The ghosts of 9/11 still haunt us…

As a 9//11 Pentagon “survivor” who lost twenty-seven “Shipmates”  on that fateful day I view  the current situation in Iran and our yet to be determined response to Iran with deep skepticism. Prior to 9/11 and the highest loss of American lives since Pearl Harbor our Intelligence Establishment had the exact location of Osama Bin Laden pinpointed several times to the point that we could have taken him out by a number of means – cruise missiles or “direct action” on the ground by our special operations forces. The only thing lacking was the political will and resolve by the National Command Authority (NCA) to give the green light to execute the mission. The trigger was not pulled as there was always “hope” that he could be dealt with under more favorable conditions. 

So fast forward some twenty years and we continue to appease our adversary in the middle east – Iran. The current Administration’s intransigence and hand wringing have only exacerbated a volatile situation and new we have needlessly lost the lives of three more American service members. As with Osama  Bin Laden we may “hope” Iran’s proxies are reigned in but as I learned as a young military officer “hope is never a strategy.” 

In my office I have a photograph signed by the twenty-seven Navy of my former office mates  who were lost in the Pentagon on 9/11.  When I see their faces starring back at me each day I can only wonder if a previous Administration had taken the risk and acted decisively, they would still be here with their families and loved ones and not standing the watch for perpetuity in the Pentagon navy Command Center.

It was Winston Churchill who stated with steely eyed determination in the face of Nazi Germany in the dark days prior to World War II that   “An appeaser is one who feeds the alligator, hoping it will eat him last.” Well, the events of recent days have proven that both appeasement and hope have only led as they did prior to 9/11 to the loss of American lives. If the ghosts of 9/11 have taught us anything it is to be swift, bold, and decisive.

We shall see what lies ahead but unfortunately, I suspect we shall see more of the same failed diplomacy and missteps responsible for the loss of lives on 9/11, Abbey Gate during our feckless retreat from Afghanistan, and now in Jordan. I can still see the ghosts of 9/11 asking me why did they die in vain ? If only a nation that was once not afraid to confront evil and spit in its eye stood tall and acted like the leader of the Free World they could perhaps rest in peace.