What On Earth?-Column #16, September 2003

We are now approaching the 2-year anniversary of the biggest tragedy to hit New York, since the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing: The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001; which THIS TIME, completely destroyed the landmark twin towers, and almost destroyed the Pentagon. I want to talk about the events leading up to it, and also what has been done since then.

Well, in February, we watched as we remember the 6 victims who died in the 1993 WTC Bombing. And since then, we all thought, "Now, WHY didn't we beef up security after THAT attack, and waited till the after math of 9-11?" But, in April, we didn't think about THAT. We watched AGAIN, as the mastermind, Ramzi Yousef, had his conviction UPHELD, a sign that the US was winning the war on terrorism, EVEN if we didn't do anything after the 1993 WTC Bombing. Now, many of you are asking me, "John, why think about that NOW?" Well, I didn't think about that, until September 11, when my college journalism teacher walked into the room, and brought in some newspapers with the big headline in BOLD LETTERS. In the lower right hand corner of the Wall Street Journal, was an article about the 1993 bombing's families' victims talk of 9-11. I was happy about that, and I'm even HAPPIER about the articles talking about the anniversary of the bombing.

After 9-11, Congress overwhelmingly passsed the US Patriot Act, a bill that allows Congress to wiretap and look into our records. As you may or may not know, many people are saying that THAT invades the civil liberties of our citizens, and Attorney General John Ashcroft, who WANTED it passed, disagrees. And HE thinks that it's successful. Well, it MAY be successful NOW, but it WON'T be successful in the FUTURE, is what I say, as well as many citizens, as well as those who support and are members of, the ACLU, or the American Civil Liberties Union. Believe it or not, 160 communities in 28 states have passed opposing bills that make sure that the Patriot Act doesn't hit THEIR citizens. And for good reason. At the ACLU's website, Laura Murphy, the leader of the Washington branch says that when the Americans hear about these new powers, they'll say that this act is ANYTHING BUT PATRIOTIC, which most of you will agree. And all I have to say is, well, Mr. Ashcroft, if you're saying that this bill will PROTECT our civil liberties, then WHY, OH WHY, would you want to wiretap us and look into our records? You're REFUSING to do what you've promised us! And besides, wiretapping us and looking into our records is NOT called protecting civil liberties, it's called INVADING civil liberties. And that's why I, as well as many others out there, would like you, the Bush administration, and the Patriot Act, to ALL be shown the door in 2004.

As we've been hearing these last few months, a memorial has been planned for the victims of BOTH Attacks. New York Senator Charles Schumer, a Democrat, has decided, that, like the victims of 9-11, that there be a memorial, AND that the families of the 1993 attack victims be compensated. This comes as a relief to the families of the 6 victims, and even a BIGGER relief to me, because it's only fair that people know about the 1993 attack. It's a part of history, you know, and history should NEVER be forgotten. Now, if there are any charities to help these families, well those charities would be the same ones helping out on 9-11. From the Red Cross, to the United Way, you've got plenty to donate to them.

Well, we learned that Ramzi Yousef was behind the 1993 WTC attack. So, guess who was behind the 9-11 attack? That's right, a close relative to Yousef, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. We may have him, we may have not. But one thing's for sure, we've gotten the 1993 attack's mastermind, so it's a good sign we're winning the war on terrorism. And it's ALSO good to know that Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda were behind the two attacks as well. We've captured many Al-Qaedaians, now we've got to capture Bin Laden, and it won't be easy. I repeat, IT WILL NOT BE EASY. So, now's the time to tell you what I've learned up to now:

In my last 9-11 anniversary column, I said that the North Tower is the one with the ANTENNA. This is known to natives as ONE WORLD TRADE CENTER. The South Tower is TWO WORLD TRADE CENTER. It all depends on your point of view, as to which one's taller and which one's shorter. I thought that the North Tower is TALLER, the South Tower is Shorter. Well, it turns out that there are DIFFERENT points of view, depending on how YOU view it. However, if you look at it from a FAR view, you can see that they actually look identical to each other, and those heights differ, as you get closer.

