So, like everyone else (except for the perpetrators) I’m horrified by what’s been happening in the US today. I’ve been amazed at some reactions. Those who can’t fathom the attack have been reacting (almost) with amusement (“It’s like in one of those end-of-the-world movies”), others speechless. I’ve spent some time discussing who could have done this, calmly assessing the planning capabilities of organizations around the world. The press has jumped on the Osama Bin Laden bandwagon, virtually having already blamed them. I’m not so sure. Assuredly, this is not an attack by any one State in the world – no one state would be foolish enough to make this sort of attack on the states – they would have to know the US would simply bomb them to oblivion. I, for one, am willing to believe that this was a domestic attack. Why? Who else has as much free access to domestic flights as US citizens? And the Oklahoma City bombing has already proven that there are many militia groups in the US with similar views about the US as some international groups.
Of course, perhaps the most horrifying thing for me has been the reactions of the general public. Virtually every ‘common-person’ interview on CNN has ended with the person hoping the US would obliterate, bomb, assassinate whoever was responsible, do whatever it takes, etc.
Have they not have enough bloodshed? Escalating military action is exactly that. Escalating. On both sides. Why the US is so quick to jump to their guns astounds me. But then, it is in their constitution.
They should really restrict commentary at this point to those who are used to these statements. Hearing mayor Rudy Guliani (sp?) talk about watching people jump from the towers, being concerned about friends of his inside, all the while trying to run an evacuation of Manhattan was really hard. It would really suck to be a Person of Consequence a this time, having to put aside your own fears and stay calm to make sure things run smoothly.
Finally, I’d like to commend Tom Clancy, the author, for his comments on CNN this morning. He, of course, wrote a book wherein a terrorist hijacks a plane and flies it into the capitol building (Or something to that effect). He gently chided CNN for jumping on the Arab As Terrorist track, reminding the viewers that Islam is very similar to Christianity in many ways. That not every Muslim/Arab is a terrorist and that Islamic extremists are about as prevalent as Christian extremists. No matter who carried out this attack, other members of that particular religion/country/ethnic group should not be forced to bear the stigma of those few fanatics who undertook to attack the US.