9/11 Nine Years later

For the past couple of days I have been watching some of the documentaries and news clips, etc, about the 09/11 attack on the USA. You see and remember the weak and the strong, the heroes, and those who ignored all the warning signs and believed until the last moment it could not happen here in American - even though it already had happened and at one of the same places.

So here we are, a new administration in command and what do we have to show for our war on terrorism?

To my knowledge we know less about the where abouts of Osama bin Laden today than we did on 9/11. At least then we knew he was in Afghanistan. Where he is, or if he is even alive today, is any one's guess.

The USA's initial action to go after the terrorists responsible for the attacks on our homeland lead to the destruction of the Taliban control of Afghanistan and initiated what was hoped to be a democratic reform.

However, rather than stay focused on the hunt for terrorist and rebuilding Afghanistan, our national policy got side tracked and suddenly the emphasis moved from bin Laden and Afghanistan to Saddam Hussein and Iraq.

Eight years and two wars later the report is not good. True Saddam Hussein is dead, so maybe that's some kind of victory. However, Iraq is in turmoil, and as allied forces continue their withdrawal, internal violence grows daily and the prospect of an all out civil war looms in the near future. It does not appear that Iraq is going to be a success story.

As I said in the beginning, bin Laden remains a mystery, as does the where abouts of the majority of the Al Quaeda leadership.

Afghanistan is in the midst of a civil war, whether official sources want to admit that or not. The Taliban, in strong numbers, is fighting to regain control. The recent election shows the divisions and corruption taking place within Kabul.

Although many actions taken during the election are being questioned, I still think the one positive thing is that the questions are being raised, a government has not yet been forced on the Afghan people and there is still a small hope that some true form of parliamentary government can come out of all of this.

Of course it still leaves the question of how long the USA and NATO can stay.

After all is said and done, I feel that our government's actions after 9/11, although initially justified, have failed on all levels. What is needed now is to step back, and start all over again.

Our military's principal focus needs to be bin Laden and Al Quaeda. With NATO we should provide instructors for the Afghan military, but they need to be responsible for themselves.

We need to apologise to the Iraq people for the damage we caused and for the chaos and deaths that will come when we pull out. Visions of Saigon with helicopters leaving the roof of the USA embassy may become a scene in Iraq by the time the last of our troops pull out.

What began as an honest effort to right a wrong and bring criminals to justice, turned into a political and power nightmare. Our leadership lost focus of what the true mission was and got side tracked by their personal agendas.

We the people are responsible for oversight of our leaders. We can not sit passively on the side lines and say nothing. We must be vocal and we must use the power of the ballot box.

This is our country first, not the Capital Hill gang.

Speak often, speak loudly, and make your vote count every time.

Its Common Sense!