9/11: eighteen years
Eighteen years is a long time.
On September 11th of 2001, many of the people about to vote in 2020 hadn’t yet been born, and others were so young they don’t remember a time before 9/11. The attack has always been included in their mental landscape.
And perhaps that’s one small part of what’s wrong with the US today. The once-unacceptable has become background noise, hardly audible. That’s good in a way, because one wouldn’t want the wounds of that day to continue to be as raw and agonizing as they were in the attacks’ immediate aftermath. But over time we have lost the sense of the threat, and we’ve also lost the illusory and temporary and incomplete solidarity of the post-9/11 days. Since then, we’ve gone on to stranger, stupider, and sillier internal conflicts.
When I think deeply about what actually happened that day I still get a shock. But even those who, like me, were already middle-aged or even older when 9/11 happened, have over time incorporated it into our worldview.
A new book to remind us what the day was like is an oral history called The Only Plane In the Sky:
Now, in The Only Plane in the Sky, award-winning journalist and bestselling historian Garrett Graff tells the story of the day as it was lived—in the words of those who lived it. Drawing on never-before-published transcripts, recently declassified documents, original interviews, and oral histories from nearly five hundred government officials, first responders, witnesses, survivors, friends, and family members, Graff paints the most vivid and human portrait of the September 11 attacks yet.
[NOTE: Here is my personal 9/11 story.
God Bless Our Great Country.
God Bless Our Warriors.
God Bless the Memory of those Murdered by Radical Islamist Death Cult Butchers that Day.
Thank God for The Right Man as President that Day and His Trusted Cabinet, VP & Advisors.
Never Ever Forget 9-11-2001.
A relevant quote from Lee Harris’ book, “Civilization and It’s Enemies,”*
“Forgetfulness occurs when those who have been long inured to civilized order can no longer remember a time in which they had to wonder whether their crops would grow to maturity without being stolen or their children sold into slavery by a victorious foe.
…
They forget that in time of danger, in the face of the Enemy, they must trust and confide in each other, or perish.
They forget, in short, that there has ever been a category of human experience called the Enemy. And that, before 9/11, was what had happened to us. The very concept of the Enemy had been banished from our moral and political vocabulary. An enemy was just a friend we hadn’t done enough for — yet. Or perhaps there had been a misunderstanding, or an oversight on our part — something that we could correct. And this means that that our first task is that we must try to grasp what the concept of the Enemy really means.
The Enemy is someone who is willing to die in order to kill you. And while it is true that the Enemy always hates us for a reason — it is his reason, and not ours.”
* https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0743257499/tag=insta0c-20/103-1545606-9973455?v=glance&s=books
On the day of 9/11 I was working on the 18th floor of a skyscraper. It was not pleasant watching skyscrapers collapse while I was in a skyscraper. A co-worker said that it was probably a message from Allah. Which it turned out to be.
While some liberals believe that that the likes of the Taliban can become our friends, they simultaneously view Republicans/conservatives as evil enemies.
A good little book about that day is “Touching History,” by an airline pilot who interviewed a lot of people in air traffic control and air crews. There was a fifth hijacker team that was never identified. With the national grounding, their flight did not take off and four Arab men in first class left with the passengers who were disembarked. The men’s carry non luggage was found with box cutters and literature. They were never found.
On 9-11 I was in Tanzania, building the new U.S. Embassy to replace the one that was destroyed in 1998 by an Islamic terrorist bombing. A lot of my career was in the building of embassies. Every day, I wrestled with blast resistant design and the newly developed construction technology to protect against threats that were never before considered. Even the need for new embassies worldwide was driven by the advent of Islamic terrorism, which drove my career path. In 1992 there was a thwarted attack against the Israeli embassy in Bangkok that, had it succeeded, might have killed or injured me due to my proximity. So most of my adult life has been closely associated with Islamic terrorism.
And yet, on 9-11, I did not feel the same emotional impact that most Americans did. For me, it was something that happened on the other side of the planet. And I had not been living with an illusion of safety. For me, the danger had already been internalized and was part of my “normal”.
Please do not misunderstand. I was filled with sorrow and quiet rage over the events of that day. But I was not any more frightened by those events than I already was. My worldview was not jarred as it was for most Americans.
