North Coast Online

They Never Liked Us

A favorite shibboleth of the left is that after 9/11 the whole world was with us.  Anne Applebaum has a somewhat clearer memory of European reaction in the days immediately following.

But it's also true that this initial wave of goodwill hardly outlasted the news cycle. Within a couple of days a Guardian columnist wrote of the "unabashed national egotism and arrogance that drives anti-Americanism among swaths of the world's population". A Daily Mail columnist denounced the "self-sought imperial role" of the United States, which he said had "made it enemies of every sort across the globe".

That week's edition of Question Time featured a sustained attack on Phil Lader, the former US ambassador to Britain – and a man who had lost colleagues in the World Trade Centre – who seemed near to tears as he was asked questions about the "millions and millions of people around the world despising the American nation". At least some Britons, like many other Europeans, were already secretly or openly pleased by the 9/11 attacks.

And all of this was before Afghanistan, before Tony Blair was tainted by his friendship with George Bush, and before anyone knew the word "neo-con", let alone felt the need to claim not to be one.

The dislike of America, the hatred for what it was believed to stand for – capitalism, globalisation, militarism, Zionism, Hollywood or McDonald's, depending on your point of view – was well entrenched. To put it differently, the scorn now widely felt in Britain and across Europe for America's "war on terrorism" actually preceded the "war on terrorism" itself. It was already there on September 12 and 13, right out in the open for everyone to see.

Truth be known, that attitude was fairly widespread right here at home, too.

[UPDATE:] Jonathan Alter's memory is, as usual, cloudy.

By staying "humble," as he promised in 2000, he preserved much of the post-9/11 good feeling abroad, which paid dividends when it came time to pull together a coalition to handle North Korea and Iran.

By the way, read the rest of this piece by Alter for a good laugh.  It's his vision of what Bush could have accomplished if only he were a Nancy Pelosi Democrat.  Here's a sample.

At home, some aides suggested that Bush simply tell the nation to "go shopping." But the president knew he had a precious opportunity to ask Americans for real sacrifice. He took John McCain's suggestion and pushed through Congress an ambitious national-service program that bolstered communities and helped train citizens as first responders.

And here I always thought that lefties don't have a sense of humor.

The Plot Only Thickens

What do you suppose the loony-left conspiracy theorists who maintain that the 9/11 attacks were manufactured by the American government make of the new tape showing Bin Laden with some of the hijackers?

Or was that heavy-set guy in the background really Karl Rove in disguise?  Hmm.

The Japes Of Wrath

BUBBA GOES BALLISTIC ON ABC - Insists Net Pull Drama

A furious Bill Clinton is warning ABC that its mini-series "The Path to 9/11" grossly misrepresents his pursuit of Osama bin Laden - and he is demanding the network "pull the drama" if changes aren't made.

I'm sure this comes as quite a shock to Mr. Clinton.  He's grown accustomed to fawning coverage in the major media.  Oh yeah, I know, they dared cover the Monica Lewinsky thing but they never really did disapprove of the affair. To them it was just another celebrity sex story -- as if Brad were cheating on Angelina for example.

And the Democrats in general, after their success in quashing a Sinclair broadcast that presented the Swift Boat veterans in a positive light, are probably still assuming they can make this go away, too.  But in the end they are hoist on their own petard.

It was the left that demanded the creation of the 9/11 Commission (you'll recall Bush was opposed to it.) And though its conclusions were fairly damning of the Clinton administration's actions, the press dutifully downplayed the negatives.  Now it finally comes out.  Oh, it's dramatized to be sure, but probably much less so than was Fahrenheit 911.  And that didn't seem to bother the Dems a bit -- and I don't remember Bush ever calling for it to be pulled from theaters.

The Path To 911?

On The Phone When It Happened

Kevin Cosgrove's 911 call from the 105th floor of the South Tower when it collapsed.  Warning: listening to someone die isn't easy.

Kevin's biography and picture here.

Thanks to FreeRepublic.com

World Trade Center

Cal Thomas gives Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" the kiss of box-office death for half the country's population.

I have a long list of favorite patriotic movies, including "Victory at Sea," "Yankee Doodle Dandy" and "Sands of Iwo Jima," but Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" is right up there with the best of them. It is one of the greatest pro-American, pro-family, pro-faith, pro-male, flag-waving, God Bless America films you will ever see.

What? Oliver Stone, who hangs out with and praises Fidel Castro? Oliver Stone, who indulges in conspiracy theories and is a dues-paying member of the Hollywood left? Yes, that Oliver Stone.

It looks good.  Here's the trailer.

[UPDATE:] John Podhoretz thinks it through and finds the film a whitewash.  Not an altogether implausible interpretation -- not having seen it, mind you.

The 'Rock Stars Of Grief'

Debra Burlingame's brother was the pilot of Flight 77 which was flown into the Pentagon on 9/11.  But rather than scream about Ann Coulter's description of the "Jersey girls," she tends to agree.

For good measure, she also states that the 9/11 families "are not a monolithic group that speaks with one voice". The activist organisations, she says, have been indulged too much. Standing by a memorial in Manhattan to the September 11 victims, with her back to Ground Zero, Ms Burlingame says: "I first felt the need to speak out when 'The Families of September 11' group protested against the use of images of Ground Zero in Bush campaign advertisements. The idea that relatives of victims 'own' September 11 and its images, and can give or withhold permission to use them, is frankly ridiculous.

"People held back from criticising the relatives because of who they were. But what's happening is that this prominent group of activists have become the rock stars of grief in this country. I think people are getting sick of them because they are being so demanding. I can say it because I'm a relative too."

[...]

