I am so tired of the idea that 9/11 was a bigger deal than the Cold War

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

People bitch about Panetta at CIA because he's not an intel guy.

You point out that the CIA headquarters is named after a director who wasn't an intel guy--George H. W. Bush. (Who only held the job for 355 days!)

They respond with, "But after 9/11..."

When George H. W. Bush was CIA Director the US was on a war footing toward an adversary with the capability to kill 100s of millions with the push of a button. (Nothing special about that year... we were on a war footing toward the USSR for a couple of generations.)

Panetta is a perfectly reasonable pick, IMO.

[ErinBerin84]

1. me too

I groan when the sentence begins with "In a post 9/11 world..." I remember Rachel Maddow saying something this year like "They act as if terrorism was something completely new and unprecedented that the US had to deal with, as if there was no system existing that was supposed to stop it." Brzezinski was on book tv over the weekend talking about how scared everyone is because of 9/11, more so than the cold war, which doesn't make sense.

[peace13]

2. The fact that 911 was orchestrated by our own VP makes it monumental.

Those most in awe of 911 are the orcchestrators. Ever notice that?

[JuniperLea]

9. Cheney used that MO quite a bit...

Like planting stories in newspapers, then referring to them in TV interviews. He played us like a fiddle... and those of us who speak out against it are called CT nutjobs for what we believe... but God forbid anyone should question someone's RELIGIOUS beliefs! To me, beliefs in the unprovable are all the same until they are proven.

[Beacool]

3. It's fascinating to me how all those who were not there

are bored and tired at the mention of 9/11. To some of us who were lucky enough to have survived that day, there is a pre 9/11 and a post 9/11 world.

:-(

[Zynx]

6. With all due respect, it was hardly the most momentous event in history.

It was shocking and terrifying at the time, but I feel constrained to mention that in terms of direct impact it was not materially different than a large natural disaster.

[hileeopnyn8d]

10. I don't think that's what the OP said at all

And it isn't about being bored or tired at the mention of 9/11. It's about being beat over the head with it while it's being used as an excuse for us (US) to commit our own atrocities.

[Jennicut]

4. As a a CT resident with family from New York City

it makes me laugh that people run around with their heads cut off to this day because of 9/11. Terrorism happens all the time in other countries. We are not that special. Time to get over it already and lead your lives. WWII was way worse in my opinion, Germany almost succeeded in taking over most of Europe and we could all be speaking German right now. My aunt was lucky not to be near the World Trade Center that day, my best friend's sister almost died in the Pentagon that day but people heal, people move on, and our country will move on as well.

[Zynx]

7. Indeed. The threat of terrorism is nothing at all compared to the threat

of two major totalitarian states (Germany and Japan) in WWII, who both killed millions upon millions simply because of how they were born. We faced real, dangerous evil in WWII.

[Jennicut]

8. Yup. Anyone could have driven a plane into a building but not many could have taken over Europe so

fast. I do think 9/11 did make us aware just how easy terrorism acts are to do in any country but the point of those attacks is fear and to get us mired in conflicts elsewhere to bog down our military. The Nazi's wanted to take over the world, not mess around with it.

[hileeopnyn8d]

5. It's amazing, isn't it

The power of propaganda.

[Upton]

11. Haven't you gotten the message?

9/11 changed everything. :sarcasm: