Thinking of NYC...

...every September 11th.

Benghazi...lingers.

Gregory Hicks, the former Deputy Chief of Mission in Libya who testified before Congress about the 9/11 attacks on an American diplomatic facility earlier this year, believes he has been “punished” for speaking out about the Obama administration’s response the night of the attack. He said he believes at least two of the Americans lost that night could have been saved in the United States had responded in time.

Hick said he will continue to talk about the attacks because “the American people need to have the story” of what took place that night and the four Americans who were lost in the attacks “should be remembered.” He also believes that former Navy SEALS Ty Woods and Glen Doherty, who died eight hours after the initial attack on the diplomatic mission, could have been saved.

While Hicks still remains on staff at the State Department, he has not been reassigned a post since being called back from Libya. In a statement to This Week, the State Department said Hicks was not removed from Libya due to statements about the Benghazi attacks and is working on reassigning him. (--Andrew Johnson, National Review Online's "The Corner")

Benghazi: It ain't goin' away...

American resolve and resilience...

What exactly does the TSA do?

Attention, please...

Thank goodness for the Transportation Safety Administration.

I mean, who else will pat-down suspicious-looking, terminally ill grandmothers wearing adult diapers? Who else will pat-down kids and infants? Who else can make you feel good about a nice pre-flight grope?

And, of course, doing all that takes time. And human resource allocation. And money.

Maybe that's why they're too busy to really go after people like the "interesting" guy from Nigeria (story below, via the Los Angeles Times):

A Nigerian man flew from New York to Los Angeles using an expired boarding pass that belonged to someone else, media outlets reported Thursday morning. Olajide Oluwaseun Noibi reportedly boarded Virgin American Flight 415 at New York's JFK International Airport bound for Los Angeles on Friday.

At this time, investigators are suggesting that Noibi is a tourist rather than a terrorist. Noibi apparently went through and cleared the physical screening process, but no one caught the invalid travel documents.

It wasn't until after the flight took off that attendants realized an extra passenger was on board, officials said. During the flight, crew members asked Noibi for his boarding pass and, after hesitating, he handed over a boarding pass from the day before, KTLA quotes FBI officials as confirming. That boarding pass had another person's name on it.

Noibi allegedly told the crew that the pass was outdated because he had missed that flight a day earlier.

The man whose name was on the boarding pass later told FBI officials that the document had disappeared from his back pocket when he arrived at JFK International Airport on June 23.

On arrival in Los Angeles, Noibi left the airport without being detained.

He was arrested after he returned to LAX on Wednesday and attempted to board a Delta flight bound for Atlanta, again using an expired boarding pass, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told KTLA.

Noibi allegedly told authorities he was traveling to Los Angeles to recruit people for his software business.

A search of Noibi's bags at LAX turned up more than 10 boarding passes with various individuals' names, none of which were his own, FBI officials said.

Noibi is being held at the Los Angeles County Men's Detention Center, according to reports.

So let's get this straight: This guy travels from NY to LA, gets called out for using an expired boarding pass -- that wasn't his own -- and yet he's able to move freely about the country until he returns to LAX?

Funny (not funny)...it seems like the people in question -- whether it's the heroes of United 93 on 9/11, or passengers dealing with the infamous "underwear bomber," or the flight crew identifying our Nigerian friend here -- are being dealt with by "civilians" -- not TSA pros. Perhaps the TSA is nabbing suspects and bad guys left and right. If they are, kudos (and let us know). If they aren't, we should know that, too.

After all, TSA, us civilians can't be everywhere...

Says it all...

The Pledge of Allegiance at Ground Zero after the announcement that terror leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces...

Remembering...

...that horrible day.

I guess it was too much to hope for: “Obama Calls for Tolerance - President Obama, marking the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, says U.S. is at war with al Qaeda but 'never will be at war with Islam.'” (Wall Street Journal)...

Rather than shrink from our righteous anger (not to mention grief) and our responses to the attacks of 9/11, we should remember it.

Boldly.

Until this “war” with al Qaeda and its supporters/sympathizers is won – regardless of how long it takes – we should revisit that horrible day and recall that thousands of our innocent fellow countrymen were slaughtered that day by thugs who hope to impose their views and will on the rest of the world.

Rather than taking a day of remembrance and turning it into another “teachable moment,” our leaders should join each other, shoulder to shoulder, to proclaim that while we are divided on many political matters here at home, we stand together to remember what happened on 9/11 and pledge the battle to destroy the evildoers.

