September 11 was an event which shook the whole world. It was an event which touched everyone in one way or the other and people all over the world condemned terror in one voice.
The beginning
Wow! Two years already and it seems like yesterday. Even though so much time has elapsed the events of that day are still clearly etched into my memory. It was a nice sunny Tuesday afternoon but I wasn’t at work that day because I was suffering from all the symptoms of over-indulgence(in layman’s terms hangover and strange feeling of guilt after a bachelors party). Unable to sleep I decided to play the usual punch-the-keys game with my TV remote. The very first thing I saw was a building on fire with a CBS news banner at the bottom saying’America Under Attack’. First impression: O gimme a break. It has to be one of those lousy back to the future films’The year is 2060AD. One big corporation rules the world. There is chaos in the streets and Judge Dred controls the mob.’ You know the drill. As I kept switching the channels and seeing the same story everywhere I stared getting nervous. No it’s not the first of April and no I am definitely awake. The shocking realization soon crept it. Two aeroplanes flown into the twin towers(perhaps the most famous towers in the world), one flown into Pentagon, one falls near Pittsburgh. It was far too dramatic to comprehend. The fear, the death, the carnage. Inhumane. only one way to describe it.
First impression
For the next few days I was more or less glued to the television. This was a declaration of war indeed. Although this time it was very different. America had brought its war to many countries in the past but this time war brought to America. Attack on the Pentagon was purely symbolic of that. A strike aimed at the heart of America’s military machinery. Someone’s gotta pay for this, everyone holds their breath and wonders WHO?
Even before the second plane hit the towers people were already talking about Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Osama. Over the next few weeks it becomes evident that a major strike is being planned. I remember President Bush talking from the rubble at ground zero’ I can hear you. And the people who did this are gonna hear from all of us’. A list of countries is prepared who are supposedly encouraging terrorism or harboring terrorists.(60 odd countries if I correctly remember). The situation is getting alarming. Although no clear evidence existed at that point in time it is declared that the perpetrators are Osama -the head of Al Qaeda and Taliban- people who harbor Osama. Osama at first denies everything, but seeing how the American media going on and on about Osama for month had shot him to instant stardom, and how America was gonna attack Afghanistan anyway, accepts the blame in the name of jihad and infidels and other sorry excuses. Our old friend’jihad’ is back in business. Don’t you just despise this sorry-ass excuse to kill people and blow up buildings?
’Whats wrong with you man? Why’d u blow this guys head off?’
’Well.err. I’m on jehad man’
’O I see. That one. You should have told me before’
Killing anyone for achieving some political objective(for that matter any objective) is unforgivable.
Why us
seemed to be the question asked by many Americans. Why O why do they hate us. We the lovers of freedom, protectors of human rights and champions of justice.
The first question to ask yourself is ’Why anybody?’ Why Sri Lanka, why Middle East, Why Chechnya, why Northern Island, why Kashmir. Second question’ Should we seriously look at our foreign policy and the effect it has had on the world?’
4 million civilians/partisans killed in South East Asia
20, 000 civilians killed in Guatemala
5000 Chileans killed by Pinochet one of the most brutal dictators in Chile who was installed by US
30, 000 Nicaraguans killed by’contras’ supported by US, dubbed as freedom -fighters by the media(no better way to fight for freedom then using innocent civilians for target practice)
This is only the tip of the iceberg. The list goes on and on and on.’So maybe we should seriously consider our position in this unipolar world’.
Osama who?
Taliban who? Osama was immediately portrayed as the face of hatred, the most evil man on earth and so on. Before that only a few knew of Osama and he was certainly not the star he was made out to be. Hold on’why does Osama hate us?’ The media didn’t answer that question. President Bush of course suggested something like’Terrorists don’t like us because we love freedom. The evil would be defeated.’ etc.(I wonder who writes the speeches for this guy. I love the way he generalizes EVERYTHING without ever mentioning anything specific about anything). Of course the media carefully chose to neglect some interesting details:
Like how Osama and his fellow mujahideen were trained by the US to kill Soviets.
Like how the CIA allegedly gave Osama$3 billion for weapons.
Like how the cave network built by Osama with CIA money was ironically used by him to hide from Americans when they attacked.
Like how a month before the Sep 11 attack America gave the Taliban$245 million in aid knowing that they were exporting terror and mercinaries to other countries(including India), oppressing people of other religions, harbouring terrorists including Osama.etc.
But that don’t matter does it? It only does when it comes back and bites you in the behind. If you dig a ditch for someone you might fall into it yourself some day.
The cold war is over. No one needs Osama anymore. No funding, no weapons no nothing. Osama gets mad and complains. But if you are as mighty as you are do you care about some petty terrorist’s whining? Osama uses his expert training to murder 3000 people. Who’s to blame? Well we know terrorism is deplorable, unjustifiable. Absolutely no arguments about that, but what did you expect from Osama? Flowers and wedding cake? Of course he was gonna do something terrible. For Osama its simple.
’Hey guys! How about jehad.’
’O that one. Hell ya.’.
It doesn’t matter one bit who the enemy is.
Expectations
A lot of countries including India, were very enthusiastic about America’s new initiative. Finally, maybe we can solve the problems of the world. But they had to face disappointment as always. The’list’ did not include countries who either had a puppet government controlled by America or needed by America for strategic reasons. So countries which were a breeding ground for terrorists(like Pakistan) were straightaway off the hook. Soon it was evident that Osama would not be found even though President Bush went on record by saying’We’ll smoke those folks out of their holes’ (I laughed for nearly 2 hrs). Then the whole cover behind the’War on Terror’ was blown when President Bush and his amigos set their eyes on Iraq.’Axis of Evil’’New World Order’ These topics deserve to be discussed in a different review someday. I discussed Iraq in a previous review so won’t say much about it. As much as President Bush says’Eye rack (Iraq)is free from the evil of Saddam’, the situation there is for you to see. In general, elsewhere terrorist attacks have increased, situation has gotten worse, there is a puppet govt in Afganistan but everyone knows when Americans are gone the govt is gone, Iraq is in total shambles, more Americans have died after the war was officially declared over than before it, the alliance is running back to UN where they should have initially started from.
- .continued in the comments section