9/11 plus 7

The World Trade Center in New York City was destroyed by Al-Qaeda terrorists aboard two hijacked airliners seven years ago today. The same day a third hijacked airliner was crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a fourth, on its way to the U.S. Capitol, crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after the passengers and flight crew attempted to regain control of the plane. In all nearly three thousand human beings and nineteen terrorists were killed in the attacks. The immediate consequences were the launch of the War on Terror and the invasion of Afghanistan to depose the Taliban government, which had been sheltering Al-Qaeda terrorists for some time. A longer term consequence was the invasion of Iraq, to depose the savage tyrant Saddam Hussein…

But you know all this, don’t you? So why should it be necessary to recite in detail the circumstances surrounding the defining historical event of our age? The sad fact is that memories fade with time - painful memories even more so. September 11th 2001 was the day the world changed - and it still hurts.

Mark Steyn used to say (and possibly still does) that there are September 10th people and September 11th people. The September 11th people got the point of the 9/11 attacks. The September 10th crowd never did. Fortunately George W. Bush was one of the September 11th people, and the story of the George W. Bush presidency is the story of 9/11 writ large. But now that presidency is nearing its end. Where do we go from here? If we have moved from a September 10th world to a September 11th world, how do we get to September 12th? Do we have to live under the metaphorical shadow of the Twin Towers forever?

That is the question which underpins this year’s presidential election campaign in the United States. The watchword is “change”. Things must not be as they have been. Seven years of a War on Terror have left the American political establishment divided, the people exhausted. The people are looking for some good news for a change, and Barack Obama has positioned himself as the man to provide it. But, telegenic as he may be, effective as he is as an orator, inspirational as he is as the first African-American presidential nominee for a major party in American history - what has he got to say? Has the danger illuminated by 9/11 passed? Have the goals of the War on Terror been achieved? Has democracy in Iraq and Afghanistan been secured? While progress has been achieved on all fronts, there remains much work to be done. Iraq in particular is turning into a success story at last, as the surge strategy introduced last year continues to bear fruit. Afghanistan continues to give cause for concern, with the Taliban resurgent. Periodical attacks by Al-Qaeda or their surrogates continue, and other terrorist plots are regularly uncovered. Iran continues its inexorable progress towards the status of a nuclear weapons state. Russia is becoming increasingly belligerent, and China increasingly powerful. What use are soothing words amd pious rhetoric against the threats faced by America and the free world?

Fortunately, there is another choice for change. Few serving politicians in any major democracy can match John McCain’s record of courage, service and sacrifice. The former prisoner of war who suffered torture during five years of captivity in Vietnam embodies the virtues about which others (including, particularly, his opponent in the election) can only wax lyrical. Consequently, in discussing the dangers we face, and the requirements of national and international security, few can match the moral authority of the Republican candidate. If America must go to war elsewhere, we can be confident that President McCain will not shirk the responsibility. It is principally McCain’s personal experience and independence of mind which guarantees that a McCain administration would be no mere continuation of the Bush years. Who can imagine that the excesses of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay would have been tolerated by a McCain White House? McCain’s maverick reputation as a man who will take on his own party if necessary (and his selection of a running mate with a similar reputation in her own state), together with a willingness to work with politicians of the opposing party both identify a man who puts patriotism and principle before party affiliation. Again the contrast with Obama and Biden, both Democratic machine politicians, is marked.

So whichever man wins the presidential election, change is on the cards for the American people. The choice, however, is stark. For all the failures of planning and execution during the last seven years, George W. Bush has taken his country in the right direction for the right reasons. And yet the world is still a dangerous place. Americans must choose whether to face their challenges with fortitude and honour, or take refuge in prevarication and soft options which may not be so soft after all. For while the world of September 11th was a difficult and tragic one, the world of September 12th may not be any easier.