9/11 remembered

Ray

What a tragedy that all the genuine sympathy and solidarity that the world offered the United States in the aftermath of 9/11 has been frittered away by an administration that chose instead to cynically exploit the attack in order to launch a misbegotten war against a regime that - odious as it was - had absolutely nothing to do with the destruction of the Twin Towers.

Ted Tedford

Ray: Up to a point. But your argument was being made by lots of people in Oct 2001 about Afghanistan. And this is now supposedly the war on which every agrees: look where that has got us.

'Genuine sympathy and solidarity' - and I dispute the extent to which this was ever true outside the Anglosphere - is great for making you feel multilateral and consensual and appropriate. But, once the well-intentioned statements of the 'international community' had faded from the op-ed pages, what did it mean in practice? It didn't take Bush administration 'unilateralism' to erode this 'solidarity', although clearly this did not help: it evaporated of its own accord.

Hereford

Ray: Half the worlds population was dancing in the streets when the towers fell. They rejoiced in the death and destruction meted out to the "Great Satan" and all its people. They would have been happier if it had been a nuke.

A disaster happens in the third world, anywhere, to any people of any denomination, what happens. The West mourns the dead, sympathises with the bereaved and sends millions of dollars in aid.

A catastrophe happens in the west, the response from large portions of the rest of the world is dancing in the street. These people would dance Ray if you, your loved ones and your entire neighbourhood were slaughtered.

Do please don't lecture the West or the Americans on sympathy. Lecture the stoneage cultures who committed this atrocity.

biggestaspidistra

"What a tragedy that all the genuine sympathy and solidarity that the world offered the United States in the aftermath of 9/11 has been frittered away"

I remember reading through the Guardian discussion pages soon after the event, the posters were all but cheering the terrorists on. No, many were cheering the terrorists on. Anyway today is a day to remember the dead, the firefighters and office workers who didnt make it home to their families that evening and the scar it left on a wonderful city.

Verity

Ted Tedford - Agreed. The Anglosphere cared from the heart.

They weren't just dancing in the streets, they were handing out trays of sweets in the streets. (I guess sugar is their idea of a big celebration, given Allah doesn't want anyone getting tipsy and having a good time.)

The Anglosphere were the only people who mourned.

Austin Barry

I do recall the disgraceful "Question Time" audience that week crowing over the America's wounds and the US Ambassador being reduced to tears as he gazed back at the gleeful faces, not all of them adorned with the kaffiyeh or hijab. At least 9/11, 7/7 and subsequent plots have alerted us to the enemies within, active or complacent, not all of them adorned with the kaffiyeh or hijab.

Augustus

3000 victims lost their lives in the heart of the free world because we live in a bipolar divided world. The ideals and principles of the free world are a threat to those in the unfree world which is not governed by the same principles of freedom and human rights. That is the basis of the conflict, made more complicated by a religious fervour which accompanies it. The West is always forced to have apply a distinction between Islam as a world religion on the one hand, and militant and political Islam.

Freedom in the free world is constantly under pressure of Islamic terrorist attacks, whilst ever more recruits are enticed away to the training grounds of Waziristan, ever more Muslim immigrants flock to the western nations.

The idealogical heritage of groups such as al-Qaeda is Salafism, a movement that began in Egypt and was imported into Saudi society during the reign of King Faisal. The main differences within the Salafi movement is that some aim to change society through da'wa (preaching/evangelizing) whereas others want to change it through violence. It is the rapid spread of the latter that governments have continuosly failed, and are still failing, to address.

Verity

In that case, Augustus, the West, for our own protection, must stop making the distinction you rightly note, between "Islam as a world religion" and "militant and political Islam". In other words, we should treat all of Islam as toxic and hazardous to the health of freedom and democracy, and let them fight it out among themselves. Hopefully, Islam as a world religion would prevail and lunatic militancy would be defeated, but if not, the whole bunch should be treated as the enemy. That would involve not allowing them to live in our countries.

We would see how long the deranged militants lasted once the "vast majority" got on their case, in their own way.