After 9/11, a squandered role
By Ellen Goodman | Friday, September 8, 2006 | The Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/09/08/after_911_a_squandered_role/
Another anniversary piece – even more melancholy than Dionne’s in The Washington Post. This one reminds us of the main conclusion of the 9/11 Commission: the fact that it happened was above all a “failure of imagination” by those in charge of protecting us. Now, says Goodman:
In the global village, lasting, peaceful victory depends in large part on who wins the struggle over the moral story line, over right and wrong, innocence and guilt. War itself, with innocent victims, collateral damage, and inevitable chaos, tilts that story line. War may recruit more enemies than it kills.
It’s no wonder that Americans are uneasy on this fifth anniversary. More than two-thirds think the country is going in the wrong direction and that we will not win the war on terrorism in the next 10 years. On one side, we see terrorists with a 9th-century ideology and 21st-century weapons. On the other side, we have the war in Iraq and all it has undone.
Meanwhile, the “war president” attacks opponents as appeasers and his only strategy is to “stay the course.” Here we are, 9/11 plus five, trapped by another failure of imagination.
Another one that will pay you back for the time you invest…highly recommended…BS
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