Every September 11, I’ve dinged the President for unfinished business. Today the loop is closed.
The damage is done, obviously. Thousands dead on September 11, thousands more dead in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a pretty dismal decade in terms of response. What with the kid-chasing-a-soccer-ball approach to airport security, the quagmire of Saddam Hussein, the overwhelming stench of fear that fed the Stupids for years…it’s not the solution to all our problems by a long shot. But it does provide a pivot point – if the administration decided that we could start drawing down troops in Afghanistan now, it would be a hell of a lot easier to get away with. Maybe we can move on that – it would be nice.
But right now, all I can think about is Ann and Joe, who we lost on the plane that hit the Pentagon, and my friends, who all got up on the morning of September 12 and posted on time and on target while the Pentagon continued to burn, and my wife, who moved TO Washington less than two months later despite everything.
It’s a really good night.