America must move from the errant, retributive justice of 9/11 to a healing, restorative process of truth and reconciliation.
Before the Congress adjourns, I will bring forth a new proposal for the establishment of a National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, which will have the power to compel testimony and gather official documents to reveal to the American people not only the underlying deception which has divided us, but in that process of truth seeking set our nation on a path of reconciliation.
We suffer in our remembrance of 9/11, because of the terrible loss of innocent lives on that grim day. We also suffer because 9/11 was seized as an opportunity to run a political agenda, which has set America on a course of the destruction of another nation and the destruction of our own Constitution. And we have become less secure as a result of the warped practice of pursing peace through the exercise of pre-emptive military strength.
It is not simply 9/11 that needs to be remembered. We also need to remember the politicization of 9/11 and the polarizing narrative which followed, locking us into endless conflict, a war on terror which has wrought further terror worldwide and which has severely damaged our standing worldwide as an honorable, compassionate nation. As we were all victims of 9/11, so we have become victims of the interpretation of 9/11.
Our government's external response to 9/11 was to attack a nation which did not attack us. Indeed on the first anniversary of 9/11, the Bush administration issued a well-publicized stern warning to Iraq which was part of a campaign to induce people to believe Iraq had something to do with 9/11.
The deliberate, systematic connection of Iraq with 9/11 has led America into a philosophical and moral cul-de-sac as over one million Iraqis and over 4155 US soldiers have died in a war which will cost over $3 trillion. Additionally, soldiers from 23 other countries have died in the Iraq war.
We attempt to unite Iraq by further dividing it. We talk about restoring Iraq while taking steps to place control of its vast oil wealth in the hands of US oil giants. And we intend to impose upon the Iraqi people the cost of rebuilding a country which our government ruined, keeping a once prosperous nation lashed to debt and poverty for a long, long time. Iraq has paid for 9/11. We all continue to pay for 9/11.
The heartbreaking loss of the lives and injuries to America troops further binds us to the Administration's illogic of the Iraq war: We remember our troops' sacrifice by demanding more sacrifice; we support our troops by continuing the war.
The dominant color of our new national security since 911 is neither red, white nor blue. Everyday is orange. Everyday reminders of fear of 9/11 become banal.. Yet we no longer hear the airport announcements nor see the orange colored warnings because they have commonplace standards in our new national security state, as is the Patriot Act, wiretapping, and a host of invasions of privacy and diminution of civil liberties. The Constitution has been roundly attacked by the very people who took an oath to defend it.
There is a powerful desire across America for change, not necessarily from control by one political party to another, but a change from living with lies to living with truth.
Over two dozen nations, facing peril within and without, deeply divided by politics and war have travelled down a path of restoring civil society through a formal process of reconciliation. At some point within each of those countries it was understood that the way forward is shown through the light of truth. This process is not without pain because it requires a willingness to study evidence to which eyes had been averted and ears had been closed. But in the process of truth and reconciliation, nations found new strength, new resolve, new commitment.
The South African Truth and Reconciliation enabled that nation to come to grips with its past through a public confessional, bringing forward those who committed crimes and having the power to grant amnesty for full disclosure of crimes against the people. Of course, our path may necessarily be different: High US government officials stand accused in Impeachment petitions of violating national and international law. Our continued existence as a democracy may depend upon how thoroughly we seek the truth. I will call upon the America people to join me in supporting this effort.
The truth can move us forward, as a unified whole, so that we can one day become a re-United States. 9/11 is the day the world changed. It is the day America embraced a metaphor of war. If we are open to truth and reconciliation, we may one day be able, once again, to embrace peace.
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There is nothing more important than chosing the right leader for our country in these perilous times. We cannot afford to be compromised by the old politics that got us into this mess in the first place. We need a cool head in addition to heighten diplomacy and staunch firmness.
