9/11 Review…


We are about a month and a half away from the anniversary of 9/11. And it's time to get serious...

The Director of Homeland Security tells us that he has a “gut reaction” that we are going to be attacked again….That sounds like something to take to the bank…

And that seems a good reason to question whether over the last half-dozen years we have attended to all our security and protection needs. (Yeah, sure!)

Books have been written on the subject and they are mostly critical of our progress in this fundamental area of self preservation. I mean you don’t have to go any further than your local world history book to see what role self-preservation plays or should play in our society going back to the Greeks and the Persians in the tales of the Peloponnesian Wars…. Yet, it was this way through history. The ones who didn’t take their preservation seriously or couldn’t listen or accept new ideas were doomed to a historical footnote. Where are we on the issue? Listening to Bush’s rhetoric about the Iraqi members of Al Qaeda is a case of reinventing the facts while at the same time, we ignore the Tailiban and Al Qaeda that planned the real 9/11. Figure that one out.

The fact is that this administration once it gets an idea into its collective head will turn around the facts to justify their desired actions whether or not it has anything to do with reality. And that is our weakness. The fact is that by ignoring the issues, or ‘ducking it,’ our government gets to push the entire subject off on the next administration; that is assuming we haven’tbeen laid low by that point….…

Why has little tangible been done? Why have we failed the chairs of the 9/11 Commission to bring about needed change?

These questions will certainly reverberate through history; that much is clear….

But the key to change stills gets back to being realistic.

Our defenses should be predicated on new information and the best thinking this country has to offer from both sides of the aisle. That hasn’t happened. And, clearly, we are in a morass headed towards chaos in the state of our own defense.

And, mind you, what the democrats have accomplished in the recent legislation is good but it includes back doors and wiggle room that could put us in further jeopardy.

To this critic’s mind, there is no time to waste.

And the process begins with an assessment of how far we’ve gotten in the last five years plus…

Let us begin with our own home-grown,grass roots survey:

Ask yourself:


How much better off are we now than we were on 9/11?

Are our borders any safer?


Are our first responders better prepared?


Better equipped?


Are our ports safer in 2007 than they were in 2001?


Are we doing a better job of inspecting containers?


Are we doing a better job of identifying those who are in the US illegally


Are airport staff better trained and equipped to identify prospective terrorists


What would happen if a dirty bomb were set off on 42nd street in New York City?

What would happen if an explosive device targeted the Windsor-Detroit bridge?


According to the Center for Disease Control, the US does not have the current capacity to accommodate a biological attack. What have we done in the last four years to improve that condition….

We understand that the US Government has a plan to sequester or isolate those who have contracted a major disease. Why have those plans not been more transparent and made available to the people?

Why do we such limited supplies of protective gear?

Why do we have such limited supplies of antivirus vaccines on hand considering how much we are spending…

Ask yourselves these questions and pass them along. I will send your responses to the Speaker of the House and others in Congress including the Democratic Leadership Committee. And be sure to send your own questionnaire to your reps as well.

Together, maybe we can make a difference….

And as we approach this symbolic date and face an upcoming election, it is time we gave this subject the attention it deserves…

Be well. And keep the pressure on…


Les Aaron
The Armchair Curmudgeon