According to Ms Burlingame, discussions over future memorials to victims have been constrained by demands from 9/11 activists for "politically correct" mourning. "The Ground Zero memorial will list all the names of those who died," says Ms Burlingame. "There was a suggestion made that the firefighters who died heroically doing their job should be acknowledged by stating their unit or engine. What was the response from the 9/11 groups? They said there can be 'no hierarchy of heroes'! Why can't we acknowledge what the firefighters did in trying to save lives? It's just nutty."

Attending the commission's sometimes rowdy hearings, which have been held in both Washington and New York, Ms Burlingame says it also became clear that the 9/11 Steering Committee, an umbrella organisation for the various relatives' groups, had a specific, partisan agenda.

"The groups wanted to dictate how the commission was constituted, who the witnesses would be and what questions should be asked," she says. "They won't say it in public but I can tell you that in private, it is all about bashing Bush. They want to get Bush out of office and they are using 9/11 and the commission to try to ensure that happens.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot -- she's a Democrat.

Let's Not Roll

All of the reviews of United 93  I've read to date have been quite positive; as is the one in ArtVoice this week.  The reviewer M. Faust agrees that the film is well-made and treats its subject -- one that could easily have been milked for emotion -- with restraint.

Can you think about what happened on that plane for more than a moment without getting a lump in your throat? Of course not. Focusing on September 11 from this vantage point may strike some as unduly sadistic, but it’s the only possible way to do it. Any other approach would be too grim to bear; at least in this one area, the enemy was engaged and bested. (And while it doesn’t dwell on it, the film does make the point that in bringing down United 93 a group of ordinary Americans did what the military failed to do that morning.)

Having begun this project, Greengrass proceeded with admirable restraint. There are a dozen places where the film pulls back rather than go for a sure-fire Big Moment. We know that we will hear the words “Let’s roll,” but it’s minimized. People are attacked and killed on the plane, passengers early on, a terrorist or two later—surmise on the film’s part—but they are not dwelt on or gloated over.

Yet Faust doesn't really see any purpose to go see the film -- we already know the ending after all -- and cautions us against reading too much into the actions of Flight 93's passengers.

In the film’s press notes, [film-maker] Greengrass says that the passengers on United 93 faced two choices: “Do we sit here and do nothing and hope for the best, hope it turns out all right? Or do we do something about it? And if so, what can we do? That group of people weighed those choices, made a decision and acted upon it. And I think that if we look at what happened, we find a story of immense courage and fortitude—those people were very, very brave.”

No question. But it was also crystal clear to them what was about to happen. Although the film offers them a glimmer of hope for survival, they are choosing between certain death and death with meaning. But important choices are not always made with such overwhelming information. People in a position to make decisions have been known to do so with faulty facts. Does the fact that they struck out boldly validate their actions? No, just the opposite. “Action” like that got us into Iraq; god forbid it get us into Iran as well. I may be overreading Greengrass’s remarks, sniffing propaganda where none exists. Still, if you decide to see this film, it’s something to keep in mind.

Anyone who can even suspect "propaganda" in Greengrass's statement about brave people taking action, is looking for propaganda. And what is that propaganda?  Brave people taking action against a terrorist attack are to be admired. And by the rather jarring leap from movie review to fears over attacking Iran, Faust expresses what I think is a common worry on the left, but one not often openly-admitted.

After the attacks of September 11 there has been a noticeable lack of documentaries and films about the events of that day.  There's been plenty of debate over their causes and effects -- but the entertainment industry (film and TV) have been extremely reticent to rebroadcast the horrifying pictures of the people jumping to their deaths rather than burn.  We haven't seen any dramatizations of the heroism of New York's firefighters and police.  And up till now (with the exception of a TV-movie) the stories of the people caught on the planes that day have been absent from screens.

The reason given is that it's all just too recent -- they're simply being sensitive to the families of the victims.  No need to open old wounds. But it's been more than four years now and 9/11 remains the single most important event of the 21st century. It's exceedingly odd that an attack against the United States that killed 3,000 people and destroyed three of America's most iconic buildings has disappeared from view.

The big fear of replaying the footage of that day and dramatizing its heroism is that we unsophisticated jingoistic and unwashed Americans of a certain political persuasion will be renewed in our determination to assure that Islamic fundamentalist terrorism is wiped out.  Flagging support for the War Against Terror might just be renewed;  if you're opposed to the American-led war, it's a very sensible fear.

But the media log-jam may have broken with the release of United 93.  And while I suspect that most of us will resist our instincts to exit the theater and head down the street goose-stepping toward Iran, we probably will be inspired.

United 93

United 93

Byzantium's Shores expresses doubts over the over the release of United 93.

I just don't know what to make of this movie. We don't know what really transpired on Flight 93, but we sure know what we want to have transpired on Flight 93. The trailer is cut like the standard trailer for just about any action thriller that involves ordinary citizens placed into extraordinary circumstances -- which is exactly the case with Flight 93, but the ending was not what was expected and I don't see how it can be framed as such in a Hollywood movie.

I should probably reserve judgement for the actual film, since trailers are so notorious for not conveying accurately what a film is really like. But I don't know how else to say it: this trailer left a bad taste in my mouth. I wish I could tell exactly why.

I don't share his confusion -- I'm very pleased to see the film's release.  We're forgetting, I think, the horror of 9/11 and I hope that the film becomes a big box-office success that reminds Americans of the absolute horror of that day and reconfirms the solidarity with fighting it that was evident then.

Watch the trailer for yourself, here.

WTC Falling Man Identified

The American press in its desire to ignore the horror of 9/11 has long refrained from re-showing the images of those desperate victims who decided to jump to their deaths rather than burn.  Elements of the British media, however, aren't so eager to just move on.

Read REVEALED THE FALLING MAN OF 9/11.