Picture Terror

AP

"The terrorist yelled, 'God is great.' I grabbed Oron's handgun and fired three bullets. As soon as I was sure he was dead I lifted the gun so as not to hurt passersby." Israel Policeman Eli Mizrahi

Picture yourself on vacation, sleeping peacefully in a hotel bed. Maybe you're having a nice dream. Perhaps your partner is snuggled up to you, making you sweat a little in the summer heat but adding even more peace to your last moments of sleep.

You wake up, get dressed, have breakfast, prepare for the day's schedule of site-seeing, shopping, whatever. You find the right bus, jam into it with locals and other tourists like you --well, they're tackier than you, but still, fellow tourists-- and hope like hell the bus has air conditioning.

Picture the noisy streets, crowded, clogged with traffic, especially in the heart of town, around the old bus depot where construction workers are building a shiny new train station. Also, you notice with a smidgen of interest, it's near the central headquarters for local broadcasting stations.

Now picture you're feeling a little annoyed, all that equipment blocking the way, making traffic a nightmare. Resigned to a long wait, you gaze out the window apathetically.

Then you notice the bulldozer. It's driving away from the construction site, moving against traffic. Cars are crashing, horns blaring. Finally, unbelievably, you realize it's heading directly at your bus.

Picture terror.

The bulldozer plows into your bus, knocking it over onto its side like a bowling pin. Like more pins, passengers and debris are flying everywhere. In the process a small Toyota is flattened, it's female driver killed instantly. Other cars have been hit. Pedestrians too.

Picture a horrifying scene of carnage, blood, broken bodies, crumpled metal, destruction. Picture an elite police terror squad as they climb onto the bulldozer and kill the terrorist driver at point blank range.

Then, picture this: ordinary citizens rushing toward the scene, giving all the aid and comfort they can as ambulance sirens wail closer. Jerusalem is now under an official state of emergency.

Picture too, that an event like this is so commonplace my niece called this morning from Jerusalem to apologize she couldn't pick up the special tee shirt for my son because the store she'd planned to visit was in the heart of the chaos. But, she assured me, she'd try another area of the city not prone to attack.

This is my family. This is where they live. This is where I am now. Safe and sound. But only because my family lives in the right place. So far.

Picture the real truth. In America and most of the Western world, terrorism is a political issue. In the Middle East it's the real deal.

It's been quiet in Israel recently with hope focused on the proposed peace talks. But as every Israeli knows, quiet is relative here. Today one crazed, fanatical criminal took peace into his own hands and shattered it. Tomorrow it could be dozens, hundreds, thousands.

I want to hear from Barack Obama and John McCain what they're going to do about protecting Israel. No more tap dancing, dammit. I want a clear picture.

Reflections on Israel's 60th

Yamit, Israel 1978, Israel's 30th Birthday

"If you liked the book, you'll love the country." Israeli Tourist Bureau

Most people who write about Israel do so passionately, unable to suppress their beliefs, ideologies, politics. That's okay. Israel has sparked supercharged emotions from its inception to the present day. How could it not?

A country formed by displaced Holocaust survivors, European, Levantine, Jewish and Arab nationals, the political agendas of Britain, France, Germany and the United States. Home to the holiest shrines of Western civilization's three major religions.

Israel, let's be frank, is--and always has been--the biggest political football in the world. That's not going to stop any time soon. But it won't stop me from going there, either. And it shouldn't stop you.

I've written about Israel from my own biased perspective as a Jew and an American, but also as one who's lived there, has family there, has had many up close and personal experiences.

On the occasion of Israel's 60th Anniversary as an independent nation, here's my sampling of what Israel means to its own citizens, to the world and to you and me.

Yamit, Israel - A Cautionary Town > Gaza - Yamit: Been There, Done That - Friends who made the desert bloom. And then had to give it all away.

Terrorism - A Daily Fact of Life - 9/11 from Israel's point of view.

Israel - Reality Check - See my mother with Israel's founder and first president.

I'm Home and I'm Fine - I unknowingly travel to the US from Israel on the first day of last year's war.

Another Wedding in Israel - And then, I go back again.

And by the way, I'll be heading there next month for a long overdue visit.

Dry Bones for Israel's Wet Eyes

"Their lives were a testimony to the values which are shared by both Israel and the United States -- lives of religious commitment and tolerance, the spirit of independent thinking and living, and love of one's fellow human beings. Terrorists cannot live with or by those values -- and so they murder beautiful young people." Dan Kurtzer

Horror in Israel. Again. Students cut down by a maniac. More horror: unlike Virginia Tech, Columbine and other deadly school rampages here in America, this particular maniac was state-sanctioned. His murderous actions were publicly celebrated by the Palestinian government and many of its citizens.

So it's time to stop talking Clinton/Obama presidential politics and take a moment to reflect on a far deadlier conflict ... where the stakes are literally life and death.

As I've temporarily lost the use of one hand due to surgery, I've been featuring posts from friends' blogs. I've decided to shut up about my minor inconvenience. There are families in Israel who will never recover from the loss of their children.

Yaakov Kirschen, aka Israel's legendary Dry Bones gives voice to their pain and a unique look at life in Israel when terror strikes.

Understanding Israel's Neighbors

Whenever you read news stories about American Jews focusing on our government's support for Israel and wonder why it's so important, think of this most recent abomination. What if it happened to you?

Jerusalem Post Tribute to the Victims of Terror Casualties of War

Remembering Those Lost In 2007

"Pale death knocks with impartial foot at poor men's hovels and king's palaces." Horace

I was lucky this year. I didn't suffer many personal losses. Some of my friends and family did. The world of arts and letters did. Sports too. And our country did. Too many mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, children and spouses lost loved ones to violence in 2007.

Yes, I'm talking about the war in Iraq. And Afghanistan. Hate-based murders and suicides in the Middle East.

But I'm also appalled at the number of violent deaths right here in my own hometown. The killing sprees escalating around the country.

I've banged the same drum about that violence in Philly and Omaha and Virginia Tech -- WE NEED GUN CONTROL.

