Resident Scholars of the A.P.I.
Part II - Neoconservative Savages See 9/11 As An Opportunity
Unlike most who are old enough to remember JFK's asassination, I do not recall where I was, what I was doing, or what I was thinking on that November day in 1963, when I was thirteen. I am however, able to step back into my experience of September 11th, 2001. According to Karl Rove's recent observations, my reaction and thoughts on that day are not only quite different from his, but different as well from the half of mainstream America who are conservative warriors.
I was not suprised by the 9/11 attacks. I had been expecting an attack in the states, for a long time. I read a lot. An amusement park, a large fancy shopping mall, or a stadium sports event were the most likely targets, I thought. That the World Trade Center would be the target chosen by the Saudi Arabian Wahhabi fundamentalists and use of airplanes as missles, however, did come as a suprise.
I won't repeat details of the phone calls, the televised horror, and the emotion that my family, friends, and I shared that day. Americans and many others around the world would describe, I'm sure, the same shock and heartbreak.
My two youngest and I dressed, grabbed backpacks, and piled into the car as usual because we were all taking classes at the local community college. It was still affordable back in '01. A strange surrealism colored our journey. The streets were deserted and time was floating in suspension. We were silent, lost in our thoughts.
It began comming together in my head. I had been reading about the Arab street, the youth bulge, the poverty, the lack of education and opportunity, and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism throughout the Middle East. The Saudi Royal family had been funding the fundamentalists in an attempt to direct public fury away from their own selfish, repressive regime. Saudi Arabians also resented the permanent American bases on their soil. The plight of the Palestinian people at the hands of an Israeli government supported by the United States had also enraged many in Middle East.
The Pentagon, symbol of military might, and the Towers, symbolic of American financial dominance were targeted in a series of very angry, yet sophisticated, coordinated, and well-planned attacks. Who did this? I had a pretty good idea.
While I was thinking and driving, Donald Rumsfeld was driven. After the attack, according to one of his aides, at 2:40 P.M. on 9/11, Rumsfeld was in the smoke filled Pentagon operations center addressing his staff about possibly going after Saddam Hussein along with Usama Bin Laden. He told the Pentagon lawyer to contact Paul Wolfowitz about a connection between Iraq and UBL. When the "war Cabinet" met the following day, Rumsfeld spoke about the terrorist attacks presenting an "OPPORTUNITY to launch against IRAQ!"
Karl Rove was right when he said, "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war," but he is a little off on the timing. The neoconservative members of PNAC began preparing for the war on Iraq several years prior to the tragic events of 9/11. The pre-emptively written Patriot Act was waiting in the wings and they had been seeding the media with anti-Iraq propaganda since Bush was sworn in. Conservatives saw 9/11 as an OPPORTUNITY for the pre-emptive strike that would mark the beginning of the on-going occupation, and conflict in Iraq.
I was still driving toward the college when I had a horrible thought. I glanced at my kids and said, "They're going to use this to go into Iraq." I meant, of course, that the Bush Administration was going to parlay the terrorist's attacks into a war against innocent people. Rove's sarcastic statement describing how liberals reacted to the "savagery of 9/11" is wrong. My reaction at that moment was to reject not only the "savagery" of the Saudia Arabian conservative attackers but to fight against the equally "savage" neoconservative war planners here in the states. There were too many dead already, why murder more? I felt sick.
Along with many others, I fought the invasion of Iraq because I am not a savage person, nor do I see war as an opportunity or an option.
*Note......Plans to secretly fly members of the Saudi Royal family out of the states were set into motion almost immediately following the attacks. WHY? Why not fly out the foreign nationals from Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Oman, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, or the United Arab Emirates, too? Why was it so urgent to evacuate the Saudis? Why were they not retained for interrogation by the FBI? Other Muslims are still being held, without charges, to this day. The majority of the terrorists were Saudis and the Saudis were assisted by the FBI to escape the United States on the orders of the White House! These questions need to be answered.
I do agree with Karl Rove's assessment on one point. The members of PNAC and Rove himself are in desparate need of long-term therapy.
................Kitchen Window Woman.............
I was not suprised by the 9/11 attacks. I had been expecting an attack in the states, for a long time. I read a lot. An amusement park, a large fancy shopping mall, or a stadium sports event were the most likely targets, I thought. That the World Trade Center would be the target chosen by the Saudi Arabian Wahhabi fundamentalists and use of airplanes as missles, however, did come as a suprise.
I won't repeat details of the phone calls, the televised horror, and the emotion that my family, friends, and I shared that day. Americans and many others around the world would describe, I'm sure, the same shock and heartbreak.
My two youngest and I dressed, grabbed backpacks, and piled into the car as usual because we were all taking classes at the local community college. It was still affordable back in '01. A strange surrealism colored our journey. The streets were deserted and time was floating in suspension. We were silent, lost in our thoughts.
It began comming together in my head. I had been reading about the Arab street, the youth bulge, the poverty, the lack of education and opportunity, and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism throughout the Middle East. The Saudi Royal family had been funding the fundamentalists in an attempt to direct public fury away from their own selfish, repressive regime. Saudi Arabians also resented the permanent American bases on their soil. The plight of the Palestinian people at the hands of an Israeli government supported by the United States had also enraged many in Middle East.
