Everything After - A 9.11 Youth Circle

I wanted to start this topic to see how everyone percieves this "war on terrorism." Do you all agree with what Bush has done so far? If not what do you not agree with and what should be done instead?

I feel like the "war on terrorism" has not succeeded well thus far. We started it by bombing a 3rd world backwards country to root out terrorist cells hiding there. What we have accomplished so far is toppling an evil government and putting another government in power that has no real influence yet.

To my knowledge we haven't captured to many Al-Qaeda forces. Several 1,000 of them are still lurking around in un-activated cells in other countries besides Afghanistan. We are currently in a small skirmish in Afhganistan with left over Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces. Those types of skirmishes could go on for months, if not years, until the current Afghan government can support itself with its own army.

Afghanistan has shown time and time again that a government cannot be sustained without being corrpted and oppressive. I am highly curious how long this new Afghan government will last under tribal pressures.

The U.S. still has not captured the ring leader of Al-Qaeda, or proved he is dead. So, I ask, what good has the "war" done?

Of course there are many many other terrorist organizations besides Al-Qaeda that the U.S. hasn't even confronted yet... What good is a "War on terrorism" without attacking all of the terrorists?

I am highly interested in other people's views on this whether they agree or dis agree with me. I am in apprehension of what ya' all have to say, and please, don't take anything I have said offensively.

...punch and pie

I am not for or agenst. i think we should get justice for the people who died, lick our wounds and move on. we as americans have learned a lot. We need to support each other and help make america better then what it was. We should build the towers again and make them ten stories higher. we have not been defeated, just thown a curve ball. When we do get jsutice it won't be fo njust the people who died, it will be for all americans becuase we all were victems, we all felt the threat, when they bombed us, it took away our snece of security. i know that not all will agree, but this is how i feel.

Heddie83783,

You are only thinking of this nation. Sure, we had a hard time on Sept. 11th. However, I want you to read the article below in full and then try to tell me "we need to lick our wounds and move on." The picture is bigger that just the terrorists who struck us. We need to do more than support each other in America. We need to support our fellow human kind suffering through terrorism in other countries!

These terrorist mobs started a civil war in India, and you can read the results below, they are quite graphic and saddening:

http://www.time.com/time/asia/features/india_ayodhya/cover.html

If you need further proof of terrorism let's look at the conflicts in Isreal shall we:

http://www.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/meast/03/05/mideast/index.html

There are many many more places to list where terrorism is a serious problem. They are all to numerous to list... So, what do you think now?

...punch and pie

I agree with Locke,
In my opinion, the US is not the only country we are talking about here, but it is the current one. We shouldn't just be going out to get "revenge" or "justice" for the souls lost on 911, rather we should make it our cause to eliminate this world of even the thought of attacking, and thereby questioning and offending the freedoms and privileges that a country provides to its citizens, just because one may not be too happy with thier beliefs. I also have a very strong opinion about the US trying to play a role internationally as "the all knowing" always right country. Anything that the US says is true. Basicly, this is what the US is trying to do, they attack Afghanistan with "proof" which they have not shown to the international comittee to justify what they are doing right now. That's just my opinion, and I think I can speak for all the students at Stuyvesant, because we often have discussions about these issues.

I was very upset when I saw Mr. Bush making his now infamous speech about the "axis of evil." I never had much faith in this man but for about two days after September 11th I thought that maybe MAYBE he wasn't so bad. But then he made this speech that reignited all my fears about him - that he is an ultraconservative uncompromising dictator-type who wants to create some sort of Pax Americana through force, without the consent of the people. When he made this speech, I could see no logical reason behind it, beside trying to incite an all-out world war. Why antagonize nations at a time when we want to try and restore peace? Especially nations that, when united against us, could probably destroy us? I felt shocked, and betrayed, and utterly helpless. I remember thinking, "what does he think he's doing?" And feeling that no matter what I did, he would still have the power to go on television and say whatever he wanted -- there was nothing I could do about it. All I can do is stand on my rooftop and shout, "NO! I DON'T WANT THIS!" but all that will happen is I'll be yelled at and told to shut up because questioning the actions of my government is "un-American."
I'm afraid all the time now and I hate that in myself because I'm told that being afraid is "letting the terrorists win." I can't help it though, through all of Mr. Ashcroft's vague warnings and all of the proposed terrorist attacks on the news. Yesterday I watched as Sue Simmons talked about how a nuclear bomb could "vaporize" most of Manhattan and I shuddered. It's hard to not be afraid knowing at any moment that I could just be gone and that somewhere in the world people would be rejoicing my death and praising G-d for their triumph.