Now that I have that--temporarily--out of my system, here's my short list of loss in 2007... from the ridiculous to the sublime, from those I only met to those who significantly touched my life.

My husband's aunt, one of the purest souls I've ever known: Everybody's Aunt Rebecca.

A seminal mentor from my early professional years: Mal Johnson - Boss and Friend.

Another boss who was also a colleague and friend to the end: Dick Doran - Really RAD and Dick Doran - A Fitting Farewell.

The wonderful father of my wonderful friend: Suzie's Dad - A Righteous Man.

An opera star with brass and class: Betsy and Bubbles, Take 2.

True media lights: Bergman, Antonioni, Kurt Vonnegut, Merv Griffin and My Tom Snyder Quote.

Last but not least, some horses asses and an actual horse:

Anna Nicole - Legacy of Lunacy

Tammy Faye, Merv, Brooke - Who's Next?

Barbaro - Horse, NOT Human

There were many more deaths this year, of course, and we'll see them endlessly looping through TV, newspapers, magazines and online specials as 2007 becomes 2008.

But these are the ones who touched me ... or raised my hackles. I send sincere condolences and prayers to those left behind to grieve their deaths, no matter how ridiculous or sublime they were in life.

Bhutto Should've Read the NYT

Aamir Qureshi/Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images

"This is Pakistan. And Pakistan is a very dangerous and violent place." Wendy Chamberlin, former US ambassador to Pakistan

So, this is another one the Bush administration didn't see coming?

U.S. Officials See Waste in Billions Sent to Pakistan - New York Times
Published: December 24, 2007
Money intended to bolster Pakistan’s military effort against Al Qaeda and the Taliban has been diverted toward weapons systems to counter India, officials said.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — After the United States has spent more than $5 billion in a largely failed effort to bolster the Pakistani military effort against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, some American officials now acknowledge that there were too few controls over the money. The strategy to improve the Pakistani military, they said, needs to be completely revamped. ...

There is at least one area of agreement. Both sides say the reimbursements have failed substantially to increase the ability of Pakistani forces to mount comprehensive counterinsurgency operations.

Read the whole article. Your hair will stand on end.

Does Pakistan's current President Pervez Musharraf also bear responsibility for Bhutto's assassination? Yes. His government didn't protect her.

Free elections in Pakistan? Not a chance. A Pakistani leader with ties to the US and no time for terrorists? Now gone. So the US is still between a rock and a hard place. Salvaging U.S. Diplomacy Amid Division

And what's the most popular article in the New York Times online today?
Skin Deep: Fountain of Youth? Go Wash Your Face

OJ Simpson, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - Coincidence?

"Today I feel all the weight of the modern civilized world yearning to express the revulsion at what you stand for." Lee C. Bollinger, President, Columbia University

President Bollinger is talking about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad but he could just as easily be referring to OJ Simpson. Does anybody else find it interesting that two reviled stone cold killers happen to be in the news at the same time?

There's an eerie similarity between OJ and MA. They both work so hard to maintain their public faces. To be outraged when attacked. To proclaim their innocence with gusto. To explain away their actions with smarmy double talk and fake charm.

They're shocked anyone would think them capable of heinous acts. They claim some other guy did it. Or it wasn't done at all. Or, if it was done, they're appalled and they want justice.

They'll tell you America is to blame. That they just want to live in peace with their fellow men, but we won't let them. If you push them too hard, watch out, they'll fight back, charm replaced in a flash by steely defiance.

Of course OJ Simpson and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad aren't on a level playing field, politically.

OJ doesn't have a nuclear bomb, just a nuclear temper. He's not a Holocaust denier, he's just an effing liar.

We don't know OJ's views on Israel but we can guess ... he doesn't much care because it's not about Him.

Though he's not an international terrorist, OJ Simpson is still a dangerous man. He got away with murder and could do it again. He'll try anything to get what he wants. He operates with a totally self-serving set of values. And without guilt or remorse.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a dangerous man on a global scale. As president of Iran he represents a very real threat to Iraq, America and Israel.

One thing seems clear. If you believe you don't know how Ahmadinejad's mind works, you're wrong. You know. Just ask OJ.

And for the record, I was right.

9.11.07

globalizati.files.wordpress.com

"Understand the causes of terror? Yes, we should try, but let there be no moral ambiguity about this: nothing could ever justify the events of September 11 and it is to turn justice on its head to pretend it could." Tony Blair

9/11. That's all we'll ever have to say to call up one of history's greatest horrors. It's on a Tuesday this year. Just like it was on September 11, 2001. I have my own memories of that Tuesday, lived out online.

Remember last year? It was a big media deal on the 5th Anniversary of 9/11. An artificial milestone, but the memories are just as important.

The memories of horrendous terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers and--let's never forget--also on the Pentagon and who knows where else if not for the heroic efforts of passengers on Flight 93.

Every day of the year thousands of people around the world commemorate the anniversaries of the deaths of loved ones. Many from illness, accidents even natural causes.

But there's nothing natural about dying in a war. The number of Americans killed by the War in Iraq has now exceeded the number of those killed here at home on 9/11/01.

How can that be? How could we have let our president and our congress take us to war in a country that had NOTHING to do with the attacks on America? We were hoodwinked. Tricked. Given false information for still incomprehensible reasons.

Why did George W. Bush and his administration of Crooks and Liars want a war in Iraq? Afghanistan, yes, that's where terrorists train to kill. Pakistan's not looking so pro-America these days either.

I don't know what to say any more.

I only know this: The best way to honor the decent, honorable men and women killed on 9/11, in Iraq and Afghanistan is to make our government stop the killing. End the dishonorable war.

Please. No more bodies.

My Glasgow

"Friends are flowers that never fade." Proverb

Just as we start to relax into summer, Terror and Rage hit the UK. First the foiled car bombs in London. More potential "cells" discovered. Then a flaming car plunged into Glasgow Airport -- an atrocity that hit too close to home for me.

