Bernard Weiner, at the Crisis Papers, has written an essay about the “Twenty Things We Now Know Five Years After 9/11.” Now that we’re five years past the events of that Tuesday morning in September, Weiner takes stock of what’s happened to the United States in that span of time. His observations? Not good. In outline, taking a look at each and the Bush Administration’s actions in relation, his points are these:
- The Facts of 9/11
- PNAC and the Neo-Cons
- Oil and the Politics of PNAC
- Sexing up the Intel
- The Downing Street Revelations
- The Big Lie Technique & WMD
- Iran as Beneficiary of US Policy
- Iraq as Disaster Zone
- The Stretched Thin Military Needs Bodies
- Hiding the Facts from the Public
- Perilously Close to Dictatorship
- Torture as Official US Policy
- The Bill of Rights Goes “Quaint”
- Outing CIA Agents for Political Reasons
- Do You Know If Your Vote Is Counted?
- There Is No Real Economic Plan
- Drowning Government In A Bathtub
- Who Cares What You Drink or Breathe?
- It’s Greed for Money, Control, Power
- It’s Faith Over Science, Myth Over Reality.
It’s a good essay. I recommend reading it. His conclusion?
The good news is that after suffering through six-plus years of the CheneyBush presidency, the public’s blinders are falling off. The fall from power of Tom DeLay is a good symbol of this, and the true nature of these men and their regime is finally starting to hit home. Cheney is acknowledged as the true power behind the throne, and Bush is seen for what he is: an insecure, uncurious, arrogant, dangerous, dry-drunk bully who is endangering U.S. national interests abroad with his reckless and incompetently-managed wars, his wrecking of the U.S. economy at home, and with his over-reaching in all areas.
If you already feel this way, it’s yet another confirmation of the roadsigns. If you believe otherwise, maybe this will make you think. The upcoming mid-term elections are important. Believe that.