今天是美国September 11 事件24周年。我还记得那个恐怖的早晨。当时我住在圣路易斯机场附近Bridgeton: 我上班的办公室earth city开车大概五分钟的样子。我来圣路易斯上班还不到一年。那天早上看电视新闻，看到纽约的世贸中心在冒烟，旁边好像有直升机🚁在监控。后来到了公司，大家都在cafeteria 茶水咖啡厅看电视📺，发现不对了。后来的事大家都知道了。2017年我去纽约的时候去参观了911的纪念地。2017年我还不知道有华裔的空姐在这个事件中遇难并且是英雄，Betty Ong 鄧月薇，下次去纽约的时候争取去看一下她的纪念碑。
现在回过头来看，911事件很有可能是美国国运由强变弱的一个标志。当时美国是世界🌍的唯一的超级大国。冷战的主要对手苏联10年前也就是1991年垮台，分裂为15个加盟共和国：最大的俄罗斯当时经济困难。中国在2001年12月11日加入WTO世界贸易组织，当时在世界经济上的地位跟现在是完全不能比的。但是这么强大的一个国家居然被19个恐怖分子用一个非常规的方法得手：在人员，和财产上都有巨大损失。更糟糕的是，小布什政府没有一个冷静的头脑，去打一下阿富汗🇦🇫也还可以理解：毕竟塔利班给基地组织的恐怖分子提供了庇护。他老人家顺便也去打跟这事八个杆子打不着的伊拉克🇮🇶。结果美国在两个地方都受到重创：伤亡和经济损失估计是6万亿美元。帮小布什插屁股的都是民主党的总统：2011年奥巴马总统命令美军撤出伊拉克。2021年拜登总统下令美军撤出阿富汗：之前川普第一任后期与塔利班谈判美军撤军等事项。
我是1997年夏天来美国的。我在美国第一站是在密苏里的罗拉读机械工程的硕士。2000年10月份开始我在圣路易斯上班，一直至今。二十五年我换了不少单位：我数了一下，好像一共是十个单位。我好像对公司不是太loyal 🙂
回到美国的国运。小布什在2000年大选中与克林顿的副总统戈尔打得难解难分。最后打官司，最高法院判定不再无止境地重新数选票：也就是判了小布什赢。但是小布什好像对伊拉克总统萨达姆曾经想刺杀他老爸老布什这件事耿耿于怀。9-11 事件让他正好找到一个借口。他先打的阿富汗，因为当时塔利班给制造9-11的基地组织和本拉登提供庇护。他接着说萨达姆有Weapons of Mass desctrucion. 后来大家发现这纯属于谎言。但是2003年到2011年8年的伊拉克战争其实也是小规模地撕裂了美国。
当时美国参议院投票，77:23 支持小布什去打伊拉克和萨达姆。我记得当时比较有名的民主党美国参议员里面，希拉里，拜登，克里(John Kerry), 爱德华(John Edwards), Joe Lieberman (戈尔2000年总统竞选搭档）等都投了赞成票。投反对票的参议员不多，我记得有西弗吉尼亚州的一个老参议员 Robert Byrd，还有Bernie Sanders, 和伊利诺伊州出来的年轻参议员奥巴马。现在来看，其实奥巴马2008年大选以黑马(no pun intended)的姿态先在党内打败希拉里，然后又在大选中打败共和党的候选人约翰麦卡恩John McCain。这些在2002年关于授权给小布什打伊拉克的投票中已经埋下伏笔。
我印象很深的一个小事，2006年，我当时有个美国人是我的roommate. 我把我2 bedroom 的 condo 租出去了一间。他是阿肯色来的刚毕业不久的白人大学生。我们当时讨论希拉里，爱德华和奥巴马这三人里面，谁会最后赢得民主党总统大选的提名。我说爱德华可能性最大，因为希拉里是女的，奥巴马是黑人。我说我感觉在我有生之年估计看不到美国有黑人做总统。我在两年后就被打了脸。因为奥巴马当选了总统。但是后来我注意到其实白人里面有不少不服的。后来白人至上主义和川普的起来，其实也跟奥巴马当选总统有关。我最近看到WXC的一篇博文分析得蛮好。
美国社会对阿拉伯族裔和穆斯林等少数民族的歧视
我记得9-11以后小布什政府和美国社会对穆斯林和阿拉伯人的歧视。其实很多美国白人根本就说不出锡克族（在印度🇮🇳和斯里兰卡🇱🇰的一个少数民族）和穆斯林或阿拉伯人的差别。结果就有锡克族的寺庙受到白人恐怖分子的攻击：有人员伤亡。
I don’t want to reiterate what happened after George W Bush. During 2001 to 2009, the W’s presidency, I felt not that good. And I had similar feeling between 2017 and 2021 (and the January 6th made me sick, honestly). Now it’s Trump’s 2nd term, and we all know what happened in last 8 months or so. Basically, the Hispanics (the brown people) were treated horrendously. And not to mention the Korean engineers who came to help the Hyundai plant in Geogia.