What should be on the mind – and lips – of everyone bearing witness to that day, is neatly encapsulated in this excerpt from the New York Post:

“Beyond mourning (Posted: 12:30 AM, September 11, 2010) - For the ninth time, Americans today will gather at Ground Zero, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pa., for the now familiar -- but achingly painful -- commemorations of 9/11.

The nation will mourn its loss -- nearly 3,000 innocent lives, snuffed out on a Tuesday morning that seems at once so long ago, and as if it were yesterday.

And America will commemorate the heroism of the first responders who unhesitatingly rushed to the maelstrom to do their jobs -- even at the cost of many of their own lives.

But it would be a mistake to sentimentalize what happened on that brilliantly sunlit late-summer morning -- just as it would be wrong to lose sight of the true nature of the event.

The attacks were acts of mass murder, committed to advance political goals that were -- and remain -- antithetical to civilization itself.

Lenin wrote that the purpose of terrorism is to terrorize, and he was right. In this case, the object was to weaken the will of the established order to resist murderous medievalists who meant to drag the West back to the 9th century.

Who still mean to.”

Let us not forget the firefighters, police and other first responders who – when the world was burning and falling around them – rushed into harm’s way to save as many civilians as possible.

Let us not forget the selfless people inside the towers, the Pentagon and on United Flight 93 who gave their lives so that others might live.

Let us not forget those who toiled on the Pile, in the Pit and throughout the Pentagon in the hours, days, weeks and months after the attacks to recover the living and the remains of the dead.

Let us not forget the countless thousands who offered assistance at the WTC, Pentagon and in Shanksville on 9/11 and in the days following.

Let us not forget our allies who reached out to us in our time of need.

Let us not forget those who survived and carry with them – forever – memories of that day and friends, colleagues and loved ones lost.

Let us not forget those who died at Ground Zero, at the Pentagon and on United Flight 93.

Let us not forget those left behind. Let us never forget those who, in the years since 9/11, have given their all in an effort to destroy al Qaeda and others who would do us harm.

September 11, 2001: We will always remember.

Add: By no means is the following list comprehensive. It is merely a suggested "reading list" -

• “What I Saw: Notes Made on September 11, 2001 from Brooklyn Heights”…(American Digest)
• “The Falling Man”…(Esquire)
• Photos of 9/11 memorial events…(WSJ)
• “Flocking to Ground Zero - Before politicians and protesters descend on Lower Manhattan, New Yorkers have a quiet moment”…(Washington Post)
• “Judson Box has never known exactly how his son, Gary, died on September 11, 2001. But an unexpected find nine years later has given him a glimpse into his son's final hours”…(CNN)
• Pepperdine University remembers 9/11
• “2 Muslims travel 13,000 miles across America, find an embracing nation”…(CNN)
• Obama honors 9/11 victims, condemns terrorists / Michelle Obama speaks at site of Flight 93 crash (LA Times)

Ground Zero – all these years later...

The Pit at Ground Zero - today...

All these years later...

It seems like such a strange way to put it when something feels so fresh – like it just happened yesterday.

It seems so a strange way to put it when, nine years later, we are still fighting a war over this, halfway around the world. Us: the most powerful military machine in history, slogging along against a seemingly ragtag bunch of throwbacks from the Dark Ages.

It seems like such a strange way to put it when you visit Ground Zero and realize that construction of the World Trade Center towers’ replacement has yet to rise.

All these years later.

The Pit - more than five years ago...

For someone who does not live in New York City, it is remarkable to see that nine years after that horrible day in September 2001, more has not been accomplished at Ground Zero. Understandably, it took some time to properly recover the deceased, survey the site and begin clearing it. It also is understandable that a proper amount of time be given to thinking about how the rebuilding would take place, what the building(s) and memorial(s) would look like – what kind of statement it would all make. It is hard to believe though, that here in the self-proclaimed and widely acknowledged “Greatest City in the World,” this giant scar still exists.

When I first visited Ground Zero shortly after the terror attacks, rubble was still being cleared; remains were still being discovered, and the grief – and anger – that hung over everything was still palpable. People circumambulated the ruins, trying to come to terms with the big hole in the city’s skyline and their memories of what once was. Round-the-clock television coverage had turned parts of Ground Zero into familiar, visual touchstones: there was the South Stairwell – the storied shield and last refuge for a handful of brave survivors; the girders standing silent watch at the edge of the Pit, partially sheared by the collapse and draped with a piece of melted steel, closely resembling a shrouded Christian cross; and there was the ramp down into the site’s gaping maw, serving as the final stairway out for victims’ remains as they were carried out in slow, solemn processions.

