Today, eight years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, marks the first year that this anniversary will be observed as a national day of service, following an order signed by President Barack Obama.
Of the many other stories of interest out there:
–The Associated Press: What Obama was doing on Sept. 11, 2001, and speculation about what he will do to move forward in our nation’s struggle against terrorism.
–The Wall Street Journal: Why the president’s campaign for the war in Afghanistan is a hard sell.
–Slate asks why “the follow-on attacks that everyone predicted after 9/11” have not occurred.
–The Huffington Post‘s William Bradley looks at where America has been and where it’s going: “Eight years since 9/11. It feels like 18 years, if not 80.”
–The New Yorker‘s Lawrence Wright on underestimating Al-Qaeda.
-On NPR.org, a firefighter father recalls losing two sons in the attacks: “I don’t have any could’ve, should’ve or would’ves. I wouldn’t have changed anything.”
–The Age calls the current delays in rebuilding Ground Zero (once slated to be completely rebuilt by 2011) “a national disgrace.”
Two books for understanding the ramifications of 9/11:
–Primitive America: The Ideology of Capitalist Democracy, by Paul Smith. An urgent examination of the deep cultural roots of America’s response to 9/11.
–Conspiracy Theories: Secrecy and Power in American Culture, by Mark Fenster. This new edition, the first in-depth look at the conspiracy communities that formed to debunk the 9/11 Commission Report, shows that conspiracy theories play an important role in U.S. democracy.