32. Weapons of Mass Deception

September 11th was the day where I learned as a girl that America was not impervious. I'll never forget the people standing in the windows and the smoke. Little did I know I would grow up to live in New York City and it wasn't until then I understood the scale of the disaster. It's not until you realize just how big those buildings are, how close everything is, the people trapped in the subways, people walking home to NEW JERSEY because they didn't have cash for a cab and the ATMs were down. Meeting friends and clients who survived it...It's incomprehensible As a girl I remember fear, I remember everyone wanting to go to war, and to war we went. A war that wouldn't end until after I had graduated high school. The claims I remember were to defend democracy and to end Saddam's weapons of mass destruction program. Weapons that were never there Weapons that were searched for for months And in our wake we started an onslaught on a country we had no business being in, and our recklessness paved the way for the domination of ISIS and the re-insurgence of the Taliban.The first amendment is the single most important amendment we have. We HAVE to be able to question and condemn our government, we HAVE to be able to demand answers, we HAVE to be able to protest. 9/11 and the Iraqi War are a great example of real tragedy, real heroes, real courage, and the very real and all too common instance of the powerful using it to their advantage. I hope that we can use this conversation to honor the innocent and the brave and remember to ask questions to the powers behind the machine and demand accountability when they lie or cover things up. The story and article of NYC resident Christina Stanton shared at her request and with her full permission** See her article here: https://thedispatch.com/article/september-11-victims-memorial-health-trump-cuts/Sources: Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (2006) – Pulitzer Prize winner, deeply researched account of al-Qaeda’s rise and the events leading to 9/11.The 9/11 Commission Report (2004) – Official bipartisan investigationAnthony Summers, The Eleventh Day: The Full Story of 9/11 and Osama bin Laden (2011) – Investigative account with interviews and newly declassified documents.Steve Coll, Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (2004).Mitchell Zuckoff, Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 (2019) Garrett M. Graff, The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 (2019) – Oral history drawn from transcripts, survivors, responders.Bob Woodward, Plan of Attack (2004) Thomas E. Ricks, Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq (2006) – Military-focused critique of the war planning and execution.Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq’s Green Zone (2006) – On occupation mismanagement.Charles Duelfer, Comprehensive Report of the Special Advisor to the DCI on Iraq’s WMD (Duelfer Report) (2004) – Definitive assessment that Iraq did not have stockpiles of WMDs.Michael R. Gordon & Bernard E. Trainor, Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq (2006).Andrew J. Bacevich, The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War (2005) – Broader critique of U.S. war culture, with Iraq as case study.Anthony H. Cordesman, The Iraq War: Strategy, Tactics, and Military Lessons (2003).Francis Fukuyama, America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy (2006) – Explains ideological currents behind Iraq War push.Foreign Affairs and International Security articles on U.S. grand strategy post-9/11.Middle East Journal and Journal of Military History articles on insurgency and U.S. occupation.U.S. Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports on 9/11 and Iraq (2001–2010).RAND Corporation studies: e.g., Operation IRAQI FREEDOM: Decisive War, Elusive Peace (2004).