I've stood near that very spot. Looked through those windows. I think of Glasgow often, of the people I know and care about there.

On the wall facing my desk is a homemade paper sign with a lovelingly painted and hand-drawn multi-colored message:

It was waiting to greet me on my last visit to Glasgow. Obviously, I treasure it.

My niece, nephew-in-law and their young children lived in Glasgow for several years while he served as Assistant Rabbi and Youth Director at a big Glasgow synagogue.

Their permanent home is in Israel, she's the oldest daughter of our Israel family. Moving far from the cocoon of religious Jewish family life all the way to Glasgow wasn't easy. But my niece is gifted with inner strength and the ability to adapt, to create a warm home and make new friends.

The Chief Rabbi, his wife and all the children in the family came to adore her. And extended their kindness to me whenever I visited Glasgow. We did tease the daughters about the sign, as I could hardly be welcomed back by "all the girls" in the city of Glasgow.

But for sure all the girls in Glasgow who made that sign love me and I love them right back.

Not counting the baby and the boys, the girls range in age from 6 to 16. They're sweet and bright and energetic, members of a large family who live a good, decent, spiritual, wholesome life. They work and study, play, sing, pray, help each other and anyone in need. They are special. Especially to me.

Now their city, their safety and their peace of mind are in jeopardy. I don't like it.

Glasgow is Brigadoon to me, green fields and rocky roads, huge open parks and small winding streets with enclaves of cozy houses. Large, tree-lined avenues fronted by imposing mansions with glorious gardens.

Strange though to see modern office buildings next to centuries old castles. To hear bells and bagpipes along with car and bus horns.

I can also report that whether Jew or Gentile, if you come from Glasgow you look it. And sound it. Oh, that red hair. Those freckles. And the lilting Scottish brogue.

It rains a lot in Glasgow and all the houses, humble or grand, have the same clever widows, set to open into a canopy at the top to let fresh air in while keeping the unwelcome rain water out.

I only wish there were a way those windows could protect Glasgow from all other kinds of damage or danger.

And here's some real irony: when I learned of the terrorist attempt in Glasgow, my first thought was: I'm so glad my niece and her family are back in Isreal now, where they're safe...

I pray that everyone stays safe ... especially all the girls in Glasgow.

9/11 - The Documentary

911 Memorial, cbs.com

"We hope that hearing the stories of these brave men and how they have struggled to deal with that day will inspire other survivors to carry on." Jules and Gedeon Naudet and James Hanlon, 9/11 documentary filmmakers, participants in history

On the eve of the 5th Anniversary of 9/11, the Big Three television networks gave us Something to Talk About. But only CBS had something truly meaningful to say.

At our house, we had no interest in ABC's Clinton-bashing paean to ultra-conservatism, The Path to 9/11. And we hadn't checked the listings to find alternatives. We didn't know CBS was again airing the extraordinary award-winning real life documentary 9/11.

So we tuned in to the football game of the week, if not month, if not history. NBC had gotten Sunday football back and opened with a sure-fire winner: Manning VS Manning. Two brothers--Eli and Peyton Manning--on different NFL teams would be facing each other as opposing quarterbacks for the first time in recorded memory.

It might have been a hellova game. But we didn't see it.

During a commercial, our son flipped around, came to CBS and whew, instant irony: two other brothers caught in a dramatic situation. But so dramatically different it made your blood freeze. Jules and Gedeon Naudet--French filmmakers who were making a documentary about a probie firefighter for Engine 7, Ladder 1, FDNY--had their cameras rolling on 9/11/01. And took us with them on their chilling journey.

We'd seen it before when it was aired 6 months after 9/11 and again on the one year anniversary. But still we sat there, silent, barely breathing, reliving the greatest tragedy of the century.

If you don't know about 9/11, A Portrait of Heroism, you should. If you haven't seen it, you must. It's a stunning inside account, on film and in person of what happened in and around the World Trade Center that horrible day. It was filmed live and in real time inside the Engine 7 firehouse, inside the lobby of Tower 1, around the buildings as they fell and throughout the surrounding streets.

One of the filmmakers, Jules, captured the only known live video of the first plane striking Tower 1. The firefighters of Engine 7 were among the first to arrive on the scene. Jules remained inside Tower 1 at the FDNY command post, filming, until Tower 2 collapsed. Then he provided light from his camera to help all the firefighters still in Tower 1 make their desperate escape to safety.

Many of the documentary's scenes are ghastly. The area around the Towers resembles a nuclear winter ... ash, debris, papers, unimaginable flotsam swirling through the air, coating everything and everyone. Confusion, disbelief, helplessness, terror. And death.

The filmmakers tell us they saw no purpose in adding more gruesome images to our collective horror by showing the worst of the worst ... what one stricken firefighter describes this way: "It was raining bodies."

But with the camera rolling inside the lobby of Tower 1, every few seconds you hear a sickening crash and watch the firefighters flinch as another body hits the ground. One stunned firefighter said, "It's impossible to imagine what was so bad up there that the best alternative was to jump."

Of course the film doesn't focus on death, it simply captures the reality of our national nightmare that day and the days to follow. We see the living as they flee, help each other, mourn together, strive to bring order to such overwhelming chaos.

We watch as firefighters, police and construction workers drive themselves for days, weeks--what would become months--in twelve-hour shifts, digging through enormous piles of rubble and debris, searching for lives to save. And inevitably, searching for bodies to recover.

Throughout the film, individual firefighters--and the filmmakers themselves--share their feelings and experiences with us. They fight back tears. Or they cry. They show us their anger. And their pain. They are stunningly candid. Interviewed 3 years later, one said (as best as I recall), "It was either the army or the fire department. I didn't want to take lives, I'd rather save them, so it was the FDNY for me. Now, I'm not so sure. If I could, I'd kill the people who did this."

It's so important to honor those who perished. But it's equally important to remember that though almost 3000 ordinary and extraordinary people lost their lives on 9/11, more than 20,000 people in the Twin Towers survived. In the film we see many of them being led to safety by brave firefighters and police.

