LorieByrd.com

Lies and Apologies

There are dozens of important issues to be covered in tonight's presidential debate on foreign policy.  In addition to questions about Iran and Afghanistan and China, we will almost certainly hear more about the 9/11 attack in Benghazi.  Here are a few points I hope are made about the president's handling of the attack:

1. The President was obviously determined to blame the attack in Benghazi on a spontaneous demonstration against a video.  The most likely reason is that to admit it was a terrorist attack would disrupt the narrative that bin Laden is dead and the terrorists are "on the run" or "on their heels." It is very telling that the president recently removed those phrases from his stump speech.

2.  In addition to how wrong it was to intentionally mislead the public about the nature of the attack, there is a big problem with all the apologies, even if the attack had been a spontaneous reaction to a video.  The President of the United States apologized to the world -- in a speech to the UN -- for a video created by a private citizen.  By apologizing over and over again for a video the government had no role in, he is, in effect, apologizing for the freedom our country provides all its citizens to the  free speech that allowed such a video to me made. 

3. One thing most in the media have not covered is that the President of the United States reported the video to YouTube and that the creator of the video was picked up by law enforcement in the middle of the night.  I'd like to know what other videos the White House has reported to YouTube.   What kind of message does that send to the world?

4. I hope we see the President asked about his "bump in the road" and "not optimal" references to the four Americans killed in the Benghazi attack.

For me, the President's handling of the Benghazi attack comes down to lies and apologies -- neither of which should be the basis for America's foreign policy.  This is just one small issue in the big foreign policy scheme of things, but in many ways it is a fitting example.

Update (October 23): On the CBS News tonight they did a segment on the Benghazi emails that were just released.  The emails they showed made it very clear that the White House Situation Room and several others in the administration received emails in real time alerting them of the situation on the ground in Benghazi as it unfolded and in the first couple hours they had a very good idea about what was happening.

They also showed a clip from 60 Minutes that was from an interview shortly after the attack in which Obama said it did look like it was probably more than a mob action, different than the situation in Egypt, and that it looked likely that Americans were targeted from the start.  You can see the text of the CBS report and video of the 60 Minutes clip here.  They didn't say much about all the apologizing he did for weeks over the video, though. 

9/11 -- 11 Years Later

On this 11th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, I will be remembering those lost in the attacks on that day, as well as those lost since then in other areas of the world to keep us safe.  Here is a link to my previous 9/11 posts and below are two of my favorite quotes from September 2001.

 

"The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve."

        - President George W. Bush, September 11, 2001 Address to the Nation

"The people who did this to us are monsters; the people who cheered them have hate-sickened minds. One reason they can cheer is that they know we would never do to them what their heroes did to us, even though we could, a thousand times worse. They know that when we hunt down the monsters, we will try hard not to harm the innocent. Those are the handcuffs we willingly wear, because for all our flaws, we are a decent people." -- Dave Barry

 

Ten Years Later

“The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.” – President George W. Bush, September 11, 2001 Address to the Nation

Here is a link my post from the five year anniversary of 9/11. 

Never Forget -- Eight Years Later

"The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve."

        - President George W. Bush, September 11, 2001 Address to the Nation

In the past Republicans have been criticized by Democrats anytime they reminded the country of the attacks of September 11.  It is not possible to honor the sacrifice of those who ran into the buildings when everyone else was running out, unless we remember, and remind the country, of  what happened that day.

It is important not only to remember those who lost their lives on that day, but to remember the kind of insanity and hatred that led the hijackers to murder. 

"The people who did this to us are monsters; the people who cheered them have hate-sickened minds. One reason they can cheer is that they know we would never do to them what their heroes did to us, even though we could, a thousand times worse. They know that when we hunt down the monsters, we will try hard not to harm the innocent. Those are the handcuffs we willingly wear, because for all our flaws, we are a decent people." -- Dave Barry.