Well I would have to commend Mr. Bush for his efforts in Afghanistan to rid the world of evil and terrorist. I just don't think he's the right President for everyday issues that affect Americans like healthcare, education, taxes, or paying off our national debt. He's too much for the rich people, he doesn't know what middle class is. The US government is spending billions daily on the "War against Terrorism," but when it comes to other issues such as Education and Helth Care, they can't find the money to pay for it! If Education was getting atleast half of what the government is spending on the "War against Terrorism," we'd all be in private schools. I just don't get it how they seem to find billions of dollars for war, but not for more important issues that have been affecting all Americans for years now. When Mr. Clinton was in the White House, he tried to improve Education and Health Care, but the Republicans would never back him, because they hated to see a Democratic President gain success, but when Bush wants soemthing done, all the Republicans jump on the bandwagon and make like his ideas for improving our country are like gold and there not! I think Bush is a very decieving man, some people may be able to see through him, like me, but others are blind to the fact. Sorry I got off of the subject, but our country should be in better shape. Bush is not doing enough for America, and if he doesn't do more, he'll lose re-election just like his father.

heddie8383,

I'm sorry, I mis-understood your position on the issue and ripped into you a bit to much in the last post. However, in your most recent post you said, "make sure the people involved get whats comming to them, by that i do not mean by killing people." How do you propose we make sure they are stopped if we don't kill them...? Your thoughts on that would be great...

HappieOur,

I often feel the same way about Bush's policies. I wanted to go break his head open when I read the details of the "Anti-terrorism bill" that was passed. Then I wanted to break his head again when I heard him utter the infamous phrase "Axis of evil." I think a lot of people don't want what he is doing, but honestly what can we do about it? Everyone around me supports Bush blindly, as does everyone around you apparently. How can we show people that not all Americans want to support this policy? Honestly, this government is for the by the people... there must be some way we can stop him... any ideas anyone??

Futurepres2, I just wanna give you a high 5 my man, great ideas in the post. ;)

...punch and pie

I mean give them a fare trial. the jury could be made up of people from a different countries who have nothing to do with it. I believe that under our law we have something that seys that we can all go before a jury of our peers and be convicted or aquitted. Having the people responsible for this sitting in jail for the rest of there lives, and thinking about what they did is as close to justice as we could get. Death would be too good too them cause they would die and then it would be oever for them but if they were sitting in jail, they would have to think. mayby i am wrong but i can not think of anny thing to do to then that was as bad as what they did.

