On September 11, 2001, terror and destruction hit the very core of the symbology of America, our two most exalted institutions, our economic strength and our world military influence were wounded. We have been struck from a seemingly invisible assailant that waits patiently in hope for us to strike blindly at him, creating a tempest of chaos in our wake, like a maddened bull released in a crowded city street. The stealth assassin's blade struck fast and struck hard. Americans are looking with horror and disbelief yet the reality of it is undeniable. Our world is not the same as it once was.

Shortly before 9:00 AM, while people were getting their steaming cups of coffee from the pot, stacking their financial documents, and booting up their laptops, a commercial airliner carrying civilian passengers bound for Los Angeles was diverted from it's destination by terrorists to a collision course with the World Trade Center buildings where it subsequently collided with the side of the superstructure in a burst of flames and immediate rain of rubble upon the city streets below. Approximately 15 or so minutes later a second plane crashed into the second World Trade Center tower on live television and created a massive fireball that ejected plumes of smoke and debris that rained down on rescue workers in the streets attempting to evacuate the other burning tower. Shortly after this, almost with simultaneity a plane dived into the Pentagon building in Washington DC, penetrating the outer ring into the internal courtyard inside creating a massive explosion and loss of life. Some people stuck on the upper floors and roof of the burning World Trade Center buildings jumped off the buildings in desperation and plummeted to their grotesque dismembering death at the bottom, while countless others were incinerated instantly or slowly asphyxiated inside the buildings unable to escape. People watched in utter horror at the tragedy displayed before them as charred bloody human remains splattered on the street and thousands of sheets of paper fluttered down from the upper stories of the towers. Pandemonium broke loose on the streets of the city as frightened adults ran away from the impending danger. The FAA closes all airports in the country, and subsequently Canada follows suit. Planes are ordered to land at the nearest airport, or diverted to Canada in fear that more of them might be hijacked with intent to create more carnage. At 10:05 AM, the South Tower of the World Trade Center crumples like a felled tree to the ground with an intense quaking rumble creating a shockwave of dust, chunks of steel and fiery rubble, crushing and incinerating those beneath it. In a resemblance of a Hollywood Blockbuster disaster movie, the entire island of Manhattan was engulfed in concrete ash and black smoke. About an hour after the first tower collapsed the second one was felled, and it too doubled the impact of the chaos sending thousands fleeing for their lives and obliterating many of the rescue workers, police, and firemen, attempting to free the victims from those two buildings. The Fire at the Pentagon raged, and no indication of survivors of the plane crash was known. Meanwhile, something was taking place on a plane over the farms and rural areas outside Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The forth hijacked plane mysteriously dived into the countryside and exploded. Speculation arose to its eventual destination that possibly being the president's retreat at Camp David. Some people commented that it might possibly have been our own scrambled fighter jets biting the bullet and shooting down our own passenger plane holding civilians in light of what further destruction could have been caused should the plane come down in a densely populated area. All the planes were traveling to destinations on the west coast, and thus contained more combustible fuel then perhaps other planes that could have been chosen by the terrorists. George W. Bush departed from his visit to an Elementary School in Sarasota, Florida to a Louisiana where he gave an unrehearsed dose of presidential reassurance to the American Public basically stating that what happened was terrible and he would hunt down those involved no matter what. Many civilians, firefighters, and police officers were killed or wounded in the events of September 11, 2001, and this day will live in the historical account of the United States as another "day of infamy."

In Palestine children and people cheered in the streets when they learned of and saw America's wound. If often reflect upon the human emotion swirling around the individuals that were hopelessly trapped at the top of the building above the fire, with no one able to rescue them having come to the sobering realization of imminent death. Rather than suffering an excruciating torment of being burned alive with their flesh melting away, they chose to plunge themselves off the side. There is a kind of solemn poetry in it. The people faced the ultimate end of their existence, and planted themselves firmly forward to death's door. This is perhaps one of the scariest aspects of the incident for people to accept, to know that there was suffering and death to innocents.