Whether criticized for it or not, I think it is also important that we remember what it felt like on that day. I was watching the Today Show and saw the second plane hit the tower in real time. I remember shock, disbelief, and sadness, but most of all a vulnerability that did not exist on September 10. That feeling stayed with me for quite some time. I had felt it to a much lesser extent when the WTC was bombed years earlier, but 9/11/01 was, obviously, on a level never before seen in our nation's history. When I heard the announcement that the Pentagon had been hit as well, and then saw video of the gaping hole, my only thought was "we have been attacked and we are at war."

That feeling has faded a good deal over the years since there have been no new attacks on our soil, but we must remember that there are still people in this world who would like nothing better than to see a repeat of 2001. President Bush said "these acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve." I fear the American resolve has been dented a bit. Hopefully taking time today to remember the events of September 11, 2001 will help firm up that resolve.

Over the past few years I have done several 9/11 tributes and memorials -- the preceding two paragraphs were repeated from something I wrote last year on 9/11. Here are links to some of those posts:  September 11, 2008, September 11, 2007, September 11, 2006

Update: Links to some of the 9/11 memorials post today: Radio Patriot, the Anchoress, Gerald Vanderleun, Bookworm Room, Don Surber, Blackfive, Noisy Room, Ace, Pierre LeGrand, Ed Morrisey, Uncle Jimbo , Melissa Clouthier and Spirit of America. Also be sure to read Allahpundit's Twitter feed today (just keep scrolling down until you get to the beginning then work your way back up) -- the horror of the day told in 140 character bites. It is very powerful. Also don't miss Chris Muir at Day by Day.

A commenter, Paul in Houston, pointed me to this column from Leonard Pitts from just after 9/11. It reminded me what I felt on that day.

Never Forget

"The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve."

- President George W. Bush, September 11, 2001 Address to the Nation

Republicans take heat from Democrats anytime they remind the country of the attacks of September 11 -- most recently during the Republican Convention. I hope we can all at least agree that on this day we should honor the sacrifice of those who ran into the buildings when everyone else was running out. That kind of bravery and selflessness can be seen in police, firemen, military, and rescue workers serving their communities and country everyday and we can honor those who lost their lives by honoring and supporting those doing such work today.

Whether criticized for it or not, I think it is also important that we remember what it felt like on that day. I was watching the Today Show and saw the second plane hit the tower in real time. I remember shock, disbelief, and sadness, but most of all a vulnerability that did not exist on September 10. That feeling stayed with me for quite some time. I had felt it to a much lesser extent when the WTC was bombed years earlier, but 9/11/01 was, obviously, on a level never before seen in our nation's history. When I heard the announcement that the Pentagon had been hit as well, and then saw video of the gaping hole, my only thought was "we have been attacked and we are at war."

That feeling has faded a good deal over the years, since there have been no new attacks on our soil, but we must remember that there are still people in this world who would like nothing better than to see a repeat of 2001. President Bush said "these acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve." I fear the American resolve has been dented a bit. Hopefully taking time today to remember the events of September 11, 2001 will help firm up that resolve.

There has been much written about the attacks of 9/11 in the past seven years, but one of the statements I most remember came from humorist Dave Barry and I believe it holds true today:

"The people who did this to us are monsters; the people who cheered them have hate-sickened minds. One reason they can cheer is that they know we would never do to them what their heroes did to us, even though we could, a thousand times worse. They know that when we hunt down the monsters, we will try hard not to harm the innocent. Those are the handcuffs we willingly wear, because for all our flaws, we are a decent people." -- Dave Barry.

Update: Ace's account of his experience on September 11 is one that most can probably relate to, and his thoughts about what has happened in the years following 9/11 is very familiar -- having thought much of the same myself.

Others blogging: The Anchoress, Tom Elia, Andrea Shea King, Brutally Honest, Pirate's Cove, Blackfive, Lucianne Goldberg on Barbara Olson.

Update: I am watching the President speak at the very moving dedication of the Pentagon memorial. He is visibly emotional, as he was earlier when listening to others sing and speak. This President's entire term in office was shaped by the events on that day and it is obvious he did not take the responsibilities that came in the aftermath of those events lightly. It has been 2, 557 days without another attack on U.S. soil. It has been seven years since the attack. Here at home and in Afghanistan and in Iraq we still live with that one day.