HEY PEOPLE I AGREE WITH MOST OF YOUR THOUGHTS BUT I AM WITH BUSH HE HAS TOOK CHARGE IN SOMETHING HE HAD NO IDEA WAS COMING I HAVE TO GIVE HIM CREDIT I COULDNT HAVE DONE IT! I MEAN THINK ABOUT IT HE CAME IN AND NOT TO MUCH LATER WE GET ATTACKED WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE? SAT DOWN AND READ ABOUT THEIR RELIGION OR PICKED UP RESPONSIBLITY TO YOUR COUNTRY AND STARTED BOMBING? HE IS DOING JUSTICE TO THEM AND AS FAR AS WE KNOW (WHICH IS ONLY WHAT THE GOVERMENT WANTS US TO) WE ARE WINNING YES IF SOME OF THEM UNITED THEY PROBLEY COULD DESTROY US BUT WILL THEY? PROLLY NOT MOSTLY ALL THE LITTLE COUNTRYS HATE EACH OTHER AS WELL AS US. BUT IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT WE BROUGHT THIS ON OURSELVES AFTER WW2 WE WERE A SUPER POWER AND THEN WE KEPT STICKING OUR NOSE IN THEIR BUSINESS. ALL THEM OTHER LITTLE COUNTRIES WE WERE IN THERE KOOLAID AND WE STILL DONT KNOW THE FLAVOR! MANY PRESIDENTS HAVE BROUGHT THIS ON BUSH IS JUST HELPING MAKE IT BETTER AND YES HE IS SPENDING BILLIONS ON THIS WAR BUT FRANKLY I WOULD MUCH RATHER THERE BE NO TERRORIST THAN ME BE A LITTLE BIT SMARTER. I WOULD RATHER BE DUMB THAN BLOWN TO PEICES HOW BOUT YOU? ~~~~~AMBER~~~~~

Hey Amber, I have to disagree with you. The government had known since 1995 that terrorist were planning some sort of Aerial attack on the US and they failed to take immediate action to safeguard what happened on Sept.11th. They shouldn't have had to wait until 5,000 people lose their lives just to lock the cockpit doors, or to put air marshals on all airlines, or screen passengers a lot better. When it comes right down to it, it's a matter of commonsense, and the government clearly didn't have any. Obviously the government was dumb and blind because they couldn't see what was coming. So maybe if they were educated they would've have seen it coming. Perhaps?? Once again, why did the government wait so long to respond to Osama Bin Laden who had already threatened and attacked US interest in Yemen and Tanzania. So why didn't the government act then?? It's a shame that the US had to wait until it happened on its own soil, before they took action and the consequences were even more overwhelming and evil then they expected. By the way, not everyone would be blown to pieces. When you look at the big cities in America like California, Washington D.C., New York, cities like that are the ones that are threatened by terrorist, and the government should have put more safeguards in those cities to prepare them from such attacks like that of 911. If education isn't reformed now, then in the future we'll be even dumber then we are now, because US students already lag behind almost all other countries education wise. We'll still be dividing and multiplying, while Japan is building some new Nuclear missle or aircraft, but we'll be to dumb to know what's going on. So let me ask you this question. Would you whether be blown to pieces by measly terrorist in this current time or would you like to be blown up by the Japanese, who would have an arsenal that could take on the US 10 years from now because we're too dumb to figure out what's going on?

Josh

Amber,

There are a lot of mis conceptions you point out in your post that I would love to debate with you. I'll name a few below:

1.) "We didn't know this was coming"

As Josh pointed out we knew this attack was coming for several years. Our intelligence intercepted communication that something big was happening. However, the FBI, CIA, and local law enforcement agencies were so busy not sharing info. that the terrorists slid right in.

2.) What would I have done that Bush didn't do?

That is a question with a very complex answer. I'll try to shorten my answer by saying I wouldn't have taken to bombing. Bombing is a tactic used all through the 90's by Clinton, and look where it has gotten us thus far. I think instead of bombing we should have worked with the Taliban to bring Bin Laden out and close terrorist cells. Literally a day before we started bombing afghanistan I saw on CNN that the Taliban were willing to turn over Bin Laden to the world court. Bush instead decided to get all bad ass and demanded they turn him over to the U.S. When the Taliban declined we bombed. Bombing is the instant gratification answer, not the long term answer.

3.) We are a super power and are sticking our nose in their busines.

Um... yeah... They stick their nose in ours, we stick it back. Look at China, Soviet Union, Iraq. They all have their spies here and we fly our radar planes or satellites over them. We don't trust them, they don't trust us. You were complaining that we didn't know before hand about 9/11... How else would we know about it without "sticking our nose in their business"?

4.) I would rather be dumb than blown to pieces.

For the answer to this I am going to send you to Darwin Awards that will answer your question on that.

