Being in downtown NYC, I saw the whole thing happen and then lived through the crazy days that came after it. I will never forget the shock, rage, and fear of that period.
But by its seventh anniversary there's an even more hateful overlay. Now, 9/11 invokes in my memory above all:
1) "All right, you've covered your ass. You can go home now." (Bush to the CIA briefer in August 2001.)
2) My Pet Goat.
3) The instantaneous decision, made at the top but immediately embraced (and indeed anticipated) by the entire Republican establishment and base, to treat it as a wedge issue for political gain, rather than as a Pearl Harbor-like national focal point. Only people who hated their opponents and loved power more than they cared about anything else could have done such a thing. If there were a hell they would rot in it eternally for that alone.
You've pretty much summed up some of my more angry thoughts on the subject. I am also disappointed that we squandered so much at the time, in terms of opportunity, hope and change for the future.
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