Six Years Later -- We Will Not Forget

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

"The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve."

- President George W. Bush, September 11, 2001 Address to the Nation

This 9/11 memorial post is a compilation of commentary, news reports, eyewitness accounts and pictures not only from that day, but from the past five years as the nation has recovered from the most deadly attack on U.S. soil in the country's history.

COMMENTARY:

Over the past six years, millions of words have been written about the terrorist attacks of September 11. Below is a sampling from each of the past five anniversaries. I will be adding links to additional commentary from today's anniversary throughout the day.

                      

                                                                                  

                         

The Top Ten Editorials From September 11, 2001 - December 15, 2001 - chosen by John Hawkins, included are links to and excerpts from Michael Kelly, Victor Davis Hanson, Mark Steyn, Ann Coulter, Dave Barry and others. One of my favorite lines from the commentaries Hawkins chose came from Dave Barry.

"The people who did this to us are monsters; the people who cheered them have hate-sickened minds. One reason they can cheer is that they know we would never do to them what their heroes did to us, even though we could, a thousand times worse. They know that when we hunt down the monsters, we will try hard not to harm the innocent. Those are the handcuffs we willingly wear, because for all our flaws, we are a decent people." -- Dave Barry.

Solidarity -- Christopher Hitchens (2006)

9/11, For Our Children -- Bruce Kesler (2006)

Remember the world of 9/10 (2006)

9/11 -- Nuisance or Mortal Danger? (2006)

IX.XI -- Isaac Schrodinger (2005)

9/11 - Never Forget -- Ian Schwartz (2005)

9/11 -- Never Forget -- Kersher Talk (2005)

We Remember -- Power Line (2004)

Happy Anniversary -- Bill Whittle (2003)

That Day -- Cox and Forkum (September 11, 2003)

One Year Ago -- Ed Driscoll (2002)

What If The September 11 Attack Was Thwarted -- Tom Elia (2002)

Where Were You? -- Song by Alan Jackson

Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) -- Song by Toby Keith

Have You Forgotten? -- Song by Darryl Worley and Wynn Varble

WHERE WERE YOU?

The Smithsonian - September 11: Bearing Witness to History at the National Museum of American History

Where Were You.org

Dean Barnett (2006)

Where Were You When The World Came Crashing Down? - Jayson Javitz (2004)

September 11, 2001 - Alexander McClure (2004)

Remembering 9/11 - Ed Morrisey (2004)

California Yankee (2004)

Glenn Reynolds 9/11/01 post

PHOTO ESSAYS:

Remember (photo essay) - Patrick Ruffini

Lest We Forget (photo essay) - The Blue State Conservatives uses front pages of various newspapers to capture the day.

REMEMBERING THE LOST:

The 2996 Project

NYT Portraits of Grief

After 9/11 - Remembrance & Renewal

Michael Ledeen remembers Barbara Olson

Day by Day 9/11/06

FILM:

The Flight That Fought Back

United 93

The Path To 9/11

THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECHES:

September 11 Address to the Nation

September 20 Address to Joint Session of Congress and the Nation

November 10 Speech To The U.N.

Timeline and links to Bush speeches and pictures

NEWS AND EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS:

Screenshot Archive of Online News Sites

NYT Accounts from different floors in WTC

Firehouse.com

FBI Press Release - The Hijackers

POST 9/11 CONTROVERSY:

The 9/11 Commission Report

Take Back The Memorial

The Flight 93 Memorial

The Path To 9/11

IN PICTURES:

Pictures of the events that unfolded on September 11, 2001 are burned into the memories of most every American. Some pictures, such as the one of the firemen raising the American flag at Ground Zero, became symbols of the day. Others, such as the ones that captured those jumping from the Twin Towers to their deaths, were not widely published, but the very thought that they existed made an impact. After images of the planes hitting the Twin Towers and the towers falling were shown over and over again on September 11 and the days immediately following it, they later became controversial when some in the media decided that the American public could not handle the sight of those images.

