The Anniversary

Nine years ago today, a diabolical plot to destroy America was hatched. The goal was terrorism against America in order to scare America into invading Afghanistan, the "Graveyard of Empires", with the goal of bankrupting America, which was the greatest threat to their dreams of power. They succeeded beyond their wildest dreams, managing to get the United States involved in not one, but two land wars in Asia, overthrowing the only secular dictator in the Middle East in favor of a religious ideologue just like them (okay, he's a Shia Muslim but close enough), and resulting in the death or permanent disability of over 100,000 Americans.

And oh yeah, the previous day some amateur named Osama bin Laden had managed a minor act of terrorism that killed a couple thousand Americans, but his lack of importance in all these events is exemplified by the fact that he's Osama bin Forgotten, still at large somewhere issuing statements that are utterly ignored by everybody. No, the real terrorists struck the day after, when they convinced Americans that America was a nation of cowards whose proper role was to be subjects cowering in fear to be protected by the kind hands of Big Brother, rather than citizens of a free nation with all the risks that freedom involves -- and who then used this act of terrorism against America to get things like the Patriot Act, warrantless spying, Gitmo, etc. passed, making a mockery of the values that America once proclaimed to uphold, as well as running up trillions in debts to pay for these wars in hopes of bankrupting the nation before it could reign in the oligarchs who want to impose oligarchical rule, hopes that almost came true. Not to mention the million-plus Iraqis and Afghans who have been killed since the U.S. went to war in their respective nations, a bloodbath that Osama bin Laden could not have imagined when he managed to kill a few thousand Americans.

Compared to George W. Bush and his gang of neocons and the Christian Taliban supporters they hauled along in their wake, Osama bin Forgotten was an amateur, whose minor act of terrorism was trivial. On this day let us remember the day nine years ago when the neocon terrorist gang struck at America and nearly destroyed our nation, and never forget. Although, sadly, most Americans seem to have already forgotten. Siiiiiiiigh!

-- Badtux the History Penguin