Oh boy Junky Car….not seeing through the blood in my eyes too well but...here goes....9/11 didn't relate immediately to Iraq...Afghanistan directly did. Now Junky car, you need to probably sit down for the rest of this....it’s a concept that takes some thinking to understand…...going into Iraq was based on the "IDEA" that if a Democracy was established in Iraq, it would stabilize the center of the Middle East region and the surrounding countries would eventually follow suit.
What we failed to do as a military was: 1. Secure weapons/ammo & artillery caches 2. Establish a recovery plan for economy and 3. Have honest folks on ground that orchestrated and awarded contracts for rebuild. Now, of course this is even farther from 9/11 you are thinking. But, your turn to consider something--politics and personal agendas both by private companies and by government officials forced military commanders to move forward faster than they should have for media sensationalism. Being directed to operate in this manner enabled "bad guys" access to deserted weapons and explosive materials for IEDs. Second, by not having a strong economic recovery plan, the out of work and starving Iraqi male was positioned to take on "terror" roles...these men were given a choice....set up and denote a IED or watch his entire family be killed….tough choice.....you are wondering how I know this huh?? Told to me by a 2 Star Marine General that sat with me at lunch at Ali Al Salem (LSA)...you see I had spent many months working aircraft mx at Kuwait International Airport...4 times...4 years in a row..(got an understanding wife)....one primary duty was HR ceremonies....the general initially at down to express his gratitude to me and my airman for the respectful treatment we gave to his lost....in continued conversation he told me of the inside world of Iraq...many failures...but many success stories too...no, 9/11 didn’t have anything to do with Iraq initially...but it has allot to do with the ramifications caused by that event...if Iraq was handled better (and it is being handled better now)...the successes would have come sooner...with less fraud in contracts and pockets getting lined..(Halliburton)...Iraqis would have been swept into Democracy sooner and with less blood shed...on BOTH sides...probably getting to deep for you huh Junky Car...but think about this...if the "idea" would have caused Iran, Syria, Jordan, Oman...to all steer away for Extremism led governments...wouldn’t that defuse the idealisms that created the mindset in those hijackers in the first place????? Why don’t you want the WAR on TERROR to stay an "away game"....the men and woman I had the honor of removing form C-130/C-17 and C-5 aircraft died FOR Iraq and Afghanistan to become free and the region to become less dangerous to the ENTIRE world….AMERICAN BLOOD SHED FOR YOU…and to crush/prevent recurrence of 9/11...I have 20 years so far in the USAF..and I have been to the box more than I care to count....Those fighting on the terror frontlines are there to make sure 9/11 stays painfully on our hearts and is not repeated on our TV screens….the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were initially directed with good intent…..it was personal agendas that skewed it....I don’t think any normal person wishes collateral deaths from military action on innocents...and I know for a fact that missions are planned with that very detail at the forefront to keep to minimum..My brothers and sisters in the Profession of Arms are tools of the government.....but we don’t kill "innocents" it is not in the ROE...
In closing, it is a sad day when an free speaking American decides to use that freedom to diminish the family dreams lost on our own soil that day.....and diminish the loss of those battling on foreign soil to ensure 9/11 remains a painful section of our social history and not an expectation of future "normalcy"....Junky Car, those you cite do not compare to the Americans who lost their lives that day....I do not say this under any superior race/creed origin guise...its drawn from an attack brought upon us…and our inherent right as a NATION to defend ourselves.
DJ
USAF 20 yrs and the clocks still tickin