In the ensuing years, each time I returned to Ground Zero, I never failed to be moved by the quiet respect visitors gave this final resting place of thousands. Veterans wearing baseball caps bearing the names of wars served in or ships they served on paid their respects to the fallen. Likewise, firefighters and police from around the nation (many wearing caps and shirts emblazoned with their departments’ names) came to honor their brethren who had given all. And ordinary citizens, some arriving by the busload, would stand at the site and see with their own eyes that it was not just a bad dream. While there were open expressions of sadness, there seemed to be a proud certainty that the people of the city and the country – not to mention the buildings – would emerge from the tragedy better than before.

Today, nine years later, they still come but the feeling is different. Large groups of French-, German- and Russian-speaking tourists are seemingly everywhere, strolling the perimeter and gawking at construction cranes standing over the site. They look at memorials – formal and temporary – erected to commemorate the bravery of first responders as well as the lives of ordinary citizens who were caught by fate at the wrong place at the wrong time; they listen as “unofficial” tour guides and t-shirt peddlers hawk their wares and services; and they marvel at the architectural renderings of the replacement “Freedom Tower” posted around the site – promises of things to come.

Promises – promises that are taking a long, long time to fulfill.

Here in the World’s Greatest City, the same place where the Empire State Building was built in less than two years back in the 1930s, the WTC Pit is still there. Granted, it does not bear resemblance to the Pit that lay under the Pile in the days and weeks after the buildings’ collapse, but it is still there. In the Greatest City, the metropolis that became synonymous with skyscrapers still lacks a building of any significance on the site.

Another view of the Pit (today)...

And that is a shame.

Since the day the North and South Towers were destroyed, the world has seen a host of enormous structures erected around the world, each considered vitally important to their respective cities and nations. Yet the commercial and symbolic replacement for the WTC still has not been realized almost a decade after the towers came down.

The wounds of 9/11 are deep and it is unlikely any monument or rebuilding effort will ever be enough of a salve, but completion of the WTC site project will signal a return.

All these years later.

Ground Zero Mosque...

I recently paid a visit to the infamous "Ground Zero mosque" (aka: the Cordoba House, since renamed "Park 51") to see with my own eyes what is really happening there.

To begin with, the former Burlington Coat Factory building - destroyed by wreckage from one of the jets hitting the World Trade Center on 9/11 - is fairly unremarkable. It is just down the street (two blocks) from Ground Zero and definitely within its "sphere of influence," as government regulators and bureaucrats are want to call proximity.

There are low-level protests taking place on a daily basis, and pro- and anti-mosque debates spontaneously ebb and flow in front of the building.

The daily debate (and protest) in front of Park 51 (aka: the Ground Zero mosque)...

The larger debate, nationally and globally, continues on. During tonight's edition of the John Batchelor Show, we discussed the issues with journalist Claudia Rossett (as well as her recent article, "Ground Zero Mosque: The Bombast of Imam Feisal.")

The mosque's neighborhood (Ground Zero is at the center of photo/end of street)...

During the John Batchelor Show, I was alerted to breaking news: the mosque's "imam" was on CNN's Larry King Show (being hosted by Soledad O'Brien), blaming politicians for the uproar. From CNN:

Asked why he wanted to build the center on the planned spot, Rauf noted he's already run a mosque about 10 blocks from ground zero for many years.

When asked about the feelings of families of 9/11 victims - such as those who might claim that their relative's remains have yet to be found at the site, Raufsaid: "This is not that spot. This is not ground zero proper. No one's body is in that location."

"I'm very sensitive to those feelings," he said. "As an imam - as any religious person does - we have to minister to the pain and hurt ... in our communities. This is part of our intention."

During the show, a producer emailed me the following (telling) note:

"The Imam Rauf just yelled at Soledad O’Brien, "This is Not Sacred Ground…There are strip clubs there!” So much for the bridge –building."

So much, indeed...

Some of the materials laid out in front of the building by pro-mosque protesters (including pro-Cuba and Che Guevara items)...

Additional Ground Zero mosque video:

The spinning wheel...

Michael Walsh over at Big Journalism uncovers the Associated Press' new ground rules on coverage surrounding the Ground Zero mosque in New York.