(H/T Instapundit) I was quite taken by this comment in Mark Steyn’s essay:
And this from Brad Todd:
Many years ago in a discussion with Kolnai I noted my belief that that not being subservient is in the American DNA. I meant that both literally and figuratively; still do. I had never given thought to an “era of Osama”, but identifying it, its evil, and its brevity makes me proud to be an American and so thankful that my immigrant grandparents made that possible.
As the Instaprof likes to say: “Read the whole thing.”
Mark Steyn
https://www.spectator.co.uk/2002/09/the-triumph-of-american-values/
Brad Todd
https://web.archive.org/web/20040103103416/http://216.111.31.12/details.asp?PRID=32
Many years ago in a discussion with Kolnai I noted my belief that that not being subservient is in the American DNA. I meant that both literally and figuratively; still do.
Up to a point. It’s quite challenging to mobilize people contra certain sorts of bad behavior – on the part of the judiciary, on the part of the educational apparat, on the part of the human services apparat, on the part of racial chauvinists.
And to think there are several members of the US Congress that applaud what the 9-11 murderers accomplished; and they are all members of the demokrat party.
And the democrat party members will not even condemn the “several.”
It makes my blood boil.
Trump was only half right when he suggested certain members of Congress should leave the USA.
They – and their ENTIRE families – should be deported.
In this manner when they are back enjoying the open sewers they originally crawled out from, they can explain to their family members what they are experiencing is really heaven on earth in real time.
No need to mention all those academics that welcomed that horrible event – all of whom should be sent packing off to Cuba or Venezuela or Somalia or other heaven on earth locales.
Last, but certainly not least, rest assured that many dinner parties will be held tonight by CAIR members celebrating that glorious event of 9/11/2001.
CAIR is a terrorist supporting organization.
Their members should ALL be DEPORTED.
Our Constitution is not a suicide document that confers the right to dissent, disagree, etc., to those individuals who literally seek to destroy what remains of our Constitutional Republic.
It’s one thing to express dissent, it’s totally another to call for the destruction of our nation.
And it sure looks like the demokrat party is the home of those whose aim is to do just that.
Mike K:
Touching History is an excellent book. I read it in one fell swoop many years ago and have recommended it here several times. I think the title is a little misleading, because it doesn’t really convey what the book is about. But it’s very well done and quite riveting.
My wife and I had flown home, to California, from Italy the day before.
I was at work early with the office door open. I’m not sure how early, but with the time changing I had flown through it could have been 6 AM. Then I heard people running through the hallway, some of them military officers. “A plane crashed into the World Trade Center.” I thought that some jackass had flown a Cessna into the building. Then another officer said “Two planes have crashed. One in each of the towers.”
Oh, OH! Then I could see in each of these guys faces that they were already gearing up in their minds. There will be deployments. The bombing of the USS Cole was still fresh in their minds. Everyone was sent home.
____
Watching the TV coverage, I was impressed at how strong the buildings were to withstand the impacts. When the reporters said that they believed that one of the buildings was leaning a bit, it took me about half a minute to realize that the intense heat would bring both of them down.
TommyJay:
If I recall correctly, even al Qaeda was surprised the buildings actually came down.
While we recollect and remember the events of September 11, 2001 it is also incumbent upon us, I think, to remember as well the September 11 2012 perfidy of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton (with their legion of servants) betraying our country; the murders of their own ambassador Christopher Stevens, his staff man Sean Smith; and their guards wounded severely (David Dubben, Mark Geist) and killed: Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.
We should remember the lies told us and who gleefully told them. The abuse of law — the scapegoat jailing of Nakoula Basseley Nakoula for a silly film demeaning Mohammed; the filthy coverup of State Department incompetence and negligence and who conducted it; the absolute refusal to take responsibility for failure, shrieking “What difference, at this point, does it make?”
Let’s don’t forget.
Art Deco,
“Up to a point.” I understand your reference and do not disagree entirely. I think it might have to do with how near the physical and emotional impact on us as individuals seems to be. I do, however, think it is ingrained in the American psyche and DNA.
Remember that many of us are here because of ancestors coming to this country who could not even speak its language upon arrival. To emigrate like that, with only the clothes on your back takes a level of belief, commitment, and bravery in the extreme. We are the descendants of those people and the Brad Todd observations sum that up. Both law enforcement officers who refuse to enforce confiscatory gun laws and mayors who refuse to enforce immigration law are two opposing sides of that same independence.
sdferr,
9/11/2012. Excellent point. Thanks for the reminder.
