Today we remember last year's horrible tragedy, which killed three thousand innocent people, terrified our country and plunged us into a prolonged national crisis. Something big has changed, and today we observe it with grief and mourning.
Crises are terrifying, but they present an opportunity for change. How have we as a nation availed ourselves of the opportunity to learn from this disaster?

What we've learned
· The United States is susceptible to terrorist attacks, which could destroy us.
· There is considerable distrust abroad of American actions and motives.
· There are groups of people who do want to destroy us.
· We need to defend ourselves against them.

What we've done
· Tightened up security at our borders, airports, immigration offices, and flight schools.
· Reversed a downward trend in military spending by dramatically increasing military and intelligence budgets.
· Started a global "war on terrorism." This included a war in Afghanistan, which provided safe haven for the Al Qaeda network that sponsored the 9/11 attacks. Military aid has been increased to supportive governments, such as that of Pakistani dictator Pervez Mussharraf (who until last year was a big supporter of the Taliban.) We've claimed a right and duty of the United States to assert military dominance--a Pax Americana--over the entire earth.
· Restricted civil liberties to empower law enforcement agencies. The "USA Patriot Act" -- along with a host of similar measures on the state level -- gives police sweeping new powers of search and seizure, supervised if at all by secret proceedings before secret courts. Domestic surveillance has increased, especially of targeted ethnic groups within the US.
· Demonstrated an upsurge of patriotism to support all the above.

What we haven't done
Figured out why those terrorists were angry with us. I haven't heard any public figure give a plausible explanation as to why the Al Qaeda attacked the United States. We've tried to increase our security and military preparedness, but have done very little soul-searching.

Why do they want to destroy us?
I've heard people suggest that it's because we have nice toys, because they envy our wealth. But this fails to account for the fact that Osama Bin Laden, leader of Al Qaeda, is believed to have a personal fortune of up to $300 million. He is said to believe that the West has humiliated Arab nations through its military and economic policies and has sided with Israel against the interests and welfare of Palestinians.

Has the West humiliated Arab nations?
The battle between Christendom and Islam goes back fourteen centuries. Following the discovery of oil in the Middle East before World War I and the subsequent breakup of the Ottoman (Turkish) Empire, the Arab world was dominated and manipulated by England, France and the US. The big three powers divided up the Middle East into zones of influence, principally for control of oil, the lifeblood of modern industrial capitalism. Western heavy-handedness and interference continues to the present with military interventions and presence of thousands of US troops in the area, and support for unpopular but cooperative regimes (e.g. Saudi Arabia.) The cause most frequently given for anti-American feeling among Muslims today is American support for Israel: right or wrong, Israel is seen by many Arabs and Muslims as a cruel oppressor of the Palestinian people. To me, it's no wonder that many Arabs feel anger towards the West.
(*But I also think Osama Bin Laden is a monster who should be brought to justice.)

We make ourselves vulnerable
Access to inexpensive oil, principally from the Middle East, is a fundamental pillar of the American economy. By maintaining a large military presence in the Persian Gulf, selling huge quantities of arms and intervening in the affairs of Middle East nations to assure our continued access to that oil, we make ourselves vulnerable. We consume too much gasoline.

If
If we had spent the past 50 years building schools, hospitals and water systems around the globe; training doctors and teachers for the underdeveloped world; using our fabulous wealth to make people's lives better, there would be little reason to hate us. But what have we done? We've spent those 50 years arming and enriching ourselves (often at the expense of others), being the world's biggest arms merchant, and staging coups to create governments that will support our right to make a dollar off their resources. From 1993 to 1997 alone, the U.S. government sold, approved, or gave away $190 billion in weapons to virtually every nation on earth. By having pro-US monarchies and other regimes (not necessarily democracies) at the helm and promoting policies that often ignore democracy and human rights, we support our own short-term strategic interests but endanger ourselves and the entire world in the long run.

Questions for the future
· Should the United States aim for world military dominance for the indefinite future?
· Does such dominance provide real protection against terrorists dedicated to our destruction?
· If it is possible, do the people of the United States want it?
· If the attempt is made, can the United States remain a democracy?
· Can the United States act as military guarantor of a world that hates its protector?

About the process
I believe that questioning, criticism, and dissent must be valued and protected. Such rights and values are always contested and must be fought for. We must take responsibility for what our government does - and we must oppose injustice done in our name.

What can we do?
Renew our democracy, reducing corporate control of our political system and lives;
Vigorously protect our constitutional civil rights against attacks such as the Patriot Act;
Reduce our militarization and stop being the biggest global arms merchant;
Replace our "Us versus Them" attitude towards the world with "Us with Them";
Respect the sovereignty of independent nations (stop telling everyone how to live);
Help the underdeveloped world instead of exploiting them;
Reduce our own consumption;
Respect and protect our environment;
Provide health care for all our citizens;
Walk or ride the bus to work.

Thanks for reading, and I'll listen to your opinion also. Chris Pforr

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