Reflecting on 9-11: An EA Special Collection

Today and Monday, EA will be presenting a series of articles to prompt thought and discussion not only about the events of 11 September 2001 but about the US and the world from then to today.

Joseph Stiglitz: "A US Response More Costly Than the Attacks"
Tom Engelhardt: "Let's Put 9-11 Behind Us"
David Dunn: "What the War on Terror Has Cost the US...and Us" 
Scott Lucas: "Why 9-11 Was Not a Turning Point for the World" 

Scott Lucas: "A Discussion on the BBC"

Reflecting on 9-11: Scott Lucas with the BBC

I joined BBC West Midlands in their studios this morning to discuss the attacks of 11 September 2001, remembering and reflecting on the event.

The item begins at the 5:30 mark. Our discussion starts at 10:20.

Reflecting on 9-11: A US Response More Costly than the Attacks (Stiglitz)

Even if Bush could be forgiven for taking the United States, and much of the rest of the world, to war on false pretenses, and for misrepresenting the cost of the venture, there is no excuse for how he chose to finance it. His was the first war in history paid for entirely on credit. As the US went into battle, with deficits already soaring from his 2001 tax cut, Bush decided to plunge ahead with yet another round of tax “relief” for the wealthy.

Today, the US is focused on unemployment and the deficit. Both threats to America’s future can, in no small measure, be traced to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Increased defense spending, together with the Bush tax cuts, is a key reason why the US went from a fiscal surplus of 2 per cent of GDP when Bush was elected to its parlous deficit and debt position today. Direct government spending on those wars so far amounts to roughly $2tn - $17,000 for every US household - with bills yet to be received increasing this amount by more than 50 per cent.

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Reflecting on 9-11: Let's Put It Behind Us (Engelhardt)

Proposed Freedom Tower, New YorkLet's bag it.

I’m talking about the tenth anniversary ceremonies for 9/11, and everything that goes with them: the solemn reading of the names of the dead, the tolling of bells, the honoring of first responders, the gathering of presidents, the dedication of the new memorial, the moments of silence. The works. Let’s just can it all. Shut down Ground Zero. Lock out the tourists. Close “Reflecting Absence,” the memorial built in the “footprints” of the former towers with its grove of trees, giant pools, and multiple waterfalls before it can be unveiled this Sunday. Discontinue work on the underground National September 11 Museum due to open in 2012. Tear down the Freedom Tower (redubbed 1 World Trade Center after our “freedom” wars went awry), 102 stories of “the most expensive skyscraper ever constructed in the United States.” (Estimated price tag: $3.3 billion.) Eliminate that still-being-constructed, hubris-filled 1,776 feet of building, planned in the heyday of George W. Bush and soaring into the Manhattan sky like a nyaah-nyaah invitation to future terrorists. Dismantle the other three office towers being built there as part of an $11 billion government-sponsored construction program. Let’s get rid of it all. If we had wanted a memorial to 9/11, it would have been more appropriate to leave one of the giant shards of broken tower there untouched.

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Latest from Iran (11 September): Arrest and Protest

2030 GMT:Political Prisoner Watch. News of four detainees who have been released....

Hashem Khastar, a retired teacher in Mashhad who spoke publicly about the poor conditions in Vakilabad Prison, released after posting bail of about $100,000;

Journalist Masoud Lavasani, arrested on 26 September 2009, originally sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison, later reduced to two years;

Student activist Moein Mohammad Beigi, who served half of his 2 1/2-year sentence;

Nima Pour Yaghoob, an activist at the University of Tabriz, arrested in June.

Meanwhile, detained student activist Ali Malihi has said recently-released political prisoners have not recanted their political views, despite claims by Tehran Prosecutor General Abbas Jafari Doulatabadi.

In a letter published by Advar News, written from inside Evin Prison, Malihi declares:

In view of some of the rumours in the media in recent days, I feel it necessary to explain that in my 20 months in prison, I have applied to the judiciary for various legal provisions available to detainees, including the appeal of a preliminary sentence, reduced sentencing,a conditional release and furloughs. But at no time have I ever repented of my beliefs and actions, and I have complete faith that the green path of hope that the Iranian people are following will continue.

Malihi was arrested in February at his home and charged with assembly and collusion against the regime, propaganda against the regime, participation in illegal gatherings, publishing falsehoods, and insulting the President. In August, he was sentenced to four years in prison and a cash fine.

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Libya, Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: The Battle for Sirte

2015 GMT: Niger's Minister of Justice has said that former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi's son Saadi entered the country on Saturday.

"He was in a convoy of nine people. They were intercepted heading in the direction of [the northern Niger town of] Agadez." Marou Adamou told a news conference. Two other convoys of Qaddafi loyalists have entered the town, which lies to the south of Libya, in the past week.

"We were not informed of their arrival," said Adamou. He said he expected the Qaddafi group to be transferred to the capital Niamey on Monday or Tuesday.

