9-11 Must Reads

I've mentioned before the high quality of of Juan Cole's analysis on his website, "Informed Comment: Thoughts on the Middle East, History, and Religion." He's a professor of history at the University of Michigan and one of the most popular and respected commentators on the web.

Today, in honor of the third anniversay of 9-11, Cole provides a detailed and sharp analysis of what's really going on in the so-called "war on terror," a summary of the historical events that brought us to this point, and an evaluation of where things stand now for both the U.S. and al Qaeda. I think reading this piece is a fitting activity when pondering this anniversay of tragedy: September 11 and Its Aftermath

And then there's the moving statement released by the 9-11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, which begins:

Nearly three years ago, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows was born out of a shared belief that America’s military response to the 9/11 attacks which took our loved ones’ lives would result in the deaths of countless innocent civilians and increase recruitment for terrorist causes, making the United States, and the world, less safe and less free for generations to come. Today, as we commemorate September 11, 2004, we find that our worst fears have been realized. The terrorism of September 11th has been neither neutralized, nor ended, by the terrorism of war.

You can also visit their Peaceful Tomorrows Website with alot of excellent information and actions you can take to help bring a more reasoned approach to the problems we face in the 21st century.