The Associated Press Issues Guidelines for Reporting on the Ground Zero Mosque. First Guideline: Don’t Call It the ‘Ground Zero Mosque’

>

08/19/2010 AP Advisory AP Standards Center issues staff advisory on covering New York City mosque Associated Press Deputy Managing Editor for Standards and Production Tom Kent sent the following note to the staff about covering the New York City mosque story: Aug. 19, 2010 Colleagues, Here is some guidance on covering the NYC mosque story, with assists from Chad Roedemeier in the NYC bureau and Terry Hunt in Washington: 1. We should continue to avoid the phrase “ground zero mosque” or “mosque at ground zero” on all platforms. (We’ve very rarely used this wording, except in slugs, though we sometimes see other news sources using the term.) The site of the proposed Islamic center and mosque is not at ground zero, but two blocks away in a busy commercial area. We should continue to say it’s “near” ground zero, or two blocks away. WE WILL CHANGE OUR SLUG ON THIS STORY LATER TODAY from “BC-Ground Zero Mosque” to “BC-NYC Mosque.” In short headlines, some ways to refer to the project include: _ mosque 2 blocks from WTC site _ Muslim (or Islamic) center near WTC site _ mosque near ground zero _ mosque near WTC site We can refer to the project as a mosque, or as a proposed Islamic center that includes a mosque. It may be useful in some stories to note that Muslim prayer services have been held since 2009 in the building that the new project will replace. The proposal is to create a new, larger Islamic community center that would include a mosque, a swimming pool, gym, auditorium and other facilities. 2. Here is a succinct summary of President Obama’s position: Obama has said he believes Muslims have the right to build an Islamic center in New York as a matter of religious freedom, though he’s also said he won’t take a position on whether they should actually build it. For additional background, you’ll find below a Fact Check on the project that moved yesterday. Tom —

The question about Ground Zero...

...is not, "Should they be allowed to build a mosque?"

It is, "Should it be built -there?"

Forget the politics, people trying to pour salt into a collective wound or even the right of the project's proponents to build the Cordoba House at Ground Zero. (And yes, because the structure that will house the Cordoba House was damaged by wreckage from the a plane that hit the World Trade Center it is at Ground Zero...)

Let's ask the victims, the survivors, the family members left behind and the eyewitnesses to the horrors of September 11, 2001, what they think of the idea...

Terror, fear and loathing

Homegrown terror: fact or fiction? Fact. “Five young Muslim American men from the Washington suburbs who disappeared late last month were detained in Pakistan on Wednesday in a police raid on a house linked to a militant group, American and Pakistani officials said.”



Add Pakistani terrorists: the American who was arrested for his alleged role in last year’s massacre in Mumbai, India, is said to have been “a U.S. drug informant.” This story is just beginning to be told…


Terrorists - from America?

U.S.A.G. Eric Holder goes to NYC for meetings on the upcoming 9-11 mass murder/terror trials there: It’s what’s known in the game as “a bad situation being made worse.”


The brains behind the idea to bring terrorists back to the city targeted for the 9-11 attacks...

U.S.A.G. Eric Holder goes to NYC for meetings on the upcoming 9-11 mass murder/terror trials there: It’s what’s known in the game as “a bad situation being made worse.”

From Copenhagen (and its in-house newsletter, The New York Times) comes this headline for Most Obvious Observation of the Year: “Climate Deal Likely to Bear Big Price Tag” Obvious reply: Ya think?!


This week's home to most of the hot air being generated anywhere...

Europe…feelin’ the love? Our bestest friends, the Brits, aren’t.

Add Climate Change: Apparently, the prez has some nifty ideas on ways to fix that-there-global-warmin’…

Last add Climate Change: Reportedly, not all of the president’s fellow Dems are on-board with his view on the weather of the world. Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) sent Barack Obama the following letter:

Dear Mr. President:

I would like to express my concern regarding reports that the Administration may believe it has the unilateral power to commit the government of the United States to certain standards that may be agreed upon at the upcoming United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of Parties 15 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The phrase “politically binding” has been used.

Although details have not been made available, recent statements by Special Envoy on Climate Change Todd Stern indicate that negotiators may be intending to commit the United States to a nationwide emission reduction program. As you well know from your time in the Senate, only specific legislation agreed upon in the Congress, or a treaty ratified by the Senate, could actually create such a commitment on behalf of our country.

I would very much appreciate having this matter clarified in advance of the Copenhagen meetings.

Sincerely,
Jim Webb
United States Senator

In other words, “Who made you king?”


The president and the senator who reminded him he's just a president - not an emperor...