"Isn't it surprising that September 11 didn't happen earlier?" - POLL

[bpilgrim]

YES
NO
UNDECIDED

vote in your headline

inspired by this awesome article posted on DU...

Speaking about the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington, President George W. Bush called the enemies of the United States "enemies of freedom". "Americans are asking why do they hate us?" he said. "They hate our freedoms, our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other."

If people in the United States want a real answer to that question (as opposed to the ones in the Idiot's Guide to Anti-Americanism, that is: "Because they're jealous of us," "Because they hate freedom," "Because they're losers," "Because we're good and they're evil"), I'd say, read Chomsky. Read Chomsky on U.S. military interventions in Indochina, Latin America, Iraq, Bosnia, the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and the Middle East. If ordinary people in the United States read Chomsky, perhaps their questions would be framed a little differently. Perhaps it would be: "Why don't they hate us more than they do?" or "Isn't it surprising that September 11 didn't happen earlier?"

Unfortunately, in these nationalistic times, words like "us" and "them" are used loosely. The line between citizens and the state is being deliberately and successfully blurred, not just by governments, but also by terrorists. The underlying logic of terrorist attacks, as well as "retaliatory" wars against governments that "support terrorism", is the same: both punish citizens for the actions of their governments.

(A brief digression: I realize that for Noam Chomsky, a U.S. citizen, to criticize his own government is better manners than for someone like myself, an Indian citizen, to criticize the U.S. government. I'm no patriot, and am fully aware that venality, brutality, and hypocrisy are imprinted on the leaden soul of every state. But when a country ceases to be merely a country and becomes an empire, then the scale of operations changes dramatically. So may I clarify that I speak as a subject of the U.S. empire? I speak as a slave who presumes to criticize her king.)

more...
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=11&ItemID=4116

:hi:

peace

[Cheswick2.0]

1. It doesnt surprise me a bit

since I don't think Clinton failed to do what was nessesary like so many on the right and far left.

[bpilgrim]

2. what was necessary?

is chomsky on the 'far left'?
has he done nothing?

Are you not suprised that it didn't happen under regan/bush 1 then?

or did they also 'do the right thing?'

:shrug:

peace

[ButterflyBlood]

3. no

Because Clinton didn't simply let terrorists go ahead and do their thing without stopping them, and Gore wouldn't either. That's why how Gore would handle 9/11 is irrevelant, without Gore there would be no 9/11.

[agincourt]

4. Bush wouldn't have approved,

of Sept 11, if there hadn't been the Jeffords decision.
Media whore "No president asks for things like this to happen."
Whistleass "yes , they do."

[leetrisck]

5. Yes, I think it's surprising

I wonder why it wasn't done during the time the Republicans were trying to overthrow Clinton or during the election process - looks like someone would have thought of us as being very weakened by this process. Do not think it would have happened if Gore were president.

[bitchkitty]

6. No, not surprising.

It happened in chimpie's first year. Bush knew. 'Nuff said. If Gore had been allowed to serve after he was elected, it would not have happened.

[Karenina]

7. Pssst...

Hey Bitchkitty, how do we get everyone into whawedonow mode? Woulda, coulda, shoulda, meine ficken Fresse, time's a wastin'... A lot of folks be real mad and crazed and everything *Whistle-Ass TM does makes 'em MADDER and CRAZIER...

Word on the Arab street is that it wasn't Muslims who offed the "popular" cleric, Al-Hakim. Whether true or not we KNOW perception is much more powerful than fact. There have been so many cartoonists' renditions of whacking a hornet's nest. I need a laugh right about now. Can anyone post one?

[Yupster]

8. Word on the Arab street is

that the Jews did the World Trade centers.