House of Eratosthenes

The White House has issued detailed guidelines to government officials on how to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, with instructions to honor the memory of those who died on American soil but also to recall that Al Qaeda and other extremist groups have since carried out attacks elsewhere in the world, from Mumbai to Manila.
:
Copies of the internal documents were provided to The New York Times by officials in several agencies involved in planning the anniversary commemorations. “The important theme is to show the world how much we realize that 9/11 — the attacks themselves and violent extremism writ large — is not ‘just about us,’ ” said one official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal White House planning.

…Obama administration officials caution that public commemorations here should not cast the United States as the sole victim of terrorism, an argument underscored by killings and maimings from extremist attacks overseas.

Some senior administration officials involved in the discussions noted that the tone set on this Sept. 11 should be shaped by a recognition that the outpouring of worldwide support for the United States in the weeks after the attacks turned to anger at some American policies adopted in the name of fighting terror — on detention, on interrogation, and the decision to invade Iraq.

The apology tour…continues…

Hat tip to Weasel Zippers.

William Teach speaks for me:

Who the hell do they think was attacked on September 11th? Yes, there were citizens of other countries killed in the Twin Towers, but the attack was on America. Talk about tone deaf!

On Planet Obama, you’re never tone deaf when you’re in the middle of talking smack about America.

Well, he is right about that, O is. We should not cast ourselves as the sole victims of terrorism.

But I don’t know anybody who done that or has or would do that, so it is a bit of a red herring.

And no, Americans were not the only victims of the 9/11 attacks. But Americans and her guests were. And you just don’t walk into my house and open fire on me OR my guests.

The fact remains that they walked into OUR house. They planned, prepared, and carried out their biggest, most spectacular attack on the United States, and they didn’t do it because it was convenient or expedient. It was us they were after.

The target of their materialized hate was the United States. And when talking about 9/11, everything else comes after that.
- philmon | 08/30/2011 @ 10:25
another edit-o. Should read:

But I don’t know anybody who has done that or would do that, so it is a bit of a red herring

dammit
- philmon | 08/30/2011 @ 10:27
I’m not willing to concede even that much. The way I see it, yes Al Qaeda did attack other countries — on different dates. So on 9-11, let’s think about America. Nobody should be offended by that at all. If they are, then mark the calendar for some other dates when some other attack fell on some other country…and, when that date rolls around, commemorate that. Or if there still remains some Americaphobe itch that has yet to be scratched, then better still, a moment of silence for those among the 2,996 who happened not to be Americans. There. That should be plenty of pandering, more than anyone should want or need.

Our President represents a Noam Chomsky mindset, and that mindset insists that certain things can never, ever be put in a sympathetic light no matter what, and certain other things can never be cast out of such a light no matter what. This is a “big reveal” that tips the hand. We’re getting a flickering of an image of what His core of support looks like, and it isn’t pretty.
- mkfreeberg | 08/30/2011 @ 10:33
Oh, I’m not saying we need to bring it up. Matter of fact, I’m actually pretty much agreeing with you. I’m just saying that nobody should … or would … get up there and say the U.S. is the only victim of terrorism.

I know what O’s agenda is. And of course I disagree with it.
- philmon | 08/30/2011 @ 11:21
You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy than this administration.
- chunt31854 | 08/30/2011 @ 11:39
Bin Laden was once quoted as asking, “Why did we not attack Sweden?” That right there should tell you something. He was saying that the US got hit because he held it responsible for various and sundry offenses against certain Middle Eastern countries and peoples.

Other countries have serious and ongoing problems with terrorist activity within their borders to a greater degree than the US does, to be sure. Names like Philippines, Russia, Thailand, and India come to mind – all three of those are fighting full-blown Islamist insurgencies within their borders. (The first three (at the least) are fighting against Muslim groups that actually want to detach chunks of the country’s real territory with the goal of declaring independence. At present, that would be unthinkable in the United States. Correct me when the residents of Dearborn, MI decide they want to secede and start carrying out attacks on the rest of us in order to further that goal.)

But 9/11 is about the United States. That *fact* needs to be remembered. The specific targets that were hit were the ones seen as symbols of our economic and military power.

It also needs to be remembered who the enemy is – it’s not “terrorism” or “terror,” it is “radical Islam that employs terrorism as a tool” and the actors, planners, organizers, and fund-raisers of those activities. It also includes the countries that harbor or support any of these individuals or groups, as Bush said back in the very beginning. (I personally do not understand why the United States doesn’t regard state-sponsored terrorism as an act of war subject to full retaliation, all the time. What’s the distinction between that and some country’s uniformed soldiers pouring across the border? I don’t see any.)
- cylarz | 09/02/2011 @ 18:25

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“Not Just About Us”Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

“Not Just About Us”
Tuesday, August 30th, 2011