What About 9/11?

07 September 2005 |permalink | email article

The New York Times, in its Aug. 18 Styles section, had this oddly provocative headline: “9/11: Light a Candle or Party On?

Since the domestic terrorist attacks which sobered America, the question lingers about what is appropriate to celebrate a 21st Century day which, as FDR said about Dec. 7, 1941, “l live in infamy.”

Congress and President Bush have named 9/11 as Patriot Day, which may be news to most Americans. W. even went so far as to call for an annual moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. Eastern time, when the first plane hit the first tower.

The Times outlined two types of etiquette - common wills and wont’s - to commemorate this Sunday.

Deemed questionably acceptable would include watching television on Fox, starting with N.F.L. opening Sunday, followed by the season premieres of four comedies on the network. But is a Pentagon-sponsored country music jamboree on Washington’s Mall really any more meaningful way to “party on?”

Weddings, car sales and open houses were no-no’s. And, out of respect, no performances by some of the season’s biggest pop acts, including Coldplay, the Rolling Stones and Elton John are scheduled.

Yes, light a candle, or put aside time for private meditation to honor 9/11 victims. But also remember both the uncounted thousands who died, and homeless refugees affected by Hurricane Katrina - described yesterday as “the greatest disaster in American history” by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Politically, closure about 9/11 requires the full release of a recent report apportioning blame at the C.I.A. for intelligences failures before the terrorist attacks.

The bureaucratic dogfight about history and reputations - who did what before the hijackers struck - must stop, just as surely as the investigation about the failure of the Bush administration’s effective response to Katrina begins.

Widows are right to demand an individual accounting, which is what prompted Congress to ask the C.I. A.‘s inspector general, John L. Helgerson, to begin his investigation nearly three years ago. His report, and its harsh conclusions, have been disclosed only in limited leaks.

Frederick P. Hitz, the agency’s inspector general from 1990 to 1998, has not seen the report that notably faulted former director George F. Tenet.  He said it may seem unfair to Tenet and others but is still necessary.

The New York Times quoted Hitz as saying, “What they ought to do is declassify the report, release it and let the chips fall where they may,”

Will an otherwise embattled president, who presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tenet eight months before the inspector general’s assessment of his record went to Capitol Hill, demand closure?

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