Five Years (and a day) On.......



It may be a day late due to my short time away, but I couldn't resist adding a comment on 9/11. Has the world really changed that much since that fateful day? It may look so. But there has been no major shift in global policy. US foreign policy was aggressive prior to that. I remember too well the bombing of Serbia, along with of course the bombing of the Khartoum pharmeceutical factory under the misconception that it was a chemical weapons factory. The hunt for Bin Laden began before 9/11, and political Islam still perceived as a threat to US global hegemony. The policies that inspired 9/11 were in place before then - the uncritical support for Israel, the backing of corrupt Arab dictators etc.

What 9/11 did do was give the powers that be a rationale for stifling dissent via anti terror laws. It gave them a rationale for waging more war, thus creating more fanatics. Iraq is now a recruiting ground thanks to the efforts of George Bush and Tony Blair. The relatively carefree atmosphere at home has been lost, maybe for good. One memory I do recall prior to those events was a sign in Charing Cross tube over a sealed rubbish bin. It stated that due to the lack of bomb threats the bins would again soon be in use. It never came to pass of course.

While I remember the victims of 9/11 I also remember the victims of the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon. The list could go on and on.