From the Wiki page on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed,
“He later transferred to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and received a Bachelor of Science (BS) in mechanical engineering in 1986.”
The green curve of the graph at the top of this engineering page, shows structural steel having lost about 72% of its strength at 600 deg. C, and heading downward strongly with temperature from there.
Maybe bin Laden didn’t believe the towers would come down, but I’m pretty sure KSM did, as it is basic engineering. The steel girders would not heat up to 600 or 800 deg. C in a half hour, but give it a couple hours. The pilot of the second plane to hit did a “better” job by striking lower on the building where the girders are under much more stress.
It’s certainly surprising that the original WTC bombing did not really damage the superstructure, and the impact of those big passenger jets did not bend or topple either one. But a persistent amount of intense heat sealed their fate. It’s possible that the designers could have incorporated a fire suppression system that might have included some girder cooling, but even the limited system they had was rendered useless by the collision. (knowledge in hindsight)
Remember that many of us are here because of ancestors coming to this country who could not even speak its language upon arrival. To emigrate like that, with only the clothes on your back takes a level of belief, commitment, and bravery in the extreme.
Many of us are descended of people who did speak the language on arrival. Our ancestors cleared the land, fought the Indians, built towns and cities, built businesses, and built governments. So, when Anton Cermak came over as soon as he could, there were people here who would hire him and rent him a flat.
Art Deco,
I think we are “talking” past each other.
No, we’re not. I’m sticking a stiletto into you for some unwarranted assumptions incorporated into your remarks.
It takes some moxie to leave behind what is familiar to you, and American life in 1908 had certain dangers not so pronounced in European cities. However, the Maddison Project provides us with some historical statistics on per capita product. In 1908, such was the situation (in 2016 currency units).
United States: $6970
==
Germany: $5,191
Denmark: $5,142
Norway: $4,458
Sweden: $4,318
Ireland: $3,677 (figure from 1913 substituted here)
==
German Austria: $3,596
Bohemia, Moravia &c: $3,540 (1910 figure)
Italy: $2,604
Tsarist Russia: $2,431
Greece: $2,196
Hungary (less Tryansylvania &c): $1,448 (1910 figure)
What did we in all honesty expect?
That fascist architecture flaunting
@ the sky
converted now to fluid
toxic
smoke,ASH
the long finger of impermanence
touches us all & nobody
can hog all the marbles & expect others to play.
–Diane di Prima, “Revolutionary Letter: Number Eighty-Eight”
It was three months after 9-11 and I was standing in a little San Francisco bookstore which featured the latest small press titles, including poetry. I read this poem by one of my favorite beat/hippie poets and my heart sank.
I realized I couldn’t be who I thought I was any more.
“You must change your life,” as Rilke once wrote.
Art Deco
“It takes some moxie to leave behind what is familiar to you, and American life in 1908 had certain dangers not so pronounced in European cities.”
My point exactly.
As for the statistics you quote, first off your argument is specious. You quote statistics from 1908 to defend a position that “Many of us are descended of people who did speak the language on arrival.” In fact, by 1908 the second wave immigration was in full swing and that included primarily people from Italy, and eastern Europe. The English speakers to whom you refer were already here, as you point out, so your stats are chronologically irrelevant to you argument.
Furthermore, your stats are also substantively irrelevant. They may clarify actual facts but they are meaningless unless one believes they were common knowledge to second wave immigrants who were actively making migration decisions based upon them. My point is that these people emigrated on spec. They heard America provided a better life, they were told it was a better life and they brought their meagre possessions, if that, to a country whose language many couldn’t speak to begin a new life. You are correct; that takes some moxie, and that has been my point all along.
Assumptions? Yes, I plead nolo contendere. Unwarranted? Hardly. Stiletto? Butter knife, perhaps.
I flew out of the US through New York on Sept. 9, having a beautiful view of the twin towers on a clear afternoon as we landed before our flight to Europe. I was in Lyon, France, when the planes hit, touring the Roman ruins at the top of the hill, including an amphitheater which had seen Christian martyrdoms. When we came down to change for dinner, our agitated concierge told us to go upstairs and watch CNN. We saw the videos of the towers collapsing. I thought surely there would be 20,000 dead. We had dinner in a restaurant below ground with Roman walls around us, thinking our civilization might be collapsing. I was on the other side of the ocean from my children, with WWIII beginning. It was a surreal two weeks. When we returned on schedule, twelve days later, the Atlanta airport was nearly empty, and we kissed the ground on arrival home.
