Never Forget

[divechaplain-sara]

Originally Posted by FastPirate

ill never forget that day, 6 years later, and i can still smell that smell and i still see those people jumping when i close my eyes. i lived 2 blocks away and stayed another 2 years after, lost my uncle, tore my family apart, those bastards took my life from me.

I'm sorry for your loss, both of your uncle and your innocence. The whole country hurt with you that day. And while our loss pales in comparison to that of those who lost family and friends, everyone lost their sense of security that day. I think many of us also lost a part of our own innocence that day as well. I had never thought that I would be capable of killing someone before that day; however, I believe I could have killed the people responsible for that days events with my bare hands if I had been presented the opportunity at that time. I was shocked by the intensity of the outrage that I felt personally. Of course, I had visited the WTC and pentagon and could picture those places full and bustling with life -- to see them gone touched us all around the country.

I miss being able to fly without wondering if that Middle Eastern looking passenger might be a terrorist. I miss being able to go to a ballgame and thinking that the purse searches are looking for people sneaking alcohol into the stadium. I hate that my nephews will never know what it was like not to wonder if someone was going to attack a bunch of innocent people who are just going about their daily lives.

Still, I am proud to be an American. While the world is a beautiful place with wonderful people in every country, there is no other country in the world today that I would rather live in as a woman. I have freedoms and opportunities that others don't even know to dream of having.

[kingfish]

The world will never be the same as before.

Jas.

[mm_dm]

Originally Posted by coralcrazed

I am sorry for your loss, unfortunatly terrorism is not unknown to me. even now after 9/11 I'm afraid that most americans do not understand that they want to kill us, its as simple asthat. they hate everything that we hold sacred. Life... even now, a short 6 years later, we have become complacent again. To fight terrorism we must never forget those who lost thier life and still lose it today. so, don't let those bastards take your life. if they do, that they will win. Never be terrified just diligent and careful. Look around and understand your environment and try and spot any suspiciouse activity and at the same time don't let it take over you. to win you must find a balance. its like anything else in life. The key though is to live and love life, fight for it everyda, and we shall win.

You said a lot there, brother!

[creggur]

Originally Posted by WaScubaDude

Never forget what?
Six years later and the son-of-a-bi@#$ who master minded bringing down the towers is sending us video.
Our idiot of a leader passed up the opportunity to chase the a-h@#$ any where on the globe and kill his ass.
Instead we go to the quagmire in Iraq. It isn't that the emperor has no clothes. He has idiot pants, a belligerent shirt, and a dunce cap.

I guess somebody had to go here...Fine, because this debate will go on for years, but the truth of the matter is that there is no country named Alquadia for us to attack.
We went to a country who had basically scoffed at the world for years by not complying with resolution, after resolution. Did he have WMD's? Yep we know it for a fact, he used them on his own people.... I seem to remember a lot of the people who are now opposed to the war who were all for it before it started, because it made good political sound bites. These people were looking at the same intel, and talking to the same experts as the president. I think the biggest mistake we've made in Iraq is the "rules of engagement". If you go to war, GO ALL THE WAY!!! Don't tie our soldiers hands, let them do what they do best, kill people and break things...
So we go into Iraq and pick a fight, and terrorists pour in from all over the place to fight us...Good, I'd rather fight them there instead of here any day!! Anybody who says that the war has sparked new radicalism is being disingenuous because the radicalism was there already, we lured them to a fight on our terms, not theirs and they will loose...It takes time, and it's not pretty, but that's how war is. I have had family over there since this thing started, and a cousin who I am very close to, and correspond with often. He is a Marine sniper and says things are way better over there than what's reported here. He was home on leave and couldn't believe the news reports that we get here. His response to them was that they ranged anywhere from slanted to hurt our efforts, to downright lies and mis-truths. I trust him, and he's been on the front of a lot of fighting over there.

One other thing. When we are at war as a country and have young men and women in harms way I believe that political differences should stop at the shore. It doesn't matter who the president or what his foreign policy is, it should be united. It must really embolden the people we are fighting to see half of our elected leader basically agreeing with them. Osama's latest rant so eerily resembled Democratic talking points it was downright disturbing. As long as George Bush is in office he's my president, and I will support his foreign policy. If, God forbid, Hillary is our next president, I won't be happy about it, and I may not like her foreign policy, but I will support it. I believe it is extremely important to show a unified front beyond our borders. Squabble all you want about domestic policy, but if we have kids is harms way, please take their perspective into account before voicing your anger with politicians over policy. After talking to my cousin I've come to realize that the kids that are over their truly believe they are doing what's right, and they want to win...We should support their effort any way we can.

Political rambling off..............

[thor]

Originally Posted by WaScubaDude

Never forget what?
Six years later and the son-of-a-bi@#$ who master minded bringing down the towers is sending us video.
Our idiot of a leader passed up the opportunity to chase the a-h@#$ any where on the globe and kill his ass.
Instead we go to the quagmire in Iraq. It isn't that the emperor has no clothes. He has idiot pants, a belligerent shirt, and a dunce cap.

