(This post appeared originally in this space
on September 7, 2011. It was re-purposed and presented September 11, 2013, and again
today, September 13, 2017).
The buzz for today, will likely center, as it
has for the past three weeks, on the weather. The principal thrust at this
juncture is taking stock of, and responding to the devastation wrought by
Hurricane Irma, which was the second consecutive Category 4 or above hurricane
to reach land in the U.S. after a 12-year absence of storms packing that level
of fury. Irma made landfall in the Florida Keys, came up to Miami, veered
westward toward Tampa and the Florida West Coast, and went on to the Northern
tip of the state, dropping record levels of rainfall in Jacksonville, the
largest city geographically, in the state and the nation. The storm registered
a one-minute sustained wind speed of 185 mph. Irma was preceded by Harvey,
which did most of its damage in the Houston area of Texas. It dumped more than
40 inches of rain on the state, is responsible for at least 71 deaths, and
caused estimated damages of up to $200 million dollars.
In addition to Harvey and Irma, two additional storms
developed in the Atlantic, Hurricanes Jose, and Katia. The storms, have surely
been, and continue to be newsworthy. They produced such high profile media
stories that some networks devoted coverage nearly 24/7. It’s not surprising
that this almost total immersion into all things weather resulted in a
reduction in media-based air, print, and cyber time for 9/11 commemorations. Instead
of storm chasing, I am going to re-post a past "Break It Down" entry. Monday
was the Sixteenth Anniversary of Nine-Eleven; a day America
will never forget. With that in mind, I ask that you please spend a
few minutes directing your attention to the horror that was September 11,
2001.
(From the Archives, September 7, 2011)
Do you remember where you were, Tuesday, September
11, 2001?
On Monday we observed the 16th Anniversary
of the day that has come to be known simply as, Nine-Eleven (9/11). That
day 16 years ago, America lost, in one fell swoop, its blissful
innocence, its long-standing appearance of invulnerability,
and its deeply ingrained
sense of security. By some accounts, what it retained is it’s
self-righteous (some would say) belief in American
Exceptionalism and entitlement; but
that is a conversation for another post.
Suddenly we were at war, and the fight, had,
uncharacteristically, come to us, straightway. This battle was personal,
and it was on our home turf; no longer some shadowy ideological
military exercise, or guerrilla
warfare episode, played out on foreign soil, half a world away.
U.S.
House of Representatives Joint Resolution 71 was
introduced with 22 co-sponsors (11 Republicans and 11
Democrats) and approved by a vote of 407-0 on October 25, 2001
(with 25 members not voting). The bill passed unanimously in the Senate
on November 30, 2001. The Resolution requested that the President
designate September 11th each year as Patriot Day.
President George
W. Bush signed the Resolution into law December 18, 2001 (as Public
Law 107-89).
On this day, the President directs that the American flag
be flown at half-staff
at individual American homes, at the White House, and on all U.S.
government buildings and establishments, home and abroad. This year
President Trump, as President Obama
did before him, deemed the day one of National Remembrance and Service. President
and Mrs. Trump commemorated the day with
two events. The First Lady joined him as he led a moment of silence on the
South Lawn of the White House, in remembrance for those lost September 11, 2001. Afterward he went to the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial to participate in an
observance.
Even after more than a decade and a half, with sixteen
years worth of context building, and development of perspective, the numbers
behind Nine-Eleven are chilling. Nearly 3,000 people lost
their lives, and thousands of others were injured, and many more sustained
post-event trauma. Examples of the carnage include:
- 2,977
Victims killed (not including the 19 hijackers)
- 2,606
Killed at the World Trade Center Towers
- 125
Killed at the Pentagon
- 40
Killed in Shanksville, PA
- 87
Killed on American Flight 11/NYC World Trade Center North Tower
- 60
Killed on United Flight 175/NYC World Trade Center South Tower
- 59
Killed on American Flight 77/Arlington - The Pentagon
- 40
Killed United Flight 93/Shanksville, PA
- 19 Hijackers
- 246
Killed on the four planes
- 19 Hijackers
Killed (on the four planes)
- 2,996 Killed
on Nine-Eleven
- 411 Emergency
workers killed at the World Trade Centers
- 341 FDNY
firefighters killed
- 2 Paramedics killed
- 23 NYPD
officers killed
- 37 Port Authority Police Department
officers killed
- 8 EMT’s
killed
- 658
Employees of Cantor
Fitzgerald, L.P. (Investment Bank) killed; most
of any employer
- 1,631
Bodies positively identified from World Trade Center Towers
- 1,122
Bodies (41%) remain unidentified
- Bone fragments were still
being found in 2005 by workers preparing to demolish the damaged Deutsche
Bank Building
- 72
Additional remains found in 2010 by a team of anthropologists
and archeologists
A Medical Examiner
will continue to try to identify remains in the hope new technology will lead
to the identification of other victims. The death and destruction of
Nine-Eleven led to the so-called Global War on Terror.
Mostly the front lines have been in Afghanistan and Iraq.
However, a central intent of the action has been to prevent a recurrence of Nine-Eleven-like
events on U.S. soil.
The initial thrust began October 7, 2001 when
the U.S., British, and Coalition forces invaded Afghanistan, and
in March 2002, the U.S. and Coalition forces launched Operation Anaconda
and the Taliban
suffered significant losses, and left the region. In the interim,
involvement in the region ebbed and flowed, but the war, which the Obama
Administration referred to as Overseas
Contingency Operation, continues. The War in Afghanistan is
officially the longest war in American History. We have for some
time been in the “every day is a new record” era.
U.S. Intelligence sources pointed to Al-Qaeda as
the probable instigator behind Nine-Eleven. It's leader, Osama bin Laden
initially denied involvement. Over time, bin Laden became
more emboldened; first conceding involvement, and ultimately admitted that he
was instrumental in masterminding the horrific attacks. During his Presidential
Campaign, Mr. Obama declared he would not relent on the hunt for Osama.
The elusive terrorist was thought to be hiding in Pakistan. Mr. Obama
stated bluntly that if reliable intelligence pinpointed bin Laden, he
would deploy U.S. forces to find and kill him, which he did on May 2,
2011.
The good news is, over the course of the past sixteen
years, there have been no repeat Nine-Eleven scale events on U.S. soil.
That result is partly due to fastidiously
focusing on prevention efforts, partly due to the fortuitous
failure of would-be terrorists, and partly due to the fateful
intervention of alert by-standers.
As we place the commemoration of Patriot Day 2017 in the rearview mirror, and sixteen
years of Nine-Eleven related memories with it, Americans are
advised to be on high alert for potential incursions by
terrorists, most likely of the lone wolf variety,
where one person acts alone. So here we are, “Sixteen Years Later: Reflecting on Nine-Eleven.” Let’s get ready for a Day
of Remembrance and Service.
I’m done; holla back!
http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com.
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