September 11 Commission
This is their Wikipedia page. I do recall there were bi-partisan commission, and they did a lot of good work, reflecting what went wrong etc. But this is purely from technicality level, not political level. By that I mean, the people on the commission didn’t examine why the terrorists have so much hate towards America (government and people, not just military). In fact, if you pay a bit attention to that part of the world, the hate is not limited to the hardened terrorists, they are fairly common among ordinary people in some of countries in the middle east and northeastern Africa say Somalia. I remember rewatching this documentary Black Hawk Down last year and can get the sense of hate or resentment towards America. But neither the US government nor the American people pay attention to that, with the recent cut and shutdown of USAid, the work of trying to win heart and minds is totally gone now.
Here is a google AI summary:
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The 9/11 Commission Report identified critical failures in U.S. intelligence, border security, and aviation security, leading to the 9/11 attacks, and proposed a global counterterrorism strategy focused on attacking terrorists, disrupting their support networks, and preventing attacks. It recommended structural reforms to improve government coordination, establish a new Department of Homeland Security, and enhance national security capabilities through improved intelligence sharing, border controls, and cybersecurity measures. Key Failures Identified
- Failures of Imagination, Policy, Capabilities, and Management: The report highlights fundamental flaws in how the U.S. government perceived and responded to the terrorist threat before 9/11.
- Intelligence and Information Sharing Issues: The intelligence community failed to follow up on potential leads, recognize tampered visa applications, and share information effectively.
- Border and Aviation Security Loopholes: The U.S. had permeable borders, weak immigration controls, and inadequate aviation security measures.
- Lack of Military Options: Before 9/11, there were limited military options to deal with the evolving terrorist threat, and unsuccessful diplomatic efforts were made to address it.
- Inadequate Response Systems: Homeland defense and emergency response systems were not fully developed or effective.
Key Recommendations
- Global Strategy Against Terrorism: The report called for a coherent strategy that included attacking terrorists, disrupting their financing and operations, and preventing future attacks.
- Strengthening Homeland Security: It recommended creating a unified homeland security system, including the establishment of a new Department of Homeland Security.
- Improved Intelligence Community Management: The report suggested organizational changes to enhance intelligence, including better human resource development and the establishment of a central security coordination body.
- Enhanced Border and Immigration Security: Specific recommendations included implementing a comprehensive biometric entry-exit screening system and setting standards for identification documents to control travel and prevent terrorism.
- Strengthened Aviation Security: This included improving profiling systems, developing a robust “no-fly” list, and improving security in other parts of the transportation system.
- Protecting Civil Liberties: The report called for safeguards for privacy and civil liberties within new security systems and recommended a board within the executive branch to oversee adherence to these guidelines.
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我自己的一点想法
But at the same time, what do I care? I have lived in this country since 1997 and worked since 2000, and our two kids were born and grew up here and they are Americans (US citizens). I am in middle 50s and I think I have done my part on many things in life, and now I like to step back on many things that could potentially make me unhappy: this include my 9 to 5 day job, as well as the US politics. I am doing something fun now, from swimming, to learning music (guitar and piano) and so on.
I think I am going to live outside the USA for a few years after my retirement. But in my crummy years I will probably stay reasonably close to my kids and that probably means USA.