2010 GMT: A protest in Idlib in northwest Syria tonight:

Qorieh in the northeast:

Amuda in the northeast:

And a large protest in Jarjanaz in the northwest earlier today:

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Latest from Iran (10 September): A New Protest in Tabriz?

Claimed footage of a demonstration in Tabriz in northwest Iran last night

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See also Latest from Iran (9 September): Ignoring Ahmadinejad on Syria

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2015 GMT: Health Watch. Monavar Khalaj reports for the Financial Times, "Healthcare Costs Move Beyond Most Iranians":

Unofficial figures say healthcare costs [in Iran] have increased between 20 to 40 per cent in recent months.

Masoud Javanbakht, a member of Iran’s Medical Council, a body that represents doctors, warned last month that only 25 per cent of Iran’s 75m population can afford hospital care. Mr Javanbakht told the semi-official Fars news agency that 30 per cent of households stood to lose not only their incomes but also all their savings if a household member were hospitalised. In theory, more than 32m Iranians are covered by the state’s social security fund, which runs some hospitals directly. A parallel organisation, the medical service insurance organisation, covers a further 23m people living mainly in more rural areas. In addition, state employees, such as members of the armed forces and teachers, have their own dedicated health insurance funds. But state-run hospitals are often of poor quality, and staff are badly paid and under-motivated. Waiting lists for operations run up to six months. As a result, 70 per cent of outpatient services are supplied by the private sector.

Masoud Pezeshkian, a former health minister and now a member of the parliament’s health committee, says an operation involving a stay at an intensive care unit can cost more than IR60m ($5,600). “This fee is very high for those who have [low] salaries or are jobless because their assets are not so much to be able to make up for the fees,” Mr Pezeshkian says.

Anoushiravan Mohseni-Bandepay, deputy head of the parliament’s health committee, says what the patient must pay can account for about 60 per cent of treatment while the share covered by public insurance is only about 40 per cent. When it comes to outpatient services, such as pathological and radiological tests, Mr Mohseni-Bandepay says families have to pay on average 65 per cent of expenses.

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Reflecting on 9-11: Why It Was Not a Turning Point for the World

There has already been a cascade of commentary for the 10th anniversary of 9-11, much of it centred on what it has meant for the US. 

EA will have a few selected pieces to prompt discussion --- the first, by David Dunn, has just been posted. I did not intend to write anything for the occasion; however, I was asked to send a few paragraphs to news services on what I thought was the lasting significance of 9-11 for the US. Amending this to "the US and the world", I offered the following:

For me, the most significant lesson of 9/11 is where it was NOT a turning point for people across the world. 

I should be clear. 9/11 was a tragedy, with the loss of thousands of lives. And it led to other tragedies --- a war within Afghanistan that continues to this day, a US-led intervention in Iraq that killed many more thousands of people, the misguided belief that force, torture, and rendition could win a "War on Terror". The response to 9/11 helped undermine the American economy, with consequences for the economies of other nations, and it tried to remove the notion of a fundamental 'civil liberty' that should not be sacrificed in the name of 'security'.

See also Reflecting on 9-11: What the War on Terror Has Cost the US...and Us (Dunn)

But, in the end, 9/11 has not been the catalyst for the most significant changes in our world a decade later. Al Qa'eda --- if it ever had any appeal --- is a spent force. The dream of some Americans, notably within the Bush Administration, for an era of "unipolar" US super-power is dispelled. In that sense, if you want to talk about a significant turning point in the last decade, it was not 11 September 2001, but the long, drawn-out failure of the Bush Administration in its invasion of Iraq.

The quest for freedom and democracy would not be embodied in that misguided adventure. Instead, the quest for freedom, democracy, and rights is embodied in movements which --- while drawing lessons from the response to 9/11 --- have been devoted to dealing with their local conditions, concerns, and aspirations. From Iran to the "Arab Spring" to Latin America to Asia, we are witnessing political, economic, and social change which does not depend upon Washington or its enemies for its motivation, hopes, and objectives.

Reflecting on 9-11: What the War on Terror Has Cost the US...and Us (Dunn)

The near decade of war that followed the attacks has been destructive of America’s geopolitical position. The two wars have cost the US more than $3 trillion and have been fought, unlike all previous wars, while simultaneously cutting taxes. The result, together with the 2008 financial crisis, is that the US is $14 trillion in debt, is in a deep recession, and is too politically divided to agree a pathway out of this crisis.

Geopolitically, while the US has focused on the Middle East, the international system has been dominated over the last decade by the rise of new emerging powers, most notably China, but also by India, Brazil, Russia and others.

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Syria (and Beyond) LiveBlog: So What Does Protest Mean?

See also Libya Snapshot: The TV Producer Keeping Qaddafi on the Air
Turkey-Israel Feature: Why There is a Downward Spiral in Relations
Friday's Syria, Libya (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Expecting Defiance, Watching for Defections

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2035 GMT: Footage of a protest in Idlib in northwest Syria tonight:

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