12th Anniversary of 9/11 – Are Americans Any Wiser About the World?

Twelve years after 9/11 I wonder if Americans are any wiser about the world?

We are less naïve, yes, but not necessarily any wiser. I see an America trying to become isolationist again.  That has always led to nasty surprises like Pearl Harbor and 9/11.  I see Americans retreating from the world and, worse yet, not even investing in our own country necessary to win the 21^st high-tech, space-age century.

The Houston Chronicle had an article today about a Syrian family living in Houston.  The mother said that people would often ask her “WHERE is Syria?”  And this is after America has spent a decade in Iraq, right next door!

Hasn’t anyone looked at a map?  Is “Reality TV” more important?  We have had two years of “Arab Spring” that included major collapses of dictators in nearby Egypt and Libya, and Americans still didn’t know where Syria is located?

Lack of knowledge allows deadly mistakes to happen.  Everyone was gung ho to go to Iraq based on no intelligence. I opposed it on TV as a terrorist analyst but obviously that didn’t count.

Now everyone is equally gung ho against striking Syria, even when the Syrian government admits it does have chemical weapons. These are weapons which have been banned for a century since WWI. Americans have turned a blind eye to 100,000 dead and babies being gassed in their sleep. How is that “pro-life?” or even humane?

Consider this. Syria has the largest chemical stockpile in the world. Syria is in a civil war. How hard is it for a small group in an unstable country in a civil war to obtain even a tiny sliver of that deadly gas–and ship it to the U.S. in a container? Then it could be easily unleashed on American streets, gassing American children in their sleep.

Would that help America if ignoring Syria now made that happen in the future?

On this anniversary of 9/11 we should be aware that we cannot let our guard down. If we turn inward and become isolationist and refuse to engage the world as citizens interested in the best for our country, then we will not see new threats coming our way. It’s a good way to even miss the opportunities in the world.

Isolationism is why the Pearl Harbor raid was such a shock to America. That is why 9/11 was such a shock to America a dozen years ago today. That is why we will be shocked again if we don’t replace stereotypes and guesses with actual knowledge of the world we want to lead. You can’t lead a world you are ignorant about.

I did predict 9/11.  No one listened.  The details are in my ebook released in April, “Better Times Ahead April Fool.” www.BetterTimesAheadAprilFool.com

Look for the chapter entitled “Predicting 9/11 and Running Against the Hammer”  I have walked the streets of Damascus where sarin gas was used. I have been in Christian churches near Damascus. I only knew 9/11 was possible because I saw the world and put the pieces together.

If you want America to avoid future 9/11’s there is much food for thought in the pages of Better Times Ahead April Fool. It does end with “Agenda for American Greatness” on how America can win the 21^st century. We are playing catch up! 

Isolationism is not our friend…Pass it on.

Michael Fjetland

Global American Series

Special Edition

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