The Terrorists did win this first round much as all politicians will say otherwise to maintain national pride. They accomplished the mission they set out to finish. They successfully created terror in the hearts and minds of most Americans, causing us to question the very fortitude of our security institutions. They destroyed the most visible monument to American capitalism, and wounded the symbol of American military prowess. They shut down our air transportation infrastructure, halted our financial transactions, closed our public offices, put fear into the mind of the president, and brought the reality of death and suffering to every American's TV set. More than likely the 4th plane was headed for the Capitol Building, and would have been the final blow to our esteemed symbol of Democratic Society. It just so happened that the terrorists had the added bonus of the World Trade Center being the most effective location to massacre thousands simultaneously in a very short period of time. I'm not sure if they knew the collateral damage of the towers collapsing, but I'm sure that they intended to knock them down in one fell swoop of those jets. One thing I watched when the second plane hit the second tower was the location and direction that it hit. Apparently, not too many people have cut down trees before and didn't mention it on the news. The terrorists simply used a sadistic logic to deduce that if you hit a skyscraper fast enough at approximately the corner at an angle from the structure you would likely create a hole in it and significantly weaken the support structure that would make it unstable and likely to topple over. Ingeniously planned, they cooperatively used our own planes as missiles to orchestrate a suicidal mission.

The era of American complacency and delusional laziness to our vulnerability has concluded. Will be affected by this for a long time to come, and how we view our safety will never be as naively certain as it once was. New security measures will be put in place to prevent such events from happening again; however can all terrorism be stopped? Or how will our freedoms and liberties suffer to invasive investigative practices, and unwarranted searches and seizures? Will racial profiling be considered normal operating practice? All in the name of safety? Will an Orwellian existence permeate our lives?

Whether or not George W. Bush is a capable leader in such drastic events is debatable considering his inability to coherently construct appropriate and empowering oratory that he has shown in the past, a condition that I fear is indicative of some mental inadequacy. Rather he is a puppet of his speech writers and you can practically see the teleprompter reflecting off his glassy eyes every time he gives one of those "We will show that we are strong, and we will not be halted" speeches. There were presidents prior to this one that truly had a mastery of the art of oratory, something George W. Bush inherently lacks. However, he is surrounded with an experienced cabinet and support staff though that should be able to steer his comments and remarks in the direction they think the American public and the world should know without giving too much "intelligence" to the terrorists and potential targets that will bear the brunt of the military's force. In the end he will deliver the speech that everyone wants to hear, reiterating the United States resolve not to allow terrorists, and those who harbor terrorists to go unchallenged.

Americans kind of needed a reality check, to something many other places in the world have already been dealing with for many years. In modern times, we've become complacent and naive to think we are immune from terrorism and massive tragedy caused by human intolerance. Reading over quoted scriptures from the Christian Bible, preying to an absent God, waving American flags, will not bring back those murdered deliberately in the horrific event, nor will it stop the individuals who masterminded the attack from continuing their actions. This merely serves as a mental band aid to emotionally frantic Americans unable to psychologically grasp and accept the reality of events. Regardless, justice MUST be served to maintain order from anarchy in a civilized society. How that justice is implemented will determine the cascade of events that will follow. If war is declared on Islamic nations, it could result in severe repercussions in terms of resources needed to win such a conflict against a people that believe to die in fighting a holy war is the greatest honor bestowed upon them by their God. Not all Muslims caused this to happen, it's the radical groups clustered in Islamic nations that twist the tenets of the religion to suit their own vision. Osama Bin Laden has been named as the prime suspect in the events of September 11. Simply put, it's time to clean up the mess, get the guy(s) who did this, and move on with our lives, however I'm afraid it will not play out quite that simple.