LINKS TO 9/11 IN PICTURES:

Time Magazine Photo Essays

Pentagon Pictures Before and After

The Twin Towers, Before and After

September 11News.com

The Falling Man, Esquire

Bill Biggart's Final Exposures

Remembering 9/11: The Pentagon

The Black Day

9/11 Research

Pentagon Memorial Lights

Vanity Fair - Rare Scenes From 9/11

SEPTEMBER 11 FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY POSTS

Atlas Shrugs

Michelle Malkin

Pajamas Media

Gateway Pundit

Outside the Beltway

La Shawn Barber

BIG MEDIA TRIBUTES:

New York Times

Washington Post

USA Today

Fox News

CNN

MSNBC

- President George W. Bush, September 11, 2001 Address to the Nation

This 9/11 memorial post is a compilation of commentary, news reports, eyewitness accounts and pictures not only from that day, but from the past five years as the nation has recovered from the most deadly attack on U.S. soil in the country's history.

COMMENTARY:

Over the past six years, millions of words have been written about the terrorist attacks of September 11. Below is a sampling from each of the past five anniversaries. I will be adding links to additional commentary from today's anniversary throughout the day.

                      

                         

The Top Ten Editorials From September 11, 2001 - December 15, 2001 - chosen by John Hawkins, included are links to and excerpts from Michael Kelly, Victor Davis Hanson, Mark Steyn, Ann Coulter, Dave Barry and others. One of my favorite lines from the commentaries Hawkins chose came from Dave Barry.

"The people who did this to us are monsters; the people who cheered them have hate-sickened minds. One reason they can cheer is that they know we would never do to them what their heroes did to us, even though we could, a thousand times worse. They know that when we hunt down the monsters, we will try hard not to harm the innocent. Those are the handcuffs we willingly wear, because for all our flaws, we are a decent people." -- Dave Barry.

Solidarity -- Christopher Hitchens (2006)

9/11, For Our Children -- Bruce Kesler (2006)

Remember the world of 9/10 (2006)

9/11 -- Nuisance or Mortal Danger? (2006)

IX.XI -- Isaac Schrodinger (2005)

9/11 - Never Forget -- Ian Schwartz (2005)

9/11 -- Never Forget -- Kersher Talk (2005)

We Remember -- Power Line (2004)

Happy Anniversary -- Bill Whittle (2003)

That Day -- Cox and Forkum (September 11, 2003)

One Year Ago -- Ed Driscoll (2002)

What If The September 11 Attack Was Thwarted -- Tom Elia (2002)

Where Were You? -- Song by Alan Jackson

Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) -- Song by Toby Keith

Have You Forgotten? -- Song by Darryl Worley and Wynn Varble

WHERE WERE YOU?

The Smithsonian - September 11: Bearing Witness to History at the National Museum of American History

Where Were You.org

Dean Barnett (2006)

Where Were You When The World Came Crashing Down? - Jayson Javitz (2004)

September 11, 2001 - Alexander McClure (2004)

Remembering 9/11 - Ed Morrisey (2004)

California Yankee (2004)

Glenn Reynolds 9/11/01 post

PHOTO ESSAYS:

Remember (photo essay) - Patrick Ruffini

Lest We Forget (photo essay) - The Blue State Conservatives uses front pages of various newspapers to capture the day.

REMEMBERING THE LOST:

The 2996 Project

NYT Portraits of Grief

After 9/11 - Remembrance & Renewal

Michael Ledeen remembers Barbara Olson

Day by Day 9/11/06

FILM:

The Flight That Fought Back

United 93

The Path To 9/11

THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECHES:

September 11 Address to the Nation

September 20 Address to Joint Session of Congress and the Nation

November 10 Speech To The U.N.