I am amazed that our potential leaders do not have to face psychological and psychiatric testing for fitness? Even dime store employees are subject to testing. McCain's inability to stay on task, sidewinding the issues with fantastic lies as well as fabricated stories about his opponent may be a sign of schizophrenia -- but I'm no professional. Dreams of grandeur by McCain's grossly unqualified running mate Palin also calls into question the narcissistic personality -- akin to Nero who fiddled while Rome burned, then blamed the Christians for his deadly feat., again, I'm no professional.
Actually, I am being facetious and we all know that.
Instead of American Oil Giants, we should give it the French Oil giant (Elf-Total), the Iatalian Oil Giant (AGIP), the Dutch Oil giant (Royal-Dutch shell) or maybe we should let the Saudis do it (of course, the Saudis need American labor). We can always have American hating Hugo Chavez do it.
But houldn't we not allow the iraqis to pump oil becuase of Global Climate Change? After all, if it isn't good enough to drill here, why is it good enough to drill there? It is the same air all over the world?
If truth be told, you were my first choice for president. Unfortunately that didn't happen.
When I read this: " but a change from living with lies to living with truth" on the 7th anniversary of my attempt to begin doing that I can only sigh.
I'm still waiting to see it on the newz, but I'm not holding my breath.
Thanks for what you do.
For me, a Canadian, your are a true American.
What followed is no coincidence.
The history of the world is the history of war.
The history of war is the history of irreconcilable beliefs in the pursuit of power.
What happened on the morning of September 11 was not the beginning of WW3.
We were attacked by stateless individuals believing they were on a mission from God.
The power they pursued was if we are to believe the narrator, a ticket to paradise.
Their act was not impulsive but years in the making.
A heinous crime orchestrated by the marriage of religious extremism and historical claustrophobia.
How much closer are we as a nation to understanding the culture that gave birth to this atrocity?
Muslim extremists have targeted countries around the world. We are not alone in this fight.
I'm all for truth and reconciliation but I am more interested in a unilateral strategy that binds all nations to a blueprint of peaceful coexistence and cultural tolerance.
That's a laudable goal. But we must view the situation universally--even the parts that we generally avoid--before that can happen.
Until we accept that our actions inspired hatred so deep that such attacks were necessary in their minds, we will have a one-sided POV, and no intelligent solution can come from that. We can continue with this fallacy that it's all about extremist religion, but it is a fallacy, and doesn't deserve to be the primary point of consideration. The attacks of 9/11/2001 were far more driven by political issues than religious fanaticism, and until we are willing to see that, and also see our own actions in the Middle East as the root cause, we will continue to pursue aggressive wars against nations that possess resources we covet--which creates a need for justifications, which eventually leads us to resort to fictions [as in Iraq].
In regards to European ME terrorist attacks, in each case their is a long term historical connection to misdeeds of the past.
Don't get me wrong here, I'm not advocating dismissal of the threat nor do I defend their actions, but you cannot solve a problem until you truly understand its nature, and from your post above, I think you fail to see some very significant pieces of the puzzle.
Cindy Sheehan has mounted an effective campaign against Pelosi in their congressional district which is gaining traction thanks to citizens who have had enough of the criminal secrecy and silence that pervades Washington D.C.
You are a true patriot with more integrity in your pinky finger than the rest of Congress put together! I follow your work closely and am a supporter even though I do not live in Ohio. I voted for you in our state presidential straw poll (BTW, you won 90% of the vote in my district!!!). Thank you for all your efforts to restore the rule of law in this nation and to this current criminal administration in particular. Good luck to you in everything you do.
The Bell
This is truly a practical and necessary step toward healing and growth as a nation and also as a planet. Hopefully, politics as we know it will not prevent the plans you speak of from becoming a reality. Also I wanted to say I appreciate your intelligent, thoughtful and sacrificial dedication to our country throughtout the years. Your truthful stance has been enlightening and inspiring.
I stand with you on the impeachment of both Bush and Cheney although I don't think I will see that happen but I do hope you will continue to push for accountability even after they leave office ! I also would love to see Both Bush and Cheney stripped of any pension that the American tax payers would have to pay for and no special treatment afforded to presidents and vice presidents after they leave office.