Social repercussions will exist here in the United States in the aftermath. Muslims and those who practice the Islamic faith will be looked upon by many obtuse and shortsighted Americans as a symbol of evil and tragedy even though there are millions of them in this country who would never commit such horrible atrocities or for that matter ever had any involvement in the acts of terrorism. Many Americans run the gamut from blithering dullards who dropped out of High School, to your average blue collar worker, to financial entrepreneur, to homemaker, to bible toting Christian, to college educated adult, who easily succumb to psychological suggestion by their immediate peer groups and various levels of emotional propaganda exacerbated by the media designed to dredge up the most basal and carnal views in people by manipulating emotionally provocative imagery. Despite, the prevailing susceptibility of Americans to prolonged emotional indulgence, the events did something ironically beneficial to the country as a whole. It brought Americans closer to each other in a way that no other event in history had done before. It showed how valuable human life is, and how sorely missed it can be when it's not there. It managed to blur financial class distinction, showing the futility of wealth when faced with the gravity of life and death. Many people across the entire nation donated blood to aid hospitalized survivors, supplies to rescue workers, and many millions of dollars in the relief effort and to compensate unfortunate families of the victims.

One thing that has surfaced in the aftermath is some of the Biblical, prophetic, and symbolic references that have been made. Obviously the selection of targets by the terrorists were designed to be representative of a kind of divine punishment to the financial institutions that empower the movement of large sums of money, the economy, the blood of the American beast. The pentagon, a building itself constructed as yet another symbol, which could have possibly have a Pagan or Masonic pentacle reference, is struck, symbolically depicting a wound to the seat and sword of American world military power. I'm sure it was hoped that high ranking officials would have been killed in that mission. Furthermore, let us look at the date, September 11, or 911. 911 being the universal American Phone number dialed during an emergency. This date was obviously pre-chosen. Furthermore take notice of the Airline companies chosen to conduct this act, "United" and "American" both names, symbols of this country. I've seen the following quote from the quatrains of Nostradamas iterated repeatedly:

Even more compelling, the numerical connections for you probability buffs will blow your mind. The date of the attack was 9/11. 9 + 1 + 1 = 11. September 11th is the 254th day of the year: 2 + 5 + 4 = 11. After September 11th there are 111 days left to the end of the year. 119 is the area code to Iraq/Iran. 1 + 1 + 9 = 11 Twin Towers - standing side by side, looks like the number 11. The first plane to hit the towers was Flight 11 New York is The 11th State added to the Union. New York City - 11 Letters. Afghanistan - 11 Letters. The Pentagon - 11 Letters. Ramzi Yousef - 11 Letters (convicted or orchestrating the attack on the WTC in 1993). Flight 11 had 92 on board - 9 + 2 = 11. Flight 77 had 65 on board - 6 + 5 = 11.

Whoa... Is this the apocalypse foretold about by John in the Bible, by the Maya, and Nostradamus? Well, let's weigh in some facts here. It all depends upon the attitude of the Muslim public toward Americans and the cause in general. Kill too many Muslims...well, it could happen. If any place there were to be a biblical Armageddon, it would stand to reason that it would be in the land where the Bible was first written. Some of the things I've read in Revelations, and their correlation to current events are spookily familiar.

I could create a modern day construct for the Revelations scenario that could be affixed as a fulfillment of the prophesy. It would work as follows: The United States engages Afghanistan's Taliban in war. Obviously, Iraq is one of our bitter enemies, also the seat of Baghdad (which used to be Babylon), joins up with the Taliban, and the Palestinians want into the action and stir trouble for Israel (The Jews), and sure enough you have a nasty Jihad, or holy war on your hands in the Middle East (Same place where the Bible, Koran, and Torah was written). The US sends thousands of troops to the Mid East, and they are killed. The more troops the US sends the more Muslims get angry in the whole area, and keep fighting, in suicidal raids. The US sends more troops. They die. The US gets frustrated and bombs many of these aggravated countries back to the Stone Age with missiles. Pakistan, is no longer our "buddy" anymore and launches a nuclear attack against Israel, (I don't think they have ICBM's, but they could probably hit Israel from where they are), the US nukes them, and maybe someone nukes the US, but I'm pretty sure that Armageddon only involves the "holy land" Then, after watching us kill ourselves and pollute our planet irrevocably, extraterrestrials come down in their starship to set us straight (great shining golden city with lights and pearly looking gates, etc.). All humans are communicated to via telepathy (mark on the forehead), or some other means, and we are shown how petty we are for destroying ourselves. A new era of social reform and enlightenment reigns over Earth. We join our cosