It has been nearly five years since the 09/11/2001 terrorist attacks which plunged the United States of America—and much of the world, for that matter—into a war without precedent. Five years since smoke rose over the ruins of the World Trade Center in New York, a demolished section of the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and a field near Skanksville, Pennsylvania where the last plane hijacked that day went down without hitting its target. And, it must be said, five years since the pain, anger, unity, and memory of that day started their long fades.
In my humble opinion, we must reinvigorate our pain, anger, unity, and memory of 09/11/2001. I’ll get more into that over the next few days as I write more about it, but today I’d like you to read an editorial piece in the Wall St. Journal. It’s about how the last five years have brought us more victories than setbacks—and, possibly more important, the sheer pervasiveness and evil of the ideological enemy we are facing.
It is a side of the 09/11/2001 attacks and the widespread war on terror that followed that many have lost track of. As our national resolve to fight this war—and to make the necessary sacrifices to win it—fade away, it begins to look like the next five years will have more setbacks than victories. That is a danger we must not forget as we remember what happened on 09/11/2001 and set our path for the future.
- Five Years On: There have been far more victories than setbacks since September 11 (Wall St. Journal; free email registration may be required).