Never forget what? Where do I begin.


Never forget:

More than 2,700 innocent, civilian, people died as a result of the attack on the WTC on 9/11. Mothers, fathers, daughters, sons.

At least 200 people jumped to their deaths from the burning towers

Including the attack on the Pentagon and the people who persihed on Fight 93, the estimated death toll is 2,973. That's 2,793 people who died. 16,000 people survived, but whose lives will never be the same.


Close to 350 Firefighters gave up their lives trying to rescue people they didn't know.

Tragically, the number of US soldiers who have died since 9/11 is estimated at 3,776. By next year it is estimated that the number of US and coalition soldiers who will have given up their lives since 9/11 will be twice the number of people who persihed on 9/11.

More people have died or are dying from 9/11 related ailments, including those whose jobs it was to find the remains of people who were buried under the rubble of the WTC.

I was born and raised in NYC. I was living in DC at the time of the attacks. Many people moved out of NY after 9/11, but many others like myself felt compelled to move back, closer to our home, and now I am back in the Big Apple. I had friends that died on 9/11, and friends who have similar stories as FastPirate. I also have friends who thru some strange chain of events, never made it to their place of work, the WTC, on 9/11. I consider myself very fortunate, and I will never forget that. Whole classrooms of children in my neighborhood were left fatherless or motherless on that day. Although the whole world suffered, the suffering of those whose lives were directly affected by 9/11 is incomparable and indescribable. I do not even begin to compare myself to those people, nor do I want to re-open old wounds that may have just begun to heal.

No matter what your political views are, anything that the US has done since 9/11 would not have made us any safer on 9/10, nor will it bring back the lives of over 6,000 people.

Never forget what?..


Never forget that life is delicate and precious and that we do not always have the power to control our own destiny or the lives of those we love. Never forget that all of our lives are interconnected, and that one person's actions can effect many lives. Never forget those we love and care about, even if they are no longer with us. Never forget that we do not know what tomorrow may bring, so live life with no regrets.

[WaScubaDude]

When the towers fell, I thought to myself "some son-of-a-bch is going to pay for this!" Six years later I am so disappointed that we haven't captured or killed the man responsible. If fact we haven't mounted much of an effort to catch him. Certainly not much at all if you compare it to the money, human life and resources we have spent in Iraq.

On September 12, 2001 our leader, our country had just 1 job to do... Get the person/s responsible for the worst attack on American soil in history. In six years we have failed to accomplish that. Failed. Let's not forget that.

Let's not give up hope either. Perhaps a new administration will have renewed "political capital" to spend in the world. New impetus to truly take the fight to where ever it needs to be fought. Wouldn't you all feel better about our efforts if we moved 200,000 troops to Afghan/Pakistan and scoured the hills to get Osama and Co.? I know I would.

[coralcrazed]

Originally Posted by WaScubaDude

Never forget what?
Six years later and the son-of-a-bi@#$ who master minded bringing down the towers is sending us video.
Our idiot of a leader passed up the opportunity to chase the a-h@#$ any where on the globe and kill his ass.
Instead we go to the quagmire in Iraq. It isn't that the emperor has no clothes. He has idiot pants, a belligerent shirt, and a dunce cap.

We are all angry about what happened. No doubt about it... None of us believed that this could happen here. Sure there was pearl harbor but there was a war going on at the time. We did not believe that anyone wanted to hurt us. Why would they? Right?

I don't think that Bush is the best leader we had in history. some may argue that he is one of the worst. I never imagined that I would come to his defense but we can't blame one man for what happened. Even blaming Osama will not work. He is the guy that thought of the plan Right? No, I actually think that zwahari is the guy who thought of it, and we got him. Osama is just a symbol of al qaeda. Remember, it took a dozen to to actually pull it off and countless others that we don't know about. If we get Osama, it still won't change what happened. AND, there will be another as bad or worse than Osama to take his place. Ask the family members that lost a loved one if that would make a difference to them. We have to realize that there are people in this world that are VERY different than us. People that don't value life as we do. What makes a mother encourage her son or daughter to strap a bomb around their waist and blow themselves up in a crowded place? These are the same people who think that flying a plane into a building is the fast road to martyrdom. Believed to be heaven. These are people that celebrate these individuals and these events in their streets. These are people who have posters of the terrorists displayed as heroes in their glory of the most heinous cowardly crime that a human being could do.

For us a celebration of life and all the goodness that it has to offer is what we hold dear to our hearts. When we understand that there are some that do not see life in the way that we do, that is the day that we can begin the fight. Be careful about wanting to kill in revenge though. That is what they want. Defend... ABSOLUTLY! everyday and every minute and in every way. That is the fine line between us and them. We must defend against terrorism that is what we began to do in Iraq. I just feel that its time for Iraq to do it for themselves. Lets get the troops out of there. Nation building is very very difficult in this part of the world. Besides we have a much more dangerous tyrant to worry about now... IRAN.