I'm sorry if it feels like I am ripping into you but I felt like the misconceptions you provided needed to be addressed. If you or anyone else here doesn't agree with something I have said please tell me.

...punch and pie

Call me a skeptic, but I don't think the world will ever be "free" of terrorism. It's too broad for it to be stopped. Terrorism is not just what happens on a large scale. Small incidents are bound to happen in any country, at any time. The American government cannot police the entire world.
Also, this war might not even be taking place if this same "ready to rumble" government had been ready to rumble about six years ago, as other group members have pointed out.
I've been doing my own little research and our government is acting very innocent right now, but it as much innocent as it is to blame.

Yeah I agree that "terrorism" is too large an issue to take on in any sort of war. It's too difficult to wage war on a concept rather than a people. But which people should we be waging war against? Is this a war? Or is it just a "police action?" I really can't say. This is such a confusing arena of events and it really is a whole new kind of war. Regarding the issue of "knowing this was coming" I believe we did to some extent. BUT it's unfair to say that Clinton and others did nothing about Osama Bin Laden - the thing is that he attempted to do something about him but found that it was an extremely trecherous endevor (as it is now) but he didnt have the public support that exists today. It's the same issue with the explosion of the Maine and the attack on Pearl Harbor, even the destruction of that British village in world war 2...the government let something terrible happen to its people in order to achieve some sort of political goal, ie getting rid of Osama with 87% of the country rallying behind them. In a cushy place like America, it often takes a catastrophe to wake people up and make them care about anything. It's almost as if people are commodities that can be sacrificed. Now I am a cynic, I'll admit that, and the truth is that what actually is going through the minds of our govenrment officials is probably somewhere in between total selflessness and the total selfishness that I described. Still, I dont feel comfortable leaving my life in their hands, especially when I dont get to know the actual details of this "secret" war and the American media is perfectly content with censoring itself, littering all press with the phrase "G-d bless America" and hero hero hero every two seconds. Seriously katie couric, the word is losing its meaning.

WELL TO WHOEVER SAID ONLY LARGE CITIES LIKE WASHINGTON AND NEW YORK WOULD BE EFFECTED WELL ONE THING I WILL POINT OUT WHERE I LIFE IN A "SMALL SMALL" TOWN IN "GEORGIA" THERE IS A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT! SORRY TO SAY IT BUT SMALL TOWNS LIKE MINE VERY WELL COULD BE AFFECTED. AND INSTEAD OF IT BEING 5,000 PEOPLE IT WOULD BE THE TOWN AND ALL SURROUNDING COUNTIES. THAT IS WHAT SCARES ME. AND NO THE WORLD WILL NEVER BE FREE FROM "EVIL" AS BUSH CALLS IT AND NO WE PROLLY WONT EVER CATCH ALL THE LEADING TALIBAN MEMBERS BUT AT LEAST WE ARE TRYING AND YES THE GOVERMENT DID INTERSEPT THAT SOMETHING "BIG" WAS COMING BUT HOW WERE THEY SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHERE TO GO TO FIND OUT WHAT IT WAS? AND ANOTHER THING YES BUT DID STICKING OUR NOSE IN THEIR BUSINESS REALLY DO US ANY GOOD? WE STILL DIDNT KNOW! NOW DID WE? *SORRY IF IT FEELS I AM BEING RUDE IM NOT BUT JUST WANTED TO SAY THOSE THINGS BUH BYE* ~~~~~AMBER~~~~~

Amber,

You are not being rude as far as I am concerned and I am enjoying your posts.

In your latest post you asked, "Yes, we did stick our nose in their business, but did it do any good?"

In response to that I want to say yes, it did do some good because they knew something "big" was going to happen. Each agency had details that another agency didn't have, and if they had all worked together 9/11 may not have happened. Hindsight is 20/20 though, so I can't complain.

Sticking our nose in others business will continue to do good. We watch them, they watch us, and we know what is going on. Imagine if India or Isreal blocked us off from what is going on in their countries. We would have no idea about the terrorist attacks there and wouldn't be able to offer humanitarian support. Look at Iraq, Suddam Hussien keeps us out as much as he can, so we speculate he has nukes. If he would alleviate our fears he may not be our next target.