Five years later, the survivors still deal daily with the horror they witnessed, and lived through. They mourn their loved ones and comrades. And they ask, over and over, Why me? Why was I spared?

There's no answer to that question. But there's enormous understanding to be gained from hearing their stories and watching the real life story of the horror and heroism of 9/11.

And incredibly, the filmmakers and the firefighters of Engine 7, Ladder 1, FDNY are, to a man, alive to tell the tale.

You can meet them here.

Airport Rules Are All Wet

"What doesn’t exist yet is a risk management process." Penrose C. Albright, former assistant secretary for science and technology, Department of Homeland Security

"They are reactive, not proactive." Randall J. Larsen, retired Air Force colonel, chairman, military strategy department, National War College, Washington

Bravo to the British for foiling the latest gargantuan terrorist plot. But it makes you wonder why more planes haven't been compromised by the stunning incompetence of our own crack Homeland Security department and the geniuses at the TSA.

Incredibly, the Bush administration and its security agencies are still living in a 9/11 haze ... after five years. It's 2006, Guys -- do you know where your terrorists are? And what they're cooking up?

The answer is yes.

The US had vital information even before 9/11, based on actual plots and events involving liquid explosives. Yet the TSA continued to waste time snagging our tiny manicure scissors and looking inside our shoes.

Now that a real plot's been foiled, they're nitpicking over our water bottles, eye drops and lip gloss, for crying out loud.

I just flew cross country from Philly to LA and back. Was it a nightmare? No. And that's got me even more concerned. They seemed to look more carefully at checked bags and carry-ons, but come on -- I sailed through Security with newly forbidden hand lotion, lipstick and even a can of Pepsi in my purse.

Of course I'm a White Boomer of a certain age, so let's assume they profiled me. I hope they did. But on the other hand, they don't really know how. I travel regularly to Israel, where the Israelis have got it down to a science. Highly trained, clearly dedicated security personnel actually look at you, and talk to you. You can see how seriously they take their jobs.

Compare that to our underpaid, under-trained, low level TSA drones who go through our belongings by rote, following a list of "forbidden" items, no more, no less. Who barely glance at us and routinely miss more than they find.

I said it here last Spring, in Travel Tales.

"Try getting past an Israeli security agent, who chats you up in the security line as if you're on a first date. And manages to learn more about you in five minutes than if you'd been in a long term relationship."

Their questions seem casual enough--where are you staying, what sites will you visit, do you belong to a church or synagogue back home and if so, what's it called--but they're really taking your measure, seeing how you respond and react, getting a read on who--and what--you are.

I'm so glad they do. Because when they let you on the plane, you'll eat with real utensils and be able to sleep, secure in the knowledge the plane is safe. Does USAirways really think they'll prevent a terrorist attack by using plastic knives in First Class? Of course not, it's a ruse to save money.

And money is why every time we board an airplane, our lives are in danger.

We have the technology to sniff out any potential explosive on the face of the earth. But our government isn't willing to spend the money to come up with a solid plan to deal with truly dangerous weapons. Why not?

Those big bucks are earmarked for the war in Iraq, local pork barrel projects and Republican reelection campaigns. And nothing's left over to hire and train really effective security agents. Or make sure every airport has the latest screening devices technology can offer.

The 9/11 commission called it "failure of imagination." I would add failure of leadership, failure of congressional support and failure of citizen demands.

Until we step up and insist on leaders who will allocate enough funds to keep us safe, we're on our own. Because with Dubya and his crew in charge, air travel seems based on little more than a wing and a prayer.

Nuclear Meltdown - Back to the Future

On This Day

"Celebrations of anniversaries of disasters, such as nuclear power plant meltdowns or political assassinations, provide opportunities, as do holidays." Joey Skaggs

What's going on here? Are we back in the 60's and 70's? More likely, as the pundits say, history is doomed to repeat itself. If you're over 40 or know anything about those decades, you know there are more than a few eerie parallels.

Think about it. Look at those headlines. (Click the photo to enlarge.)

America's in a disastrous, unwinnable war on foreign soil. Our (Republican) president has committed grossly unethical and arguably criminal acts.

We see evil corruption of religious faith for personal gain by everyone from priests to congressmen to movie stars. Unrest among students in France. Ominous rumblings from the Middle East.

In 1966 Charles Whitman climbed a tower in Austin, TX, killed 14 people and injured dozens more. Last weekend Aaron Kyle Huff showed up at a party, opened fire, killed six people and then himself.

Yesterday it was revealed that undercover congressional investigators foiled federal regulators and managed to smuggle radioactive material into the US.

Today is the 27th anniversary of Three Mile Island, the worst nuclear accident in American history. I know. I was there.

I lived and worked through Hurricane Agnes in 1972 too. (More about that another time.)

This parallel bothers me the most: the unconscionable fact that our government has done virtually nothing in 7 months to help the still homeless victims of Katrina and Wilma.

I came up with a solution for the TMI aftermath that would work just as well today. We need to stick Michael Chertoff in a flooded trailer in Louisiana -- and not let him out until all victims have adequate housing and services. Period.

It feels like nothing has changed. And we have to do something about it. But right now, I'm about to have a meltdown myself.

Terrorism - A Daily Fact of Life

"People forget about the past too easily, and the effects terrorism has in all its forms." Gary Thompson

Americans think we know what it means to live with terrorism. We haven't got a clue.

Yes, 9/11 taught us a hard lesson about our vulnerability to sudden atrocious attack. But no matter how horrible, it was a one-off. It hasn't happened again. We go through the business of our daily lives more concerned about tax hikes than terrorism.

In the end, the most lasting reminder of 9/11 for the majority of Americans is this: it's harder to travel through airports. We have to stand in long security lines and wait while our luggage is scanned. Poor us. What an inconvenience.

We are such innocents.

Right now I'm in the Motherland of terrorism -- Israel. Here, every time you get on a bus, sit in a cafe, walk down a street, you're literally risking your life. Danger from fanatical bombers is real and imminent all the time.

