Excellent Analysis of the Meaning of 9/11 'Findings'

[Annie]

http://www.buzzmachine.com/archives/2004_07_26.html#007585

Excerpt:

July 26, 2004
'Failures of imagination'

: That key phrase of the 9/11 Commission's indictment of history keeps rolling around in my head like a bucket of loose nails. Failures of imagination.

What an absurd and hopeless charge it is. I finally realized that what this really says is that the commission could not come up with failures of fact that lead to the attacks. And so, instead, it trumped up this charge against both recent administrations and countless public servants: OK, they say, so it turns out you could not have known what these insane, evil, murdering religous fanatics would do to America but we say you should have imagined it -- and then you should have protected us from this imagined act and because you did not stop this act you could have only imagined, you failed.

Not to be too flip about this, but such is the indictment every husband knows from every wife (or pick your familial relationship): You should have guessed what I wanted without my having to tell you. It is the perfect can't-win vice grip.

And that is the position into which the 9/11 commission puts past -- and now future -- governments of this country. They set an absolutely unwinnable standard for victory in this war:

It's not a war against terrorism, says the commission. OK, then what is it? It's a war against Islamic fanatics, they say; you should go take out those fanatics, they urge. But beware drastic measures such as regime change. And don't get too uppity and think about installing democracies amid hotbeds of tyranny. You should not invade Iraq and set up a democracy in the heart of the Middle East to set an example. Instead, they suggest, you should work through libraries. (And that is only a slightly unfair summary.) They demand decisiveness but, because they wanted to report to be unamimous, they bleached out all decisiveness from the report's recommendations. Libraries! They could all get behind libraries. Invasion and regime change? Too controversial.

And then, when that doesn't work and the next attack comes -- the attack the commission vaguely warns will come so they can say we told you so -- then they will accuse the administration -- any administration -- of not acting swiftly enough and strongly enough and with sufficient imagination....

 

[dilloduck]

good analysis !! What we need is more paranoia !!!!!! Sorta like 100 monkeys and typewriters----sooner or later one of em is gonna be right!!

 

[Annie]

good analysis !! What we need is more paranoia !!!!!! Sorta like 100 monkeys and typewriters----sooner or later one of em is gonna be right!!

Definately will be more analysis of these findings, that's the mother of reports!