So yes, Amber, sticking our nose "where it doesn't belong" is proving to be useful.

I like your point, and other peoples point, that we can never kill off all evil. I wish to differ with that idea. I like to think that every person that comes into this world starts off as being a "good" person. Every new person I meet I trust immediatly until they prove otherwise.

Babies and children do not come to this world doing evil. Evil is learned through enviroment and teachings. While there are still "evil" people in this world teaching people with impressionable minds we will always have evil.

I honestly cannot say that we can rid our planet of every evil person, but we certainly can teach tolerance and respect to lessen evil. Anyone agree/disagree with that?

Everybody else,

I am enjoying your posts also and am learning from your ideas. Just because I don't take issue with them doesn't mean I am not reading them. Keep up the good posts :)

..punch and pie

Hey Amber you weren't being rude at all. I actually felt like you were agreeing with me. Except when you said: You were complaining that we didn't know before hand about 9/11... How else would we know about it without "sticking our nose in their business"? I never said that, unless you were talking about someone else. Once again Amber you have to think realistically. Terrorist aren't that dumb. They're not going to attack a power plant in a rural. community. That's why the government puts power plants in small towns or out in the middle of nowhere to safeguard against Terrorist attacks. And your quote about how the government knew something "Big" was going to happen. They actually knew it was going to be an aerial attack. Common sense would tell the government that if its going to be an aerial attack: 1: It's going to effect a big city. 2: Its going to be biological and/or such as what happen on Sept.11. It doesn't take a genius to figure out something like that. Just like what happened in Pearl Harbor. The government had clear warning signs of an attack, but they failed to take it serious because the US was so powerful, and really the same thing happened on Sept.11. The government needs to communicate more with local police authorities and not just with the FBI huddled up in an office. It's ashame that governors of states can't even protect their own States because of the secretiveness of the US government. I hope now that the US Federal Government has opened its eyes.

See ya,

Josh

I dont think we should be saying that terrorists "won't do" a certain thing, because that one thing that we don't expect is exactly what they'll do. It's not always a question of killing the most amount of people but a question of causing fear, and attacking a small town will cause anxiety throughout the whole country as everyone in every small town and city asks themselves, "are we next?"
Sorry to scare everyone, I tend to do that lately. Also I wanted to ask Amber if that story you told about an Afghan person telling his girlfriend to leave was actually true or if its a rumor -- I would be willing to bet that it's the latter. A lot of racist rumors like that one have been floating around, for example, I heard somewhere that all of the Jews in the world trade center stayed home that day because they knew in advance about the attack. The people that told this rumor were suggesting that the attack was a ploy by the Israeli government. Of course, this didn't actually happen. All of these rumors dividing Americans based on their heritage are only making it worse. for

Hey Amber,

If people took a note as a possible terrorist threat just because he was afghan, then that's being racist and bias. I bet you that, that was not the first threat that ever came to a power plant. Just because he was arab people place a whole lot more of attention to the situation. Why should we trust the people around us?? More Americans kill Americans then Arabs kill Americans. Everyday hundreds of people die, because a fellow American committed murder. So I don't think it's fair to profile one race and leave out another. Did he ever blow up the plant, did he even have bombs in his house?? Now to answer your second question. That's what I've been saying all alone. The government needs to warn local law enforcements about possible terrorist threats and they didn't start doing that until after Sept.11th. There has been numerous debates on Fox News and CNN about this. How can a local cop or Sheriff protect his' her citizens when the federal government is holding back very important information. Once again it's a shame that the US government waited until 5,000 people die before they actually alert our tax paying communities about possible terrorist attacks on our cities.

