The Politics Of It

President Bush is going to give a speech tonight. I do not intend to watch it, and short of some monstrous new policy shift or announcement, I do not intend to blog about it after it is done. It will be the same speech he's been giving for five years filled the same platitudes about freedom and the same political posturing. The only real mystery is guessing which of his disastrous, unamerican policies he will use the shadow of 9/11 to defend and demand renewed support for. The Iraq war? Guantanamo Bay and secret prisons in Europe? Torture? Warrantless wiretapping and data-mining? Iraq is a given, but he may throw in one of those other things if he's feeling ballsy enough.

I intended not to blog about the politics 0f 9/11 today- letting my last rememberance post stand alone- but then I realized that violated my earlier post about moving on. Touche, me. And since the terrorists 'hate us for our freedoms' (and no other reason!), I also realized I would be doing ol' Osama- remember him?- a favor if I gave the politics a pass on this somber afternoon.

Rather than explore the politics aspects and aftermaths of all this myself, I will simply link to some articles and commentaries I found interesting today. Maybe you will find something of interest to you in the bunch.

*Articles:
-AFP: Fifth 9/11 anniversary marked by tears and politics
-NY Times: The Hole in the City’s Heart
-Washington Post: Bin Laden Trail 'Stone Cold'

*Commentary:
-Bob Burnett (HuffPost): The Legacy of 9/11
-Salon War Room: The path to Iraq
-David Corn (The Nation): Cheney, 9/11 and the Truth about Iraq
-Eric Alternman: 9/11: America attacked twice
-Atrios: The Good War
-Robert Scheer (TruthDig): Robert Scheer: Gaping Holes in the 9/11 Narrative
-Attytood (Will Bunch): The Emperor's New Clothes: How 2nd graders saw what the American media wouldn't report
-The American Prospect (Michael Tomasky): Ground Zero ceremony 'left aside the partisan rancor'??
-George Lakoff (HuffPost): Five Years After 9/11: Drop the War Metaphor
-Americablog: The lessons of September 11

TruthDig has a good video compilation. Think Progress features a comprehensive timeline.


(And yes, this is a real wire service photograph from today)