[coralcrazed]

Originally Posted by WaScubaDude

When the towers fell, I thought to myself "some son-of-a-bch is going to pay for this!" Six years later I am so disappointed that we haven't captured or killed the man responsible. If fact we haven't mounted much of an effort to catch him. Certainly not much at all if you compare it to the money, human life and resources we have spent in Iraq.

On September 12, 2001 our leader, our country had just 1 job to do... Get the person/s responsible for the worst attack on American soil in history. In six years we have failed to accomplish that. Failed. Let's not forget that.

Let's not give up hope either. Perhaps a new administration will have renewed "political capital" to spend in the world. New impetus to truly take the fight to where ever it needs to be fought. Wouldn't you all feel better about our efforts if we moved 200,000 troops to Afghan/Pakistan and scoured the hills to get Osama and Co.? I know I would.

NO, it would not. See my last post. Getting Osama would not make a difference for the better. No need to devote troop man power for one man. I agree with you that we should have gotten him in the beginning. AND we did have one chance and blew it. Now we must take a step back and regroup. Iran is what we should be thinking about and we ARE!

Has anyone taken notice that our allies in the region are starting to fly reconnaissance over Iranian air space. It caused quite a commotion a few days ago. Lets not forget that the "operations" in 1981 by our allies against Iraq's nuclear facilities is one of the reason they did not have nuclear capabilitiy in the war. a good read:
http://www.afa.org/magazine/Aug2002/0802osirak.asp


what's the difference between Iran and Iraq? Not much except one letter. Get the idea...?

hmnnnn...... does history repeat itself?
http://www.nypost.com/seven/09082007..._attack_dr.htm

[diverdad]

Originally Posted by creggur

I guess somebody had to go here...Fine, because this debate will go on for years, but the truth of the matter is that there is no country named Alquadia for us to attack.
We went to a country who had basically scoffed at the world for years by not complying with resolution, after resolution. Did he have WMD's? Yep we know it for a fact, he used them on his own people.... I seem to remember a lot of the people who are now opposed to the war who were all for it before it started, because it made good political sound bites. These people were looking at the same intel, and talking to the same experts as the president. I think the biggest mistake we've made in Iraq is the "rules of engagement". If you go to war, GO ALL THE WAY!!! Don't tie our soldiers hands, let them do what they do best, kill people and break things...
So we go into Iraq and pick a fight, and terrorists pour in from all over the place to fight us...Good, I'd rather fight them there instead of here any day!! Anybody who says that the war has sparked new radicalism is being disingenuous because the radicalism was there already, we lured them to a fight on our terms, not theirs and they will loose...It takes time, and it's not pretty, but that's how war is. I have had family over there since this thing started, and a cousin who I am very close to, and correspond with often. He is a Marine sniper and says things are way better over there than what's reported here. He was home on leave and couldn't believe the news reports that we get here. His response to them was that they ranged anywhere from slanted to hurt our efforts, to downright lies and mis-truths. I trust him, and he's been on the front of a lot of fighting over there.

One other thing. When we are at war as a country and have young men and women in harms way I believe that political differences should stop at the shore. It doesn't matter who the president or what his foreign policy is, it should be united. It must really embolden the people we are fighting to see half of our elected leader basically agreeing with them. Osama's latest rant so eerily resembled Democratic talking points it was downright disturbing. As long as George Bush is in office he's my president, and I will support his foreign policy. If, God forbid, Hillary is our next president, I won't be happy about it, and I may not like her foreign policy, but I will support it. I believe it is extremely important to show a unified front beyond our borders. Squabble all you want about domestic policy, but if we have kids is harms way, please take their perspective into account before voicing your anger with politicians over policy. After talking to my cousin I've come to realize that the kids that are over their truly believe they are doing what's right, and they want to win...We should support their effort any way we can.

Political rambling off..............

thanks greggur. i could not have put it any better if i had tried. you hit my thoughts dead on.

[scuba Widow]

I think the problem is that too many people have forgotten. We all get busy with our day to day activities and forget to remember the sacrifices of others during that awful day. After the attacks, everybody was so patriotic, with our flags waving everywhere, but did it really mean anything? I have a hard time believing the the feelings throughout the country were genuine, seeing how it didn't last very long and still today doesn't exist except for a few. Everybody wanted justice and would go the length to get it. Now that we have been engaged in the war, nobody wants us there.

I personally feel that attacking the President, is to attack the troops fighting for our freedom. The very freedom that was taken for us as a country on 9/11. We had a lot stolen from us on that day freedom, security, economical standing, status as a world power and precious life.

When speaking about 9/11, you can't just talk about the people in the towers or the people on the planes, but the countless other lives that it has effected not only on that day and today but for years to come. The effects are not just those of the people directly involved but that of an entire country.

The day the planes hit the towers, the Pentagon and the field in Pennsylvania impacted husbands, wives, children, brothers, sisters, grandparents of everybody on the earth for generations to come. For every life that was lost that day and the days after, there was a life that wasn't going to get lived.

If 9/11 is going to be discussed we as a country need to discuss it with as much pride and patriotism today and tomorrow as we did on 9/12/01.