September 11

The second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks is a difficult day of remembrance, a time far enough away from the actual event to begin to forget but a time so close that no one should. For generations to come, Sept. 11ths of the future should be days for solemn reflection. The deaths, the buildings, the airplanes, the heroism should be forever engraved in the most consecrated part of the national memory.

This is a day to remember something more. What happened on Sept. 11, 2001, was not a disaster, a horror, a tragedy or any other form of calamity. Nor was it a crime. It was an act of war – an unwarranted attack against this country and its people, against freedom.

It was an act of war that remains not fully answered. Thousands of foot soldiers in this army of repression have been killed or taken prisoner, but its generals remain at large. And as the recent reports of the Taliban regrouping in Pakistan and Afghanistan demonstrate, the war is far from over.

Like all terrorists’ violence, Sept. 11 was a sneak attack, but – with the benefit of painful hindsight – it should not have been a surprise. Osama bin Laden and his army declared war on civilization a decade ago. Terrorist attacks throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia for too long were seen as the isolated acts of lunatics, not as part of a concerted campaign. The 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, the two embassy bombings in Africa, the attack on the U.S. military garrison in Saudi Arabia, the attack on the USS Cole in Yemen were dots waiting to be connected.

That awful morning two years ago today connected them. The American public rallied, pouring out not just grief for the victims and anger for the perpetrators, but generosity, support and gratitude toward those thrust onto the front lines. Firefighters and police officers became the new heroes at home, men and women in military uniform went overseas with the prayers of an entire nation. Equally commendable: Despite a few terrible incidents, the common ethnicity and religion of the attackers did not lead to widespread retaliation against innocent Middle Eastern Muslims.

American political leaders responded with similar purposefulness. The right words of resolve were spoken, the legislation for reprisal was passed, the funding to carry it out secured.

But purposefulness unravels: partisan bickering over entirely irrelevant matters, turf battles over jurisdiction, pork-barrel spending that would be offensive even in times of peace. America remains as addicted to Middle East oil as ever, despite the cover it provides the army of terrorism and the unwise decisions it has led decades of American political leaders to make. And Congress has yet to decide how it could have acted more thoughtfully in places such as Afghanistan to make the quiet support for the attacks less likely. If anything, the nation’s lack of focus on Afghanistan now may invite trouble again in the coming years.

Two years have passed without the capture of Mr. bin Laden, evidently still alive. The demand for resources for the war in Iraq makes stopping al-Qaida more difficult no matter how often the president tries to link the terrorist organization with the deposed regime of Saddam Hussein. The larger war remains the war on terrorism. It must be fought on many fronts using many different weapons. Let this Sept. 11 be a day to remember not merely what happened but also what remains to be done.