The War on Terror, Eight Years Later

So where are we, eight years after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001?  The Bush War on Terror has been dumped into the lap of President Barack Obama, even though it's been pushed to the background by more pressing issues such as the economy and the health care debate (which for some people has its own reign of terror, but we won't get into that right now).

There are still people willing to blow things up in the name of Allah.  The latest is Najibullah Zazi, an Afghan living in the United States who was arrested by the FBI and charged with being part of a plot to detonate bombs in this country.  It was also alleged that Zazi, who might have been taking his cues from al-Qaeda, may have planned to use those explosives in New York on the 9/11 anniversary.  As a result, targets such as stadiums and entertainment venues were told to watch for anything suspicious.  Life in prison is what awaits Zazi if he's convicted.

The situation in Iraq is dormant at the moment, but Afghanistan is heating up.  After a month in which there were more American casualties than at any time since the war began (the number is close to 800), General Stanley McChrystal reportedly wants to send at least 20,000 more soldiers, or else the war in Afghanistan will be lost.  This comes after President Obama had already sent 17,000 a few months earlier.  Did somebody say Vietnam?

What was the original reason for going into Afghanistan in the first place?  Oh, that's right.  It was to hunt down Osama bin Laden shortly after the World Trade Center in New York went down.  Today, it has devolved into fighting the Taliban that controls much of the country, and propping up a corrupt government that just happens to be democratically elected.

As for Bin Laden, he's believed to be somewhere in Pakistan, where the U.S. can't touch him without incurring the wrath of the government there.  He still has the ability to send out audio tapes threatening the West if they don't do this or that.

Add to this the discovery of Iran having had a secret nuclear facility for several years, which was announced by President Obama at the G-20 economic summit in Pittsburgh (notice how the biggest stories to come out of these annual meetings have little to do with economics).  But that doesn't mean there won't be any more diplomatic talks to get Iran to abandon the bomb.

Meanwhile, somewhere in lower Manhattan lies the area that has come to be known as Ground Zero.  Someday there will be another giant skyscraper or two along with a memorial, instead of the tourist trap/construction site it currently is.  The thousands who died there eight years ago deserve nothing less.