Timeline and links to Bush speeches and pictures

NEWS AND EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS:

Screenshot Archive of Online News Sites

NYT Accounts from different floors in WTC

Firehouse.com

FBI Press Release - The Hijackers

POST 9/11 CONTROVERSY:

The 9/11 Commission Report

Take Back The Memorial

The Flight 93 Memorial

The Path To 9/11

IN PICTURES:

Pictures of the events that unfolded on September 11, 2001 are burned into the memories of most every American. Some pictures, such as the one of the firemen raising the American flag at Ground Zero, became symbols of the day. Others, such as the ones that captured those jumping from the Twin Towers to their deaths, were not widely published, but the very thought that they existed made an impact. After images of the planes hitting the Twin Towers and the towers falling were shown over and over again on September 11 and the days immediately following it, they later became controversial when some in the media decided that the American public could not handle the sight of those images.

LINKS TO 9/11 IN PICTURES:

Time Magazine Photo Essays

Pentagon Pictures Before and After

The Twin Towers, Before and After

September 11News.com

The Falling Man, Esquire

Bill Biggart's Final Exposures

Remembering 9/11: The Pentagon

The Black Day

9/11 Research

Pentagon Memorial Lights

Vanity Fair - Rare Scenes From 9/11

SEPTEMBER 11 FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY POSTS

Atlas Shrugs

Michelle Malkin

Pajamas Media

Gateway Pundit

Outside the Beltway

La Shawn Barber

BIG MEDIA TRIBUTES:

New York Times

Washington Post

USA Today

Fox News

CNN

MSNBC

Five Years Later -- We Will Not Forget

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 “The pictures of airplanes flying into buildings, fires burning, huge structures collapsing, have filled us with disbelief, terrible sadness, and a quiet, unyielding anger. These acts of mass murder were intended to frighten our nation into chaos and retreat. But they have failed; our country is strong. A great people has been moved to defend a great nation. Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.” – President George W. Bush, September 11, 2001 Address to the Nation

This 9/11 memorial post is a compilation of commentary, news reports, eyewitness accounts and pictures not only from that day, but from the past five years as the nation has recovered from the most deadly attack on U.S. soil in the country's history.

COMMENTARY:

Over the past five years, millions of words have been written about the terrorist attacks of September 11.  Below is a sampling from each of the past four anniversaries.  I will be adding links to additional commentary from today's anniversary throughout the day.

The Top Ten Editorials From September 11, 2001 - December 15, 2001 – chosen by John Hawkins, included are links to and excerpts from Michael Kelly, Victor Davis Hanson, Mark Steyn, Ann Coulter, Dave Barry and others. One of my favorite lines from the commentaries Hawkins chose came from Dave Barry.

“The people who did this to us are monsters; the people who cheered them have hate-sickened minds. One reason they can cheer is that they know we would never do to them what their heroes did to us, even though we could, a thousand times worse. They know that when we hunt down the monsters, we will try hard not to harm the innocent. Those are the handcuffs we willingly wear, because for all our flaws, we are a decent people.”  --  Dave Barry

IX.XI – Isaac Schrodinger (2005) Must read.

9/11 – Never Forget – Ian Schwartz (2005)

9/11 -- Never Forget -- Kersher Talk (2005)

We Remember – Power Line (2004)

Happy Anniversary – Bill Whittle (2003)

That Day – Cox and Forkum (September 11, 2003)

One Year Ago – Ed Driscoll (2002)

What If The September 11 Attack Was Thwarted – Tom Elia (2002)

Where Were You? – Song by Alan Jackson

Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) – Song by Toby Keith

Have You Forgotten? – Song by Darryl Worley and Wynn Varble

WHERE WERE YOU?

The Smithsonian – September 11: Bearing Witness to History at the National Museum of American History

Where Were You.org

Dean Barnett (2006)

Where Were You When The World Came Crashing Down? – Jayson Javitz (2004)

September 11, 2001 – Alexander McClure (2004)

Remembering 9/11 – Ed Morrisey (2004)

California Yankee (2004)

Glenn Reynolds 9/11/01 post

PHOTO ESSAYS:

Remember (photo essay) – Patrick Ruffini

Lest We Forget (photo essay) – The Blue State Conservatives uses front pages of various newspapers to capture the day.