So, many are asking, "John, how did what happened on September 11 NOT happen in 1993?" Well, the attacks occur in different parts of the towers, and it's all about the material as well. In the 1993 Bombing, the bombs went off in the underground compartments, and the heat from the towers managed to keep the cyanide gas from spreading to the towers. In the DEADLIER attack in 2001, the Jet Fuel managed to spread to the remaining floors, and that caused the each of the towers to come crashing down, a la the pancake effect. A more detailed, FLASH Presentation is available as a link at my homepage, if you want to learn more about it. Several programs on television also talk about both attacks, but focus on the latter attack, because THAT is the big attack. And the two attacks were DIFFERENT, as stated in my column on the 1993 attack's 10th anniversary. The 1993 attacks were bombs placed in the BOTTOM of the Twin Towers, while 9-11, as we watched in horror, were just ordinary planes transformed, by hijackers, into MAN-MADE MISSLES that flew into the CENTERS of the two twin towers. At first, many of us thought it was an ACCIDENT. I thought it was BAD WEATHER. But, it WAS an ATTACK, for real.

Now, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you where I, myself, was, that fateful day, something I didn't do in my last 9-11 anniversary column. I was at Richland College that day, and in my first class, which was Piano class, I had gotten word from one of the students that a plane had hit the WTC. I thought she was kidding, until after that class, when I went down to the cafeteria to take my usual break, snacking and studying. I saw it all on TV. I was very horrified. ALL the TV's were tuned to the coverage, whether you watched CNN or Fox. I saw it all day. It was the BIG TALK ALL DAY LONG. I had seen MORE coverage during Journalism class, my last class of the day. It was SHOCKING, as many thought. Of course, I was shocked.

That night, President Bush denounced the attacks, as did many of the world's US Supporters, including the BIG ally, the UK. In his speech, Bush said that "America was targeted for attack because we're the brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world, and no one will keep that light from shining." And it HASN'T STOPPED SHINING. YET. And it NEVER WILL STOP. And we can thank the best AND most known New York landmark out there, THE STATUE OF LIBERTY, for keeping that light shining. Her torch has glowed since 9-11, and this flame is an eternal flame, and it will continue to be one, no matter where you live in New York, in America, or in a foreign country. There are a lot of free countries in this world, on this planet. And it doesn't matter if you're French, German, British or American, the country YOU live in is a FREE COUNTRY, A DEMOCRACY, if you're a US supporter.

As I stated in the last 9-11 Anniversary column, the coverage went on 24/7 mode, until the week after, when regular programming resumed. When the markets resumed, they took a HUGE Nosedive, and the Dow lost over 600 points that day. Even the economy took a nosedive, from pay cuts to job cuts, and no one was ready to get back to normal. YET. Even the sports world had to take a breather. Some sports events were cancelled due to the attack, and as a result, were rescheduled, and went on.

As I have for the last 2 years, I've taken the chance to learn about the attack's predecessor. The 1993 Bombing made a change in security at all public buildings. But back then, we didn't have the color-coded terror alert system that we have now. After 9-11, the amount of security went up, WAY UP from its predecessor.

We've also learned that Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda network are also behind the 1993 attack as they are behind 9-11. Even as the war on terrorism grows and grows, like the current winning streak for US, Bin Laden insists we're against Islam. Well, Islam represents peace, and this a man who DOESN'T represent peace, and thus, DOESN'T represent Islam. But we've had plenty of Muslims and Islams supporting us these last few years. And it's been working. We don't care what nationality or religion these attackers are. If they SUPPORT a terrorist, they ARE a terrorist, as said by President Bush.

And of course, the question still lingers: WHY WERE WE TARGETED FOR ATTACK? Well, as mentioned above, Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda are waging a JIHAD, or holy war, against America and anyone who supports it. Well, we're waging a war of our own, and it's to drive out all those who support terrorism, from Islams to Muslims, Baptists to Christians. We don't care WHAT nationality or religion they represent. If they represent TERRORISM, they are TERRORISTS, and as President Bush said earlier that fateful day, "Terrorism against our nation WILL NOT STAND." No, it won't. And, we haven't had any attacks on America since 9-11, so that's a sign of the good times we're returning to. And, in addition, Bush pointed out that "The resolve of our great nation is being tested. But make no mistake: We will show the world that we will pass this test." And it's gonna be a long test, too. From driving out terrorism to protecting the land of the free, this is ONE test we WILL pass, and we WILL pass it, with the COLLECTIVE SUPPORT AND WILL OF THE WORLD.

In conclusion, I would just like to say the following 4 words that I've said time and time again: God Bless The USA. This is John Lee saying, "Go HOME."