You see signs everywhere, "Report Unattended Packages to Police." Army vehicles are as commonplace as taxis on the streets. It's impossible to walk around without seeing the signs of violence, whether craters in sidewalks and buildings ... or the empty sleeves and pant legs of its victims.

All Israeli citizens must join the army when they turn 18. But even that is unique. The country is so small, most soldiers go home at the end of a day fighting insurgents and terrorism. The ones who aren't killed, that is.

Forget duct tape, every home in Israel has a bomb shelter, if only one specially reinforced room. And yet Israelis too--at least on the surface--worry more about taxes than terrorism.

That kind of pressure takes its toll. Israelis have some of the highest rates of hypertension, heart attacks and ulcers in the world. Everybody smokes. Oddly, alcoholism isn't a big issue, but reckless, aggressive driving is. Divorce rates are high too. But so is hope.

I'm staying with members of our family who live in a town in the middle of the country, not near the West Bank or other hotly contested danger zones. It's also a religious enclave.

But ultimately nothing and nowhere here offers any guarantee of safety. Throughout Israel risk management is a necessary daily fact of life.

Yesterday I went shopping at the local super market. And did what all shoppers do at every store, movie theater, restaurant, health club or public building in the country. I opened my pocketbook for inspection and passed through a metal detector. Imagine doing that at your neighborhood deli or dry cleaner.

The truth is Americans are more at risk from our own leaders than from foreign fanatics. There's more dangerous, despicable behavior going on at the highest levels of American government in the name of protection from terrorism than in actual reality.

In America and most of the Western world, terrorism is a political issue. Not in the Middle East. Here it's a cold, hard daily fact of life.

It's been quiet in Israel recently. But as every Israeli knows, that can most often mean the calm before the storm. And quiet is relative here.

Rockets were lobbed into the North last week. Fortunately they missed their targets. No one was killed. But every single day, terrorists with bombs strapped to their bodies are stopped and disarmed at checkpoints around the country.

I wonder, if that were true on American soil, how much more effective would Homeland Security become?

Around the world, controversy rages over the Hamas election victory, and who's going to supply or cut off aid to attempt to control Hamas's power. But that's theoretical. A job for the politicians and diplomats. Who aren't doing their jobs very well.

Israeli elections are coming at the end of March. No matter the outcome, all hell is sure to break loose. Nothing theoretical about that. It's just another daily fact of life in the Middle East.

And if you still think we live with terrorism in America, think about this: Every time your kids get on a school bus, go to a mall or dance at a nightclub, you don't have to worry they might be blown to bits.

Dising Mohammed

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"What the fundamentalists are doing is a total negation of their own faith - encouraging and lionizing suicide bombers and killing women and children, hardly in keeping with the teachings of Prophet Mohammed." Alexander Haig

I'm not a big fan of General Haig, but he sure got that one right.

There's a fundamental difference between religious fundamentalists and the rest of us. Christian, Jew, Muslim or Buddhist, anyone who embraces only the most radical tenets of a religion loses touch with reality.

And those who twist religious doctrine to suit their own bigotry and prejudice definitely lose touch with the true meaning of their faith.

Radical fundamentalists who so wrap themselves in religious zeal they allow it to define them, jettison all hope of perspective. They become unable to recognize the value--or even the existence--of a different religion. Or belief system. Or culture.

It's hardly surprising that Muslims, arguably a depressed, oppressed people cling desperately to any interpretation of their religion that offers them a sense of power ... and a feeling of superiority over their oppressors.

Sociologists tell us that poverty and ignorance spawn an atmosphere of despair and fear. And create a need to find something, anything to bring meaning and hope to desolate lives. If a cause is found, repressed anger is released in visible, visceral waves of relief ... and even pleasure.

It's troubling to see how many Muslims are diving into violent demonstrations over cartoons about Mohammed, not just with anger, but with glee. They can't seem to see the forest for the trees, mainly because they are so helpless and isolated from the real world.

Mohammed, who preached peace and brotherhood, would surely not condone the havoc his followers are wreaking in his name.

Let's be clear. I'm not crazy about those cartoons. But I don't think violent attacks on a government, race or religion is a positive way to make a point. And it's even more unacceptable to censor any idea or point of view simply on the grounds that it's content is insulting to any one group.

Western culture and democracy are a powerful force in the world. And not just because of McDonalds and Nike. Democracy and its inherent freedoms are flawed to be sure, but history and experience has shown them to be the best form of government -- and to provide the most meaningful source of human growth and achievement.

Many Jews deplored Mel Gibson's depiction of the Jewish people in The Passion of the Christ, but no one attacked the Australian embassy in response. Or burned down the movie studio. It would be unthinkable in a free society.

Just as it is unthinkable in much of Muslim society to recognize and embrace the benefits of genuine freedom. That kind of freedom carries responsibility. To think. To interpret. To understand. To behave in a manner that brings honor to one's religion and culture, not betrayal of it.

The Muslim religion is one of the oldest in the world. Too bad so many of its modern day adherents seemed to have learned so little from its teachings.

Fitting Tribute for Flight 93?

Paul Murdoch Architects

"And do you wonder how this memorial design--benignly passive at best, offensive and inexplicably clueless at worst--possibly passed muster as the best representation of the spirit, courage, and resilience of the 40 passengers who saved countless American lives?" Michelle Malkin

The media brouhaha over the proposed Flight 93 Memorial has come and gone, for now. But every day our leaders continue to show themselves to be venal and uncaring. And every day ordinary citizens still step up and Do the Right Thing.

Which gives the Flight 93 Memorial more context, and requires us to seek more discussion and debate. All memorials, all sacrifices by everyday Americans deserve more attention. And although I'm almost choking on the words, I'm compelled to say (take me now, Satan): I agree with Michelle Malkin about the Flight 93 Memorial.

We have different reasons. And I'd like to think mine reflect more rational thought and less, well, conservative rationale.