REMEMBERING THE LOST:

The 2996 Project

NYT Portraits of Grief

After 9/11 – Remembrance & Renewal

Michael Ledeen remembers Barbara Olson

Day by Day 9/11/06

FILM:

The Flight That Fought Back

United 93

The Path To 9/11

THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECHES:

September 11 Address to the Nation

September 20 Address to Joint Session of Congress and the Nation

November 10 Speech To The U.N.

Timeline and links to Bush speeches and pictures

NEWS AND EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS:

Screenshot Archive of Online News Sites

NYT Accounts from different floors in WTC

Firehouse.com

FBI Press Release – The Hijackers

POST 9/11 CONTROVERSY:

The 9/11 Commission Report

Take Back The Memorial

The Flight 93 Memorial

The Path To 9/11

IN PICTURES:

Pictures of the events that unfolded on September 11, 2001 are burned into the memories of most every American. Some pictures, such as the one of the firemen raising the American flag at Ground Zero, became symbols of the day. Others, such as the ones that captured those jumping from the Twin Towers to their deaths, were not widely published, but the very thought that they existed made an impact. After images of the planes hitting the Twin Towers and the towers falling were shown over and over again on September 11 and the days immediately following it, they later became controversial when some in the media decided that the American public could not handle the sight of those images.

LINKS TO 9/11 IN PICTURES:

Time Magazine Photo Essays

Pentagon Pictures Before and After

The Twin Towers, Before and After

September 11News.com

The Falling Man, Esquire

Bill Biggart’s Final Exposures

Remembering 9/11: The Pentagon

The Black Day

9/11 Research

Pentagon Memorial Lights

SEPTEMBER 11 FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY POSTS

Atlas Shrugs
Michelle Malkin

BIG MEDIA TRIBUTES:

New York Times

Washington Post

USA Today

Fox News

CNN

MSNBC

*I will be updating throughout the day.  Instead of posting "updates" I will be identifying newly added items with an asterisk.

Many of the links and pictures in this post were included last year in my September 11 post at Polipundit.  That post can be found here.

This is cross-posted at Wizbang.

LINKS TO 9/11 IN PICTURES:

Time Magazine Photo Essays

Pentagon Pictures Before and After

The Twin Towers, Before and After

September 11News.com

The Falling Man, Esquire

Bill Biggart’s Final Exposures

Remembering 9/11: The Pentagon

The Black Day

9/11 Research

Pentagon Memorial Lights

SEPTEMBER 11 FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY POSTS

Atlas Shrugs

Michelle Malkin

*I will be updating throughout the day.  Instead of posting "updates" I will be identifying newly added items with an asterisk.

Many of the links and pictures in this post were included last year in my September 11 post at Polipundit.  That post can be found here.

This is cross-posted at Wizbang.

Take Me Back To September 10

In today's Examiner I look at how some of the upcoming 9/11 retrospectives, as well as movies like United 93 (which Kevin blogged about at Wizbang), can take us back, for a moment, to a September 10 world.

The upcoming five-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks is certain to bring with it scores of retrospectives, but perhaps none so powerful as the one planned by CNN.com. One way CNN plans to memorialize the anniversary is by offering Internet viewers a replay, in real time, of the day’s events as they were reported on the cable network on Sept. 11, 2001. The replay begins at 8:30 a.m., shortly before the first report of an airplane hitting the first World Trade Center tower, and continues until midnight. ... As powerful as I found “United 93” to be, I can’t even imagine how viewing the actual real-time coverage of that day will affect me. I will be watching, though, at least part of the replay. I will watch because I want to remember what it felt like, if just for a moment, to live in a Sept. 10 world. I want to experience the feeling of utter disbelief that anyone would fly a plane full of innocent people into a building full of thousands just going about their daily jobs. That blissful ignorance I once knew died five years ago.

I go on to talk about how September 11 changed the way we see the world and respond to threats and how that will play in November.