Hey HappieOur,

That's not true. When a terrorist plans an attack, they try to cause the most casualties possible. Why would they crash Boeing 747 Airliners into two huge towers that they knew would be packed during that time?? Because they knew they could kill lots of innocent civilians. Same thing with whats going in Israel and Palestine. Those terrorist always attack at parties and malls where lots of people are. It's just common sense. You're not going to blow a bomb off in the desert. Trust me, every small town in America is not asking whether they are next. Where I live, where there is like 2,000 people, nobody worries about some terrorist blowing off a bomb at the local jiffy store. Nobody knows where Callahan is.(Where I live.) So I hope that fixes your statement.

See ya,

Josh

I happen to agree with Josh. If terrosrists were really going to decide to perform "acts of evil" then they'll prolly choose the one that results in the most number of casualties. For example, on that so called evidence that the US government presented to the international commitee, it actually says that they calculated the number of casualties it would cause if they crashed the planes into the towers, and which floors they should hit to do the most damage to the structure of the building.

Mehdi

All,

I live in a small town in Utah... The Olympics were just here and now the paralympics are here... So far so good... Although we had so much security around here I don't see how a terrorist could even think of attacking.

I personally think the terrorists would go for something bigger than a small town. They want to hit something that is close to our hearts. There have even been reports that they want to hit the sears tower or other such tall buildings.

...punch and pie

I do not think that everything bush is doing is right, but I think that trying to help afghanistan is a good thing. If we help Afghanistan be a stable coutnry then the terrorists will not be able to just stay there.
Terrorism is a big problem but I do not htink that it is a solveable problem. There willl always be radical groups in the world we just need to concentrate on the ones that give us the biggest problem. I also think we do not want to get caught up in the whole international policing deal either. I think that it will be the best if we just concentrate on homeland security. The terrorists from 9.11 should not have been able to do what they did. I htink that we need more security. I do not mean (I REALLY DO NOT MEAN) racial profiling. I hate tha people think it is okay to profile people. There are thousands of people out there of all different races that are terrorists. There are blacks whites asians....there have been terrorists of every race. America also has a little bit of everything and people should not fear being discriminated against. I thnk that bush's axis of evil will make people more upset. I mean how would you like to be called eveil. Just because trhere are people ther that could be terrorists doesnt mean we should call them evil or compaign against them. I mean germany housed alot of terrorist but we arent going to go up to germany and say you are evil. I really hope that we dont go into those coutnries and try to invade becasue that would be exactly what they did to us. Eye for an eye never works because everyone ends up blind.

ok "josh" I think you've been rather rude this whole time and I'm seriously offended that you think you can say things like "its okay because only places like new york are going to get attacked" because that's NOT okay. Just because you feel safe doesn't mean that you can't have compassion for your fellow human beings. I think that you should be ashamed. And my opinion, whether you think it's wrong or not, is that if everyone in America isn't scared, then the terrorists have not done their job. They're "terrorists" - they're supposed to incite "terror". And for your information, plenty of bombs go off in Israel everyday on city buses and the such that only kill ten or so people. That doesn't seem like a large number but it scares people into thinking that wherever they are can blow at any minute. That's it.

Amber,

The below link is for you showing that the incident you cited with the afghan boyfriend is false:

http://www.snopes2.com/rumors/mallrisk.htm
(snopes is a great website for de-bunking urban legends, please take a moment to browse around.)

Brassylass,

I agree with you whole heartedly about us needing to help Afghanistan and stop racial profiling. i think we should have helped Afghanistan before we even started dropping bombs. Like I said in an earlier post... All dropping bombs do is provide instant gratification for revenge. Providing food, clothing, and other necessities doesn't provide instant gratification but it helps in the long term.

Happieour,

Josh is a smart kid and has a few good points. I will admit he does get eccentric at times. Be easy on the kid, maybe he'll lighten up ;)

I do agree with you that terrorists do hit smaller targets in Isreal and Palestine. I think that is what is going to start happening here in the near future. Deploying terrorists to random cities with C-4 strapped to their chest. Imagine how much terror that would cause knowing you could be a random target no matter where you are. Think of the Anthrax scare that happened right after 9-11. There were a bunch of paranoid people thinking they were the next random mailing target.

