Remembering 9/11...

"Five years have come, and five years have gone, and still we stand together as one," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg this morning during the solemn observance of 9/11. As I sit here thinking about the horror of that day and listening to his words, I wondered if those words were true. Personally I have never seen this country so divided and fragmented. The actions we have taken afterwards and the inactions we did not take beforehand have often left me scratching my head. There are those that blame the Clinton adminstration for their lackluster response to the initial bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993 and there are those that blame the current Bush adminstration when the CIA had Bin Laden within their reach at Tora Bora but did not have the manpower. But I don't know. It's strange, whenever something horrific happens the first thing we want to do is assign blame. But I think the most important thing to do after the tragedy of 9/11 is to understand what caused it, make sure it never happens again, and never forget that day. Never forget those brave firefighters that went to the WTC fighting against all hope to save those trapped inside. To never forget the rescue crews that went into the Pentagon. To never forget those on Flight 93 that valiantly fought against their attackers before eventually crashing in Shanksville, Pa. Yes, even though it would be too difficult to read I believe the 9/11 Comission Report should be required reading. I also think a good point of reference is to read Richard Clarke's "Against All Enemies." Clarke has worked from the Reagan adminstration to the current Bush adminstration and takes a look at each President's approach to fighting what we now call the war on terror. All this past weekend CNN was asking the question " Are we safer?" It's such a loaded question because if we were they wouldn't have asked the question in the first place. Perhaps the question should have been " Do we understand the severity of the threat of Al Qaeda and what are we doing as a whole to make sure 9/11 never happens again? " But I'll get off my soapbox now. I honestly wasn't going to blog about 9/11 today but I felt compelled to put my two cents out there. It my way of saying to those who suffered losses that day that I feel your pain, that I am with you, and that my hopes and my prayers go out to each and every one of you.