What Americans will have to decide in a couple of months, and again in 2008, is how they want their leaders to react to threats when they become known. Jeff Harrell put it this way: “The question, come election season, is whether we want our leaders to be overly timid and unwilling to commit American force when threats loom, inviting another Sept. 11 or worse, or whether we want them to be overly zealous and run the risk of acting decisively when it may not be absolutely necessary. The obvious answer, of course, is ‘neither,’ but real life doesn’t work like that. It’s going to be one or the other, and we voters have to choose.” Regardless of the ultimate choice voters make, the experience of Sept. 11 will certainly influence that decision.

Please read the rest at the Examiner. Update: The Anchoress remembers 9/11 and writes about what she will do on the anniversary.

Cross-posted at Wizbang.

CNN To Rebroadcast 9/11 Footage In Real Time

Via Tracey Kane at Wizbang Pop!

CNN will mark the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks by replaying on the Internet the cable network's coverage of that day's events.

Viewers can watch how events unfolded starting at 8:30 a.m., minutes before the first reports of an airplane hitting the World Trade Center. The feed will run in real time, as the network showed it five years ago, until midnight.

For the day, CNN will make its online video service, CNN Pipeline, available for free. Normally, viewers pay $2.95 a month or $24.95 a year for four separate video feeds.

Online viewers will be able to watch live reports of memorial services through one of the feeds. So that viewers won't accidentally stumble upon graphic footage from 2001, the replay feed will be covered with a notice instructing users to click only if they want to watch.

September 11 -- Commentary

COMMENTARY – September 11

Below is just a sampling of 9/11 commentary that I will be compiling throughout the day. Some of the links below are to current pieces, others are one or two years old which were written on previous 9/11 anniversaries. Instead of issuing “updates,” I will just be adding to the list, so check back periodically for additions. This is just a sampling of the thousands of things that have been written about 9/11. Please feel free to post links in the comments section to items I have overlooked.

The Top Ten Editorials From September 11, 2001 - December 15, 2001 – chosen by John Hawkins, included are links to and excerpts from Michael Kelly, Victor Davis Hanson, Mark Steyn, Ann Coulter, Dave Barry and others. One of my favorite lines from the commentaries Hawkins chose came from Dave Barry:

“The people who did this to us are monsters; the people who cheered them have hate-sickened minds. One reason they can cheer is that they know we would never do to them what their heroes did to us, even though we could, a thousand times worse. They know that when we hunt down the monsters, we will try hard not to harm the innocent. Those are the handcuffs we willingly wear, because for all our flaws, we are a decent people.”

Renewal – D.J. Drummond (2005)

Walk Down Another Road – D.J. Drummond (2005)

We’ve Begun To Forget – Michael Goodwin (2005)

IX.XI – Isaac Schrodinger (2005) Must read.

Remember (photo essay) – Patrick Ruffini

Never, Never Forget – Michelle Malkin (2005)

Lest We Forget (photo essay) – The Blue State Conservatives uses front pages of various newspapers to capture that day

9-11: Never Forget – Winds of Change

Terror War All But Forgotten On Homefront – Mark Steyn (2005)

Never Forget – Ankle Biting Pundits (2005)

9/11 – Never Forget – Ian Schwartz

Betsy’s Page – Betsy Newmark (2005)

Where Were You When The World Came Crashing Down? – Jayson Javitz (2004)

September 11, 2001 – Alexander McClure (2004)

Remembering 9/11 – Ed Morrisey (2004)

We Remember – Power Line (2004)

Happy Anniversary – Bill Whittle (2003)

That Day – Cox and Forkum (September 11, 2003)

One Year Ago – Ed Driscoll (2002)

What If The September 11 Attack Was Thwarted – Tom Elia (2002)

Where Were You? – Song by Alan Jackson

Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American) – Song by Toby Keith

Have You Forgotten? – Song by Darryl Worley and Wynn Varble

Where Were You?

The Smithsonian – September 11: Bearing Witness to History at the National Museum of American History

Where Were You.org

Polipundit Readers Remember

California Yankee

Glenn Reynolds 9/11/01 post

[Cross-posted at Polipundit.com]