I was, born, raised, educated, married and still live in Pennsylvania (after a few forays to national and international locales). Back in the day, I worked for a Governor of PA. During that time and then subsequently while working for two presidential candidates, I traveled almost every inch of this state, including the tiny burg of Shanksville. So when Flight 93 went down there on 9/11, I felt more than a passing connection with the event, and the place.

Like most of us, I've followed many 9/11 stories the past four years, and viewed with interest a variety of proposed memorials all over the country. There were a few early passes at a pastoral Shanksville memorial which seemed fitting in content and design. A memorial should be a Living tribute, showing Growth as well as Respect. Life, after all, does go on. And memories expressed through the beauty of nature have more value in my mind than those too overwrought in granite and steel.

However. The most important component of a memorial is its symbolism. It's got to evoke something real and special and lasting to meet its twin goals of providing comfort and fitting memories for those here now, and representing a historic event for those who come in the future.

So. A Red Crescent in Shanksville. Is the primary symbol of Islam really appropriate as centerpiece for a memorial to American patriots killed by a corrupted fringe group of Islamic terrorists? Whether it's meant that way or not, I don't think it is. In fact, it actually defeats the purpose by seeming to dishonor a whole people, most of whom who are as much victims of terrorism as we Americans.

Appearance is reality when it comes to memorials, especially these days.

When the Vietnam Memorial was first unveiled to the public, I loved it instantly. Remember all the nay-sayers claiming it was cold and harsh and too plain, too ordinary? History has proved them wrong, and not just for artistic reasons. The War in Vietnam was a travesty. There was nothing patriotic about it. On the contrary, it tore the country apart because it was fought for political and economic gain, which, in the end, gained us nothing. Brave men and women--as always, the least advantaged among us--died needlessly and horribly for rich men's purposes.

A clean, stark, distinctive and moving tribute was imperative to honor their memories. No statues of soldiers erecting flags of victory could possibly represent the War in Vietnam -- there were no victories to celebrate. Only pointless suffering, and loss. It's important--crucial--to recognize the sacrifice of every single man and woman who served in Vietnam, in clear and lasting tribute. The Wall, with its rows and rows and rows of names, does just that. It's about the People, not the War.

A memorial for Flight 93 should be especially about the people -- in this case, 40 ordinary Americans who in an instant became soldiers in the War against Terror. And particularly because they were not trained soldiers, yet still unhesitatingly gave their lives for their country, their names and their heroism should be recognized, first and foremost.

They literally stepped up and Did the Right Thing, and in doing so, saved countless American lives. That alone convinces me we should demand that every memorial be "the best representation of the spirit, courage, and resilience" we can provide. And there must be no possible misinterpretation of the meaning of their sacrifice, and its impact on all of us.

Memorials do more than honor the dead. They also inspire the living. These days, sadly, we need all the unequivocal, clear, heartening inspiration we can get.

9.11.05 - Anniversary for Change

salon.com

"We will forever remember those we lost on September 11, 2001. In honoring their memory, we will remain true to our commitment to freedom and democracy." Evan Bayh

"Even as you enter the fourth year after the Sept. 11 attacks, Bush is still misleading and deluding you and hiding the real reason from you." Osama bin Laden

I've always been ambivalent about anniversaries. Any kind, happy or sad. Birthdays are different. No matter at what age, birthdays are singular days for each one of us, commemorating our entry into this world, celebrating our uniqueness of being.

Anniversaries, on the other hand, are shared -- with a mate, with family members or with a group of strangers. They are most often contrived occasions, unless they represent genuine milestones worthy of celebration: 50 years of marriage, 25 years with one employer, 10 years of sobriety. Anniversaries of death are not celebrations at all, of course, but sorrowful reminders of the passing of loved ones, or of other fellow human beings, taken too soon.

Just as painful in a different way are those anniversaries we recognize as the end of innocence. Of dreams. Of our notion of the rightness of things. The assassinations of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and for some, of John Lennon had far reaching and significant impact on the lives of millions.

Then there are events so horrific--the annihilation of thousands, millions--they must be recalled and memorialized, if only to prevent their recurrence. The Holocaust. Pearl Harbor. The Titanic. The end of World War II and the War in Vietnam.

In this century, young as it is, we now commemorate a bitter yearly anniversary of the terrorist attacks on 9/11/01. For far too many, the day marks a personal observance of the death of family and friends. For the rest of us, it's a cold, hard reminder that our world has changed forever. And so have we.

Just as the Kennedy and King assassinations affected the lives and ideals of all of us who lived through it, so the 9/11 attacks and their aftermath altered a generation, a nation and much of Western civilization's sensibility and sense of safety. We remember vividly where we where, what we were doing and how we felt when our world was upended by the chilling, fatal reality of global terror.

And now, as then, we recognize too late the dangerous weakness of too much complacency by the electorate. And of too little attention to the signs, signals, warnings of cataclysmic events to come by those in power. And, worst of all, of the abuse of that power and the betrayal of millions by our elected (and appointed) leaders.

The anniversary of 9/11 is especially ironic this year, eclipsed by two other major disasters, one manmade, one caused by nature -- the War in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina. Some would argue that many of the lives lost in Katrina were also at the hand of man, and I have to agree.

Our government, under the egregiously incompetent leadership of George W. Bush, is responsible for an obscene number of deaths, at home and around the world, which could have--should have--been prevented. The president, his administration and fellow Right Wingers have engaged in such despicable political maneuvering they've created their own Weapons of Mass Destruction -- against the very citizens they're charged with protecting.

It has to stop. George Bush's popularity, hell, his credibility, is at an all time low. And for good reason. He's shown the country and the world he's not a leader, he's a destroyer. He allowed the wanton destruction of lives and families and entire cities -- along with the hopes and dreams and trust of this generation, and potentially the next.

We must do better. For those we've lost. For ourselves. For our children. And for our future. The most meaningful way to honor the sacrifice of thousands on 9/11, in the War in Iraq and as a result of Hurricane Katrina is to vow, as Jews affirm about The Holocaust: Never Again!