The Pentagon, symbol of military might, and the Towers, symbolic of American financial dominance were targeted in a series of very angry, yet sophisticated, coordinated, and well-planned attacks. Who did this? I had a pretty good idea.
While I was thinking and driving, Donald Rumsfeld was driven. After the attack, according to one of his aides, at 2:40 P.M. on 9/11, Rumsfeld was in the smoke filled Pentagon operations center addressing his staff about possibly going after Saddam Hussein along with Usama Bin Laden. He told the Pentagon lawyer to contact Paul Wolfowitz about a connection between Iraq and UBL. When the "war Cabinet" met the following day, Rumsfeld spoke about the terrorist attacks presenting an "OPPORTUNITY to launch against IRAQ!"
Karl Rove was right when he said, "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war," but he is a little off on the timing. The neoconservative members of PNAC began preparing for the war on Iraq several years prior to the tragic events of 9/11. The pre-emptively written Patriot Act was waiting in the wings and they had been seeding the media with anti-Iraq propaganda since Bush was sworn in. Conservatives saw 9/11 as an OPPORTUNITY for the pre-emptive strike that would mark the beginning of the on-going occupation, and conflict in Iraq.
I was still driving toward the college when I had a horrible thought. I glanced at my kids and said, "They're going to use this to go into Iraq." I meant, of course, that the Bush Administration was going to parlay the terrorist's attacks into a war against innocent people. Rove's sarcastic statement describing how liberals reacted to the "savagery of 9/11" is wrong. My reaction at that moment was to reject not only the "savagery" of the Saudia Arabian conservative attackers but to fight against the equally "savage" neoconservative war planners here in the states. There were too many dead already, why murder more? I felt sick.
Along with many others, I fought the invasion of Iraq because I am not a savage person, nor do I see war as an opportunity or an option.
*Note......Plans to secretly fly members of the Saudi Royal family out of the states were set into motion almost immediately following the attacks. WHY? Why not fly out the foreign nationals from Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Oman, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, or the United Arab Emirates, too? Why was it so urgent to evacuate the Saudis? Why were they not retained for interrogation by the FBI? Other Muslims are still being held, without charges, to this day. The majority of the terrorists were Saudis and the Saudis were assisted by the FBI to escape the United States on the orders of the White House! These questions need to be answered.
I do agree with Karl Rove's assessment on one point. The members of PNAC and Rove himself are in desparate need of long-term therapy.
................Kitchen Window Woman.............
posted by Kitchen Window Woman at 4:12 PM
4 Comments:
I disagree with your assessment of Rove-there is no known therapy for sociopaths that is effective. Locking them up seems to be about all we can do.
As for the rest of it..... the betrayal of the defenders of the country will most certainly be remembered as a black mark in history. The cynical manipulation of American public opinion to get us into a war we didn't have to fight is a vile disrespect of the dead at the WTC and Pentagon.
Recently, 40 historians were polled as to their opinions on who was the best and worst Presidents we have ever had. Guess who got a plurality of them to say he's the worst?
Kitchen Window Woman, the Iraq invasion was pretty much on my mind in the immediate days after 9/11, so you're not the only one who saw this coming.
Jolly, we're not really suprised, are we? I know a couple of raving republicans who cry to the high heavens "Bush (Co) is a great man, the greatest president since Lincoln, etc. etc. ad nauseum", and I just have to laugh - in 10 years, maybe a little longer if Brother Jeb gets crowned and allowed his reign, this whole bunch will be seen by history as a group of the most criminal, self-righteous hotheads to ever call the White House and the Capital home. Nixon? freaking saint compared to this bunch. Grant? Squeaky clean, compared to this bunch.
Man, I get sick of their garbage, and it's every single day that we get smacked in the chops with a big ol' side of bull.
We need a leader who would have PEACE as their first priority. I dont mean in a sissy way, but in a tolerant & progressive way. That probably means we need a woman president. One can pray.
Enjoy your blog.
JOLLYROGER...There is no cure and most of them would not want to change anyway. The manipulation can always be justified away especially by people who think they are superior and behave paternalistically toward their equals.
Yep...Georgie boy...the worst in history!
OKDEMOCRAT...Wow, you must have been a wreck with a bomb threat! And then gas gouging? And all on that terrible day. We all went to our classes which were half empty. The instructors sent students home. Some of us stayed and talked quietly for a while. We stopped at the grocery store on the way home... the few people there were ashen-faced and quiet. We all watched the news for hours that night. My husband and I noticed the militaristic hype right away. They were almost happy. Basically, I think the NeoCons are terrorists, too!
BEE...I'm glad you saw it comming, too it's comforting to knowthat I am not the only one.
Jeb is a scary creature and a practiced criminal...Florida is raped daily.
I'm sick of their garbage, too, but that's what you get with "Bullievers.
JANE...I agree with you about Peace as a priority. We really blew it by beefing up the military after the Cold War ended. An opportunity was lost to change from a war culture and economy to a progressive nation that interacts with the rest of the world. Many little men need war. They are universally loosers. Women at least understand nuturing.
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