I was at home in Slovakia, after my talk in support of Slovakia using the Euro because of the added foreign investment, where I had a small argument against Nobel winning Gary Becker who wanted private money. Michael Novak was also at the week long Mt. Pelerin Society meeting in Bratislava; the live video hookup with Nobel winner James Buchanan failed (tho it had worked in practice the day before).
It was almost 3pm (6 hrs ahead of New York time).
It was unbelievable. Terrible. Tragic. Unforgettable (and yet…).
The Crash Return of History, definitely not it’s End. (Fukuyama – Not)
My point exactly.
No, that wasn’t your point. You said, “Remember that many of us are here because of ancestors coming to this country who could not even speak its language upon arrival. To emigrate like that, with only the clothes on your back takes a level of belief, commitment, and bravery in the extreme. ” No, it takes a willingness to roll the dice. Not that extreme.
As for the statistics you quote, first off your argument is specious. You quote statistics from 1908 to defend a position that “Many of us are descended of people who did speak the language on arrival.” In fact, by 1908 the second wave immigration was in full swing and that included primarily people from Italy, and eastern Europe. The English speakers to whom you refer were already here, as you point out, so your stats are chronologically irrelevant to you argument.
You haven’t figured out my argument, “T”, specious or no. What the data suggest is that per capita production and income levels were higher in the United States than they were in the bloc of countries which produced mid-19th century immigration waves and a great deal higher than those source countries which produced the late 19th / early 20th century immigration waves. What awaited them getting off the boat was a largely non-agricultural society with a fully developed infrastructure and higher wage rates than the place they left. (That’s not what awaited colonial settlers).
Furthermore, your stats are also substantively irrelevant. They may clarify actual facts but they are meaningless unless one believes they were common knowledge to second wave immigrants who were actively making migration decisions based upon them. My point is that these people emigrated on spec. They heard America provided a better life, they were told it was a better life and they brought their meagre possessions, if that, to a country whose language many couldn’t speak to begin a new life. You are correct; that takes some moxie, and that has been my point all along.
That their significance is lost on you does not make them meaningless. I’ve delineated what awaited colonial-era settlers (many of whom were under contracts of indenture). (The mortality rates at Jamestown and Plymouth rock were pretty horrific, just to take a couple of examples). The same observations apply in regard to settling the frontier (a task complete by 1890).
I was at home in Slovakia, after my talk in support of Slovakia using the Euro because of the added foreign investment,
LOL
where I had a small argument against Nobel winning Gary Becker who wanted private money.
Castles in the air.
Art Deco,
If you think an author’s point is poorly expressed say so, but to tell any author what their point is is the height of narcissistic arrogance.
Secondly, you reduce commitment and bravery to recklessness (a simple willingness throw the dice). Our ancestors, both those of the first and second wave of immigrants, were not simple gamblers they were people willing to take measured risks just as entrepreneurs today do. You are correct, we are not “talking” past each other, your’s appears to be a reckless argument that seems to devolve to a simple schoolyard taunt; “Art’s ancestors had it harder than T’s ancestors.”
This was never the focus of my comments. It’s sad that you must reduce a discussion to a sophomoric reproach.
neo states, “But over time we have lost the sense of the threat, and we’ve also lost the illusory and temporary and incomplete solidarity of the post-9/11 days.”
In the aggregate, America lost the sense of the threat when it accepted Pres. Bush’s reassurance that, Islam is “a religion of peace”. You cannot defeat an enemy that you refuse to identify.
And the solidarity was from the very start illusory. The Left viewed from the first plane colliding with the first of the Two Towers that America’s “chickens had come home to roost”. The hard core left quietly celebrated and far too many useful idiot liberals, in their heart of hearts agree.
FBI: 100 Percent Chance of WMD Attack
‘A lot more terror attacks coming our way:’ former NSA chief
Nothing will change until it is no longer socially acceptable to deny that the source of Islamic terrorism is Islam itself.
GB:
That’s why I wrote that the solidarity was illusory.
However, in the immediate post-9/11 period, even though it wasn’t absolute solidarity, there was a lot more solidarity than there is now.
Art Deco (and also T):
You wrote to commenter “T”:
Actually, a willingness to roll the dice can sometimes take no bravery at all and sometimes take an enormous and extraordinary amount of bravery. It depends what the stakes are.
