken beside the burned-out shells of Russian tanks (which he had no hand in destroying). Masood’s charismatic leadership, and the working relationship that he developed with the CIA field agents proved to be both a valuable source of intelligence in pre-9/11 days, as well as the template for the ouster of the Taliban afterwards.

On a final note, towards the end of the Clinton Administration, a scene in which a recommendation was made for a full scale invasion of Afghanistan was shown. That recommendation was dismissed with the line, “No President would ever begin an invasion during his last three months in office.” I thought about that line as I listened to President Bush re-iterate his “Bush Doctrine” earlier. “We make no distinction between the terrorists and the nations who harbor them.” I also thought about the gathering threat posed by a nuclear Iran, and that this confrontation may come sooner rather than later, and the realization that we are in the early days of this Epic Struggle became very clear.

Bookmark to:

Filed under: News and politics