On this anniversary of 9/11, let us vow to put an end to the Bush administration's deplorable failures by removing George W. Bush from the office he's defiled. We simply cannot afford to let this president and his cronies create any more tragic anniversaries for our soldiers, our citizens or our country.

Gaza - Yamit: Been There, Done That

Yamit today

"Since we cannot defeat Israel in war; we do this in stages. We take any and every territory that we can of Palestine, and establish sovereignty there, and we use it as a springboard to take more. When the time comes, we can get the Arab nations to join us for the final blow against Israel." Yasser Arafat

"I can certainly put myself in Israel's shoes. They are humans just like we are. They want peace and security inside their borders." Mahmoud Abbas

Jewish settlements in Gaza are being evacuated, bringing back memories for many--including me--of another evacuation in another time: Yamit, in 1982.

In theory, there's a big difference between the two.

The Yamit withdrawal was part of the Camp David accords between Israel and Egypt -- an agreement for Israel to withdraw entirely from the Sinai. There was protest, but there was also hope for peace. There was solid compensation. And many were offered resettlement as a community -- ironically, in Gaza.

Now, 23 years later, the withdrawal from Gaza arises out of Israel's current effort to broker peace in the region. The settlers, many there for more than 25 years, don't want to go. And the Palestinian militant group Hamas claims they will continue their terrorist attacks even after Gaza's 8,500 settlers leave.

No matter the reason or the reality, being forced out of your home is a terrible blow. I can't speak for those leaving Gaza, but I can sympathize. And wonder what good it will do in the end.

The town of Yamit was a thriving, beautiful oasis in the Sinai Peninsula, which had become south central Israel after the Six Day War. To the East was Jordan, to the West Egypt.

At the time, Israel encouraged and supported Sinai settlements, in part to bring substantial agrarian culture to the region.

Yamit is a ghost town now, razed by Israel as a political ploy and a clear bit of nose-thumbing. Chaim Erez, an Israeli commander in charge of the Yamit evacuation, explains, "The Egyptians wanted to get the area back the same way it was before the Israelis took it over."

Israel will do the same to the Gaza settlements, at the request of the Palestinian Authority. Frankly, if Israel didn't destroy those towns, Hamas would do it anyway. What a waste.

Yamit settlers were primarily Americans and Israelis, many of them young and idealistic. Their objective was to create a livable, suburban garden out of the desert in which to make their homes and raise their children. They succeeded.

There were over 600 houses and apartments in Yamit, and a synagogue, a community center, two schools, playgrounds, markets, restaurants, utility, power and water plants, a huge community vegetable garden and even a town swimming pool, because Yamit was situated at the tip of the Dead Sea, which offered a great beach but not such pleasant swimming.

My childhood friend Jennifer was fluent in Hebrew and taught English to Israeli children in the high school. Her husband Zvi was a reporter for the Jerusalem Post. There was Avi (I've forgotten his American name), an avid bicyclist and farmer with a degree in Philosophy from Penn. And grouchy old Zev, a plumber who liked to quote Shakespeare. So many more, men, women and children, welcomed me each time I visited Yamit from my home base in Tel Aviv.

The settlers of Yamit, many special to me, were a group of ordinary, everyday people with hopes, dreams, aspirations and ideals. Had they left their homes in America or the larger cities of Israel to make a new life in the middle of the Sinai desert? Yes. Did they do so to make a radical political statement? Not really.

They were, as all settlers are, pioneers looking for a new, better life for themselves and their families. The same as most who come to Israel from around the world.

Sadly, many will never realize those dreams. Because their tiny little piece of the Promised Land is surrounded, hounded and pounded by those who harbor only hate ... not hope, not peace.

Yamit, Israel - A Cautionary Town

"We do not rejoice in victories. We rejoice when a new kind of cotton is grown and when strawberries bloom in Israel." Golda Meir

Once a group of dedicated Americans and Israelis made a corner of the desert bloom. Many were my friends. They were forced to leave, many ironically relocated to Gaza. And Yamit is back to dust.

You've seen the homes and settlement towns in Gaza. They will not look that way for long.

I'll tell you the story of Yamit tomorrow.

Update: Gaza - Yamit: Been There, Done That

Terror Alert System

Terror Alert Level
(click to add to your blog)

"Publicly, we're saying we're better at fighting terrorism. Privately, we know that the bureaucracy has only gotten worse, since the high-level people are scared of being held responsible for it." David Hull

Attention all bloggers -- and blog readers. In the wake of the second round of (thankfully failed) bombings in London, I want to share with you a new Terror Alert System.

The system, as you can see, is based on the most solid and reliable American technology available. And of course, it's easily recognizable to virtually all citizens of the world, regardless of language--or culture--differences.

The beauty of this system is that it addresses a deadly serious subject in terms which can be understood by even the least aware citizens on the planet. Of course, like all such systems, it is only as effective as the Puppiteers Behind It.

The Department of Homeland Security will be adopting this new system as soon as Big Bird Michael Chertoff figures out new ways to channel more Homeland Security funds to Wyoming and other key potential targets where big Republican donors have homes.

This unique learning system is especially relevant to current practices. All together now:

P is for Political.
B is for Boondoggle.
S is for Sham.

S is also supposed to be for Security. It would be nice if we All lived on Sesame Street.

The Terror in Terrorism

London bloggers AnnabelB & BobFromBrockley

"Let's not get all clever and start saying these people were amateurs who should cause us no worries. After all HAMAS, world leaders in suicide bombing, make duds too." London blogger Eric at DSTOP4W

"My dream was to be a martyr. I believe in death. Today I wanted to blow myself up in a hospital... I wanted to kill 20, 50 Jews.'' 21-year-old Palestinian "Suicide Woman" Wafa Samir al-Biss, after her failed attempt Telegraph News

It's starting to feel a lot like Jerusalem in London. And like Iraq. And like Afghanistan. Fortunately for Londoners and thousands of seasonal tourists, nobody was killed today. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Iraq, or Afghanistan, or Israel.