However, I don't see another terrorist attack happening on U.S. soil until we announce Osama's death or capture. That will enrage many Al-Qaeda members and make them desperate for action to avenge their leader. Right now the only foiled terrorist attacks I have read about have been going on around U.S. embassy's. There waz that whole incident in Rome not to long ago.

...punch and pie

Dear Happieour,

I was also offended by this from you: the American media is perfectly content with censoring itself, littering all press with the phrase "G-d bless America" and hero hero hero every two seconds. Seriously katie couric, the word is losing its meaning.

In a time of war and danger I think those phrases are very symbolic to America today and they need to be. I also know that buses blow up, but when the terroist blow them up, they blow them up in crowded areas, once again to kill more people. I don't think I've been rude at all. This is a post and that's what I'm doing. I'm posting my beliefs and opinions on what I feel about the topis we discuss. Whether eyou likeit or not, it's not my job to please everyone with everything I type. If I did that I'd be perfect an I'm not. I'm sorry if I offended you, but I don't think anything I've typed can't be compared to certain things you have type that have offended me. But I like debate and that's why America is such a free country, because we all have freedoms to express ourselves without being shot in the head. And when did I say I didn't have compassion for fellow Americans? I weeped just like others did on Sept. 11th. I was shocked and scared just like other people were on Sept.11. I have feelings to if you didn't think I did. How have I been rude? I haven't called anyone a name directed at them, and I'm not. I'm keeping my post real and to the point, and if you hate them then deal with it. I don't appreciate you saying how I should be ashamed. I feel pretty proud of myself and my post. I'm going to stand up for what I believe in, because I'm a leader and not a follower and I say what I feel and do what I say.

Dear Locke,

Think you for taking my side this time, because people seem to hate openess and freedom of speece and press.

See ya,

Josh

Josh and HappieOur
I know how you feel, people at my school are always trying to get me to not beleive in what I beleive in by telling me I am a shame (to be ashamed would be a shame too) to them. There is actually a sign that says conformity is good!!
  I also agree with you for the most part that they wouldnt attack smaller places. I also agree that some small places are attacked after the terrorists have made their pressence known. I think that small nuclear power plants might be targeted now. Also the WTC was picked to be hit because of its meaning too. It wasn't just an attack on the US but all hte coutnries that ally with the US. In other coutnries they hit buses in public places just to maintain they are their.
  ONe thing i disagree with is that they would have to attack several times to be feared. my reason is that america is aready afraid, look at what we are doing now.
  As for the letter someone mentioned...
rt could have had nothing to do with a terrorist. THey could have just had a fear of that happening.
  As for me...
I do not fear those attacks. It could be ignorance but I do not think so. I am not afraid of future attacks because if it happens it happens. I think as a people we should make sure we have protection, but individually there is nothing I can do. To live in fear would not be prosperous. There are so many things to fear it is easy to be overcome and I dont want that.

Josh,
I'm shocked at the statement you picked to be offended by so I guess we should just agree to disagree and I'm sorry (and confused) that that offended you, and I apoligize, just as you apologized to me. However, I wish that instead of yelling back you would realize where my anger came from. You don't know what it's like to read "it's okay because only big cities like new york and washington will get attacked" (and I realized now that I looked back that you were not the only one who said that, so for singling you out I apoligize as well). I was shocked by this statement and extrememly saddened. If I can't rely on other Americans to care if I live or die, who can I rely on? If you were in danger, maybe you could understand, but obviously you dont. That is where I'm coming from. I hope you can understand that. Oh and Amber I appreciate your snippy statement. It's fun to be ganged up on.

Dear Happieour,

I understand where your anger is coming from. When I made that statement my point was big cities like those that I named are the main targets. Even the government says that. They are the cities that have attractions and hold a lot of our national symbols. That was my point of naming those cities among others. When did I say I didn't care for fellow Americans?? That is a complete overgeneralization of my belief and statement. I hope we can put this behind us.

See ya,

Josh