Today, the 5th anniversary of that event, I have a far different perspective about the events before and after that date. While 9/11 was a wake-up call for most Americans about Islamic terrorism, an informed public would have understood that the U.S. was vulnerable to terrorist attacks and The 9/11 Commission has confirmed this. The problem with The 9/11 Commission and the Bush Administration is that they have not answered many questions about that day that leads many rational people to believe that there is a cover-up. More importantly, the Bush Administration has exploited 9/11 to their advantage to try to tear down our democracy.
In the worst-case scenario, any act of terrorism that is not nation based would never be a threat to our survival as a nation. During WW II and the Cold War there were serious threats to civilization. The U.S. is by far the most powerful military force in the world, something that was not apparent during WW II and the Cold War. The idea that Islamic terrorism is the equivalent of WW II and the Cold War is outlandish.
During the height of the so-called "red scare" in the 1950s, there was a perception that thousands of Communist sleeper cells were in the United States. This was a complete myth that was fabricated by the government. I believe that the Bush Administration is fabricating the extent of the Islamic terrorist sleeper cells. The fact that no terrorist attacks have occurred since 9/11 is more of a testimonial to my theory than the acts of the Bush Administration.
Another point that should be made is that the so-called organization of Al Qaeda is highly overstated. The Bush Administration has falsely represented that Al Qaeda is a sophisticated organization with centralized high-tech capability that somehow operates from caves in Tora Bora and Pakistan. That is patently absurd and they know it. Below is a summary of a BBC documentary that I had the privilege of seeing. It is a wonderful history of two extreme groups: neo-cons and Islamic radicals. It is titled The Power Of Nightmares and the documentary reviews the history of these two groups that have similar goals. The neo-cons and the Islamic extremists need each other to accomplish their desire to control their people.
"The Power of Nightmares:
Should we be worried about the threat from organized terrorism or is it simply a phantom menace being used to stop society from falling apart?
In the past our politicians offered us dreams of a better world. Now they promise to protect us from nightmares.
The most frightening of these is the threat of an international terror network. But just as the dreams were not true, neither are these nightmares.
In a new series, the Power of Nightmares explores how the idea that we are threatened by a hidden and organized terrorist network is an illusion.
It is a myth that has spread unquestioned through politics, the security services and the international media.
At the heart of the story are two groups: the American neo-conservatives and the radical Islamists.
Both were idealists who were born out of the failure of the liberal dream to build a better world.
These two groups have changed the world but not in the way either intended.
Those with the darkest fears became the most powerful
Together they created today's nightmare vision of an organized terror network.
A fantasy that politicians then found restored their power and authority in a disillusioned age. Those with the darkest fears became the most powerful.
The rise of the politics of fear begins in 1949 with two men whose radical ideas would inspire the attack of 9/11 and influence the neo-conservative movement that dominates Washington.
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