Attacks Have Led to a Better World

Thursday will mark the second anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. Much has changed over these past two years, and contrary to what some would have you believe, much of this change has been good. For one, we are safer now than we were two years ago. If you doubt this, just remember: there have been no terrorist attacks on our soil since that day.

Most of us remember what we were doing when we heard the World Trade Center had been hit. It was a tragic day none of us will ever forget. In just a few minutes, our obsession with missing interns vanished, and we faced a harsh new reality. We were reminded of what really mattered.

There was a great deal of heroism that day; from the firefighters and police officers who ran into the towers, to the passengers and crew of Flight 93, to everyone who donated time, money, or blood to the relief efforts. It was a terrible day, but Americans rose to the occasion. In Washington, partisanship momentarily disappeared as members of Congress joined hands and sang God Bless America.

We also knew that we had a hard task ahead of us: to ensure nothing like this ever happens again. It would be difficult, as Al Qeada was a large organization that has support throughout the world. Remember the Palestinians dancing in the streets, celebrating the mass murder? We knew we were in for some difficult times, but we were ready.

In the two years since the attacks, some things have changed. Saddam Hussein is no longer rules in Iraq, nor does the Taliban run Afghanistan. Both nations have now been liberated. Their people are certainly much better off than they were under their previous rulers.

In spite of what some critics say, the world is a better place now than it was two years ago. Terrorist training camps are no longer functioning in Afghanistan. Bin Laden and his terrorist cronies are on the run. Women can now go outside their houses alone without fear of being beaten. Gradually, democracy is taking root.

In Iraq, there is reason for optimism as well. We've experienced some problems there, but that is to be expected. No one said winning the peace would be easy. Still, things aren't as terrible as many think. Recently, an Iraqi family named their baby George Bush, after our president. "He saved us from Saddam and that's why we named our son after him," said the baby's mother. "It was George Bush who liberated us; without him it wouldn't have happened."

Building an open and free Iraq is in the best interests of everyone, except for the dictators who rule the other Arab states. Freedom is a natural longing that all people, regardless of race or religion, strive for. The grandson of the Ayatollah Khomeini, the former Iranian ruler and prominent America hater, said of U.S.-led occupation of Iraq, "I see that there's security, that the people are happy, that they've been released from suffering." Statements like this tend to fly in the face of what we so often hear in the mainstream media.

The tyrants of the world are now on notice: don't mess with us, unless you want to join Saddam and the Taliban. There is no doubt that President Bush means business, and this has scarred some tyrants straight. Uday Hussein, son of Saddam, said in early April, "This time I think the Americans are serious. Bush is not like Clinton. I think this is the end." Alas, he was right. Freedom in Iraq has also given hope to the long oppressed people of Iran, who have been demonstrating against their clerical regime with admirable bravery.

The fight against terror isn't easy, and it will require our morale to remain high; both on the battlefield and at home. Though it isn't as high now as it was two years ago, it has remained amazingly strong. A recent poll shows that 65% of Americans believed the U.S. "did the right thing in Iraq." Britain's courageous Prime Minister Tony Blair summed our position up best, "in some small corner of this vast country… there's a guy getting on with his life, perfectly happily, minding his own business, saying to you, the political leaders of this country, 'Why me, and why us, and why America?' And the only answer is because destiny put you in this place in history in this moment in time, and the task is yours to do."

The world is better place than it was two years ago, despite all the groans you hear to the contrary. Our servicemen and women have preformed heroically in making the world a safer place. We should all remember them in our prayers.

- John Brown is a senior in political science and history at the University of Tennessee @ Knoxville. Contact him at johnnyb325@aol.com, or by visiting www.johnnorrisbrown.com. This column first appeared in the September 9, 2003 edition of The Daily Beacon, available here.