Around 1:00pm on 9/11, I remember walking back from my law firm, once we’d got confirmation that a partner with whom I was close was killed. For years, I had dated that partner's best friend, so "double dates" were the norm. At her anguished request I joined my ex-g/f at her house to share the grief.
Traffic was jammed--literally stopped around Dupont Circle--yet no one blew their horn. An eerie and graceful silence. I remember thinking to myself over and over: "Well, this is the new normal--we'll suffer one of these attacks every six months." Yet, that too didn't happen.
I'd like to think the two events were connected. Every adult who lived through September 11, 2001, grew up a bit, including our intel community. I know I matured that day. And as I slept on the couch at my ex-girlfriend’s apartment, I rededicated myself to this country and to American Exceptionalism. I still believe that's part of the shield protecting us for 20 years.
Below are some images from 9/11 and the next few days you may not have seen before. According to The Military Times, the picture of President George W. Bush was taken on September 12, 2001, as he shook the hands of first responders at the Pentagon. The flag hanging from the Pentagon--while rescue and recovery efforts still were underway--was sent by nearby Ft. Myers, and is the largest authorized flag for the military.
The clock is from the Pentagon, stopped at the moment of impact. Ironically, the Pentagon was in the process of a segment-by-segment renovation. The segment struck by AA flight 77 was the first (and sole) section renovated; the death tole within the Pentagon was relatively low because fewer than normal had moved back into their new offices.
The last two images show some of the antennas festooned around the top of the World Trade Center. The penultimate shot shows virtually every TV and Radio broadcaster transmitted from there. The final picture shows microwave feed horns as part of a longer transmission path, broken (of course) when the towers melted and turned to rubble. When the towers collapsed, radio and TV stations switched to their back-up transmitters/antennas, most on the Empire State Building. But those were not nearly as well positioned: over-the-air service in New Jersey and Connecticut suffered for several years.
4 comments:
Thank you. RJF
Come back, Carl, come back!?!?!?
:-P
TBH, I think part of it was the Bush-era response. The terrorists had gotten used to the kind of response the Israelis could mount, which they could handle.
But when you take down two national governments that are supporting terrorists, it seems that even terrorists become concerned that they might be stopped.
When you take out the head of the terrorist organization militarily a couple years after his greatest success, they notice -- Note that I remain certain that Osama Bin Laden died in a tunnel collapse ca. 2003, 2004... and that no one acked it on either side because it wasn't certain who would be able to make the most hay of it: The terrorists, by turning him into a martyr, or the USA, by killing The Golden Boy of terrorism and demoralizing its supporters. Both sides made more hay by leaving it open (The Obama took the credit for it after he had become a historical footnote) I assert the evidence of this is the massive change in the kind of rhetoric echoing forth from "him" before and after this point. Prior to this it was "Molon Labe", after this (rumored to have occurred ca. 2003/4) it was "Can't we all get along?". The speeches after that point seemed to have been written by Michael Moore, not by an implacable enemy. Further, the speed with which they dispatched "the body" when he was officially killed, making it certain that no one outside the government action had any chance to examine and challenge the identification. I anticipate some interesting admissions in 30-odd years, after the stuff becomes subject to FOIA type requests... assuming the government lasts that long, which does seem doubtful at the moment.
And the drone strikes since then have also helped, by wiping out many of the potential successors. I think it would be interesting to examine how many actual co-collaborators died in those strikes, vs. innocent civilians. I'm sure the merdia has numbers. I trust them as much as numbers from The Lancet. The latter is unfortunate, as it makes for potential recruits. But the only way to stop terrorism is to cut off the head of the snake anytime you can.
OBH - Long time; no write. Let me know where you are and how you’re doing.
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