11 September 2014
Thirteen years ago today 9/11 shook America. Where
were you that day? I ended up in a
different place. Normally I would have been practicing law. But I spent the day
in a TV studio as a terrorism expert, watching the images and trying to analyze
a confusing situation.
Why was I on TV as an expert in that area? Because I had been an international negotiator
before getting laid off during the “Great Texas Oil Bust” of the 80’s. Looking
for a project that might earn a buck and use my knowledge of the world (I had
been in the Middle East and over thirty countries) I had written a “fiction”
book about a potential terrorist attack on the United States (and a flash war
in a place called Iraq). I had no idea my fiction book would soon become
non-fiction.
In the middle of my book, Saddam invaded Kuwait,
which led to the first Gulf War in 1990-91.
When the second plane hit the WTC, I called the same TV station and
asked: “Would you like me to come in?”
The answer was yes. I saw photos
that were never published. Some were of people falling from the towers. A close
look showed that they had no feet, apparently burned off by the burning towers.
I couldn’t imagine the choice they had faced.
Nine months before 911, I had sent to the
just-elected VP, Dick Cheney, a video I had produced and aired on cable TV with
a weapons expert from the Reagan administration, Dr. Ron Hatchett. I made it in
1994, a year after the first bombing of the World Trade center that killed six
people. I asked Dr. Hatchett if the premise of my fiction book could happen: a
terror attack on the U.S. He said “Yes” and went on to explain how it could
occur. In late January 2001, I sent a
copy of that video to Mr. Cheney and to my local Congress rep at the time, Tom
DeLay. Neither responded or asked “What is this about?” In the months preceding 911, they cut
counter-terrorism funding. I cover all
this in my chapter “Predicting 911” in my book “Better Times Ahead April Fool.” The proof: the video is available on YouTube if you search my name.
In
1994 Al Qaida was just forming – something I didn’t yet know, so my focus in
the book and video was on Saddam Hussein. But it became clear after 9/11 Saddam
had nothing to do with 9/11. It was all about Osama bin Laden and a place
called Afghanistan.
As a result of the invasion of Iraq, the borders of
Iraq opened to Al Qaida. Until then, Saddam had kept Osama bin Laden out of
Iraq – he HATED him. Osama bin Laden was the religious nut and Saddam was the non-religious
nut. I still remembered Reagan supporting Saddam in the eight year war against
IRAN. Without Saddam, Iran was free to build its nuclear capability.
And without Saddam, Al Qaida morphed into ISIS,
which we now confront today – an organization so radical that it was kicked out
of Al Qaida.
So, I remember all too well 9/11, and what led to
today’s mess. The President is right to attack ISIS – a group that not only
beheads American journalists, but kills children and sells women into bondage.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Maliki had kicked us out of Iraq, but then they screwed
it up so badly they had to invite us back in.
Osama had hoped the attack would get the U.S. into a
war that would make us become the enemy in the Shia vs Sunni sectarian battle,
and it worked. President Obama has been smart enough to make sure that we aren’t
picking sides and forced the Iraqis to become more inclusive.
We should remember that on this day. The Iraq war
cost over $5 Trillion dollars on borrowed money and nearly 5,000 U.S. lives, on
top of those lost on 9/11. We did much
of the damage to our own economy – just as Osama bin Laden wanted.
The person who brought bin laden to justice was
President Obama. He deserves Congress support against ISIS and their support in
rebuilding our own country’s roads and bridges that are over 70 years old. We
have done enough damage to ourselves.
Let’s start investing in our future.
Michael Fjetland
Author, Better Times Ahead April Fool
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http://globalamericanvalues.blogspot.com/
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