Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security advisor under Jimmy Carter, doesn’t like the phrase “War on Terrorâ€. Who does? It’s inaccurate, overblown, and impossible. I wish another phrase had been used. “War on Al-Qaeda†doesn’t do it—it’s far too limiting. Does it really matter if the nutcase blowing you up has a membership card or not? “War on Violent Islamist Radicalism†is at least a little more accurate but it doesn’t have much of a ring to it. “War on Extremism†sounds a bit extreme—too political, too likely to be taken as a rallying cry against domestic opponents.
I don’t plan on trying to fisk Dr. Brzezinski’s op-ed. There are any number of such posts about—James Joyner’s is a good place to start.
I can’t testify as to the state of mind of Americans today or on 9/11; I can’t testify to the state of mind of Illinoisans or Chicagoans or even my own neighbors. I can only really testify to my own reactions. I haven’t felt fear once as a consequence of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Perhaps my reaction is atypical but my immediate reaction was sorrow. I was sad for those who had died, those who had known them, and for the world of hurt that whoever had perpetrated the attacks had brought down on themselves and, no doubt, many, many innocent bystanders or dupes.
Since then I’ve occasionally felt anger or apprehension and, Lord knows, an enormous amount of frustration but never fear.
So, this is my question. Did you feel terrorized by the attacks on September 11, 2001 then or now?
I wonder if Dr. Brzezinski felt or feels terror. Indeed, I wonder what he has felt. I wonder who he is speaking for.
Please limit your comments to your personal reactions or to links to opinion polls or surveys. I’d certainly like to know if there are a lot of terrorized people out there.
I honestly don’t believe we have overreacted to the events of September 11, 2001. I believe we have misreacted. But I don’t believe that the misreaction was due to terror or a desire to foment terror for political gain.
I can also tell you with some confidence how I felt about Dr. Brzezinski’s op-ed:Â rankled.
I feel the same as you in many ways. I thought his op-ed was strange as I’ve seen none of the fear-mongering and paranoia he describes and I live in the 7th biggest US city.
Here’s some polling:
http://www.galluppoll.com/content/default.aspx?ci=4909
http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=437
A mixed bag.
I think part of it may be that DC and NYC have more of a fortress mentality and security there is much tougher than in other parts of the country. Maybe this is just another example of a Washington insider extrapolating an inside-the-beltway experience to the rest of the country.
I’ve never felt fear here and I don’t relate at all to Mr. Brzezinski’s analysis or opinion.
Well, given that my parents and brother live in lower Manhattan, I felt pretty scared at first, as well as just shocked. Afterwards, like you I felt sad. While I was concerned about the political ramifications, I didn’t worry about my own safety.