For almost everyone who came here, they were losing much, most, or all of their families and friends, communities, language, property, and general way of life. Maybe they were coming here because they had already lost those things for the most part, or because their lives in the old country were so miserable or so dangerous that it was a no-brainer to come. Or maybe they were losing a lot and risking a lot.
In the US, some sank and some swam. But it was an entire life and way of life they were giving up. They had to have grit back then, for the most part, to make it here. It wasn’t a welfare state, nor were the streets paved with gold. It took hard work and the payoff was uncertain.
One of my favorite movies is this one.
TommyJay:
I have no idea where I read about it or how reliable it was, but my recollection is that yes, Bin Laden et al hoped the towers would be tremendously damaged and might even be brought down, but they were surprised that it actually happened.
Nothing will change until it is no longer socially acceptable to deny that the source of Islamic terrorism is Islam itself.
No, the source of Islamic terrorism is Islamic terrorists, whose numbers rise and decline according to cultural dynamics, political strategy, and defensive response.
If you think an author’s point is poorly expressed say so, but to tell any author what their point is is the height of narcissistic arrogance.
I quoted you verbatim and in context.
Secondly, you reduce commitment and bravery to recklessness (a simple willingness throw the dice).
No, I’m using a metaphor to refer to decision-making under uncertainty.
You are correct, we are not “talking” past each other, your’s appears to be a reckless argument that seems to devolve to a simple schoolyard taunt; “Art’s ancestors had it harder than T’s ancestors.”
The person who drew the distinction was the one who uttered this remark,
“Remember that many of us are here because of ancestors coming to this country who could not even speak its language upon arrival. To emigrate like that, with only the clothes on your back takes a level of belief, commitment, and bravery in the extreme. ”
Which wasn’t, er, me.
I’ve pointed out to you that you rather overstated matters, as can be seen from comparing one migrant population to another. Which I gather I’m not permitted to do because reasons.
Neo and Tommy J; I remember reading somewhere that Bid Laden had expected them to topple over like dominoes. He didn’t expect the straight down implosion which occurred. Sorry, I cannot remember where it was that I read that.
Also, I considered it a small miracle that the towers stood as long as they did; allowing for most people (civilians anyway) below the floors of impact to get out and get away from the area.
It took about 4 hours to evacuate the towers when the bombing happened in 1993. I’m not sure how long it took on 9-11; but, I have no doubt that thousands more lived because the towers stood as long as they did. Estimates I’ve read say about 15,000 were in the towers at that time. Peak mid-day is about 40,000 or 50,000. It was early enough that many were not at work yet and most tourists weren’t there yet. Thank God that the attack didn’t happen later in the day or that the towers didn’t come down sooner.
Today, I pass through the new WTC’s Oculus every day. There are simple reminders in the WTC PATH station which is that a couple of the train platforms have inlaid markings showing where the footprint of the original towers were; as well as a portion of one of the platforms is glass showing part of the original structure underneath.
While I would personally prefer to not have the daily reminder (every weekday at 7:16 AM on platform 4), I am glad that something has been saved to remind future generations of what happened, and, that it didn’t happen in the abstract; but, it happened “right here, under your feet.”
Oh my, there was no solidity 0.1 seconds after “the airplanes did something”. Any sense of solidity was just ‘fake news’. The left side was in between the sheets with radical islam before 9/11/01. They do not suspect that the alligator is saving them for dessert. Fools and idiots.
BTW, food fights are idiotic. You know who you are.
9/11 was a huge turning point for me and ended up marking a before and after in a number of friendships in the literary and artistic world. Many people showed what one might call their “true colors” as they never had before. I don’t even want to go into it all here case by case.
Al Gore was the last Democrat I ever voted for (2000). I realized a few months after 9/11 that there were only 3 kinds of Democratic politicians:
1) The terrorist enemy threat is not a serious threat.
2) There is no enemy.
3) The enemy is us.
American DNA in action.
https://www.breitbart.com/local/2019/09/11/florida-students-climb-100-flights-stairs-honor-9-11-victims/
Before 9-11 America was already at war. It was on that day that the vast majority of Americans realized it.
https://nypost.com/2019/09/09/new-law-requires-ny-schools-to-observe-9-11-anniversary/?utm_source=NYPTwitter&utm_medium=SocialFlow&utm_campaign=SocialFlow