5 years on.....

Well it was the 5th anniversary of the hijacked airliner attacks on the USA resulting in several thousands of deaths and a fair old clean up cost and reconstruction of 'Ground Zero' and others.
Now like many observers of that day we all remember where we where, what we saw, what we heard and so forth. A piece of history indelibly etched because of the live unfolding events, saturation media coverage and untold deaths. The ripples outward of shock, awe and disbelief.

The resulting defence of the USA against Muslim extremists/Fundamentalists. The 'War' on terror. Countries invaded and occupied due to unpopular regimes to fight 'terror'. The situation we find ourselves in as regards the middle east as a whole, a simmering conflagration awaiting for the next hot flashpoint and tinder to connect and result in more conflict. I question would this be if 9/11 had never happened. I question if 7/7 would have happened too if it were not for 9/11.

Now on the day of 9/11 my initial reaction as guilty as I feel now was 'well about bloody time' this in the context that I heard the first airliner had hit and the towers, one in flames were both standing and people were evacuating. Emergency crews where flooding there and people had not started taking their own lives in what was to become a terrible fate.

My reasoning had and to some extent still is that American governments foreign policy over the years had caused a multinational Muslim resentment and non domestic attacks had already occurred to the USA and they were not addressing the issue of why is this happening?. Now I can't say I do either but many political issues such as Palestine, Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan,Saudi Arabia, Yemen etc etc. America had an almost bullying rather than peacekeeping view in many extremist eyes, this certainly hasn't been helped over the last five years.

Now having heard about the attacks computer geek back then as I still am I logged on to some chat rooms and within a few minutes I was talking to people within the first tower hit. I cannot and will never erase those vivid memories. Mainly American civilian office workers all with internet access at desks smelling smoke unsure whether to evacuate wanting the world outside to know they where ok but also wanting to know what was happening. The office manager heading to the tower as his wife had arrived there some half hour maybe less before. Bum, some things are always going to be there because I tried not to look at the glossy pictures of two towers burning in falling but to think what I should have said that might have saved even one of those lives.

No I didn't realise the danger they were in, the webcams are showing hundreds of emergency workers there. Many of whom subsequently didn't leave. So after seeing all the other 5th anniversary footage saturating our attention this blog journal is my tribute to those who died, all innocent of this messed up world. Whatever would be conspiracy behind those events, whoever was responsible has changed my world irrevocably and regardless of my views on global politics that hurts.