On American news networks, CNN, Fox and the three morning shows gave us All London All Morning. But they had little more to offer than repetitive--and largely unrelated--London traffic videos, and even more repetitive "speculation" by reporters from the White House, the Pentagon and various network foreign desks, plus endless streams of pontification by terrorism experts.

You have to wonder, why don't we see more comprehensive coverage when bombs burst in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv? Where's the live video from Iraq or Afghanistan? The violence and carnage in those hot spots is not underground, it's right out in the open for the world to see -- bodies and body parts of soldiers, terrorists, innocent civilians. Bombs go off in Israel, Iraq, throughout the Middle East with bone chilling regularity. Yet all we get are snippets on the evening news, and stories with a few pictures in our newspapers.

Many of us have been stating the obvious since 2001 -- that the 9/11 attacks gave Americans a taste of what it's like to live in Israel every single day. Or to be a soldier in Iraq. Tragically, the 7/7 2005 bombings in London gave Europe the same horrendous empirical understanding. Yet the war in Iraq goes on unchecked, fully supported by both countries' governments.

Tony Blair's involvement continues to puzzle me. Perhaps because I don't know enough about him, or what motives drove him to make a devil's bargain with Bush. We all know why our American President forced us into this political war, and why he's keeping us there -- even in the face of enormous casualty counts and overwhelming opposition.

But George W. Bush got a break today. In fact, he got back-to-back breaks from public scrutiny and anger. His Supreme Court nominee announcement took the heat off the Karl Rove investigation. Then the second London bombings took the heat off the nominee.

Here's the problem with that: the heat is never off for soldiers and civilians in Iraq. Or Afghanistan. Or Israel. And the Bush Radical Right Wing Posse will have to take that heat sooner or later themselves.

Because regardless of what the Bush Administration believes about Americans, people can actually think--and care--about more than one thing at a time. And we know terrorism isn't always about bombings and body counts. It's also about subverting freedoms, torpedoing the truth, trampling on liberties.

Right here in America, our own government is striking terror into many of our hearts by killing our hopes and rights with the same lack of concern and compassion. It's not just Hamas and Al Queda who threaten our future -- it's George W. Bush and all his fellow Right Wingnuts who support immoral political wars at home and abroad.

How do we protect ourselves from them?

Terrorism - Aftermath Online

technorati.com

"When the train came to a standstill people were screaming... As little as 5 seconds later we were unable to see and had all hit the ground for the precious air remaining. We were all literally choking to death." Justin, from Pfff , London Blogger

I've been reading London Blogs today. Many are just extraordinary, such intense, vivid descriptions from a people known for their emotional restraint. I feel as if I've met these people now. We've connected. We're in each other's heads, yet thousands of miles apart.

The Internet has made the world a true global village. It's live 24/7, in all time zones. And when tragedy strikes, as it did here on September 11, 2001, Madrid in March 2004 and in London yesterday, the Internet can provide a window and an opportunity--like none other--to see and participate in history.

Internet technology has grown enormously since 9/11. On-the-scene reactions were included in stunning live and film TV footage and in standup interviews, but most firsthand stories came to us secondhand. Unless we knew someone at the scene, we were cut off from the immutable reality of the event -- the individual accounts.

Blogging was in its infancy in 2001, a techie thing, unknown by the general public. But there was one place people could congregate back then to chronicle their experiences, frantically search for missing colleagues and family members, and share their grief with one another, person to person, in real time -- online Message Boards -- especially those on AOL.

Each message board post was in a sense a kind of mini-blog, a firsthand narrative of shock and confusion and pain. And, as time went on, of outrage and opinions ... and memorials. In all my years creating "Community" for AOL, I believe we reached the pinnacle of its inherent value and purpose during the hours and days and weeks--and even months--following 9/11.

Many of us who couldn't get to our AOL desks in Dulles, Virginia just outside DC--or in Manhattan--that Tuesday morning worked virtually around the clock from our home computers. We scoured the message boards, finding dozens, hundreds, thousands of stories of terror, agony, loss, heroism, faith ... humanity.

The first post I read that September 11 is one I'll never forget, but not because it was a horror story. What haunts me instead is its very ordinariness, the irony of its pure reality -- a hopeless quest. And its embodiment of the power of online community. The poster doesn't comprehend the enormity of her situation, hasn't a clue that her tragic fate is sealed. She simply goes online as usual to seek answers, reassurance, contact ... clearly assuming she'll be there to get them.

"Something's wrong in our office, there's smoke everywhere. I can't find my supervisor. Does anybody know anyone from Cantor Fitzgerald in New York?" Several people replied, most urging her to "GET OUT OF THE TOWER!" -- but of course she never responded.

Cantor Fitzgerald, an accounting firm I never heard of before 9/11, lost 658 employees that day -- the most of any company housed in the World Trade Center. So that one small message board post haunts me even more, because its author is surely gone. Cantor Families Memorial

Along with many others, I supplied AOL's then Editorial Director Jesse Kornbluth, now Swami Uptown and Head Butler, with quotes from AOL message boards. It was so hard reading through so much personal grief and anger and pain. But it was also so necessary. And in the end, rewarding and uplifting. Jesse put many of those posts together in a book: Because We Are Americans: What We Discovered on September 11, 2001

A reviewer says,

"The point of this important book is not only to serve as a documentary of our reaction to the unfolding of events, but also to give us back OUR words. The quotes from the media tell much of the story...the online postings of "the rest of us" tell the remainder of that story. The editors of Because We Are Americans must've sifted through thousands of online postings to find just the right ones to represent what we all felt, and continue to feel. Read it, and you may see yourself in the words."

Fast forward to July 2005. Bloggers have taken center stage now. You can find London Bloggers sharing their experiences at Technorati:London Bombings.

"I slowly got that pit in my stomach, the feeling that this is bigger than a power shortage. Those who had mobile service were murmurring "explosions" and "it is bombs?" Bob, from bobzyeruncle.com

And in case you think Message Boards have been replaced by blogs, think again. Messages For Loved Ones

An ocean--and some might say a language--may separate us, but the feelings expressed are universal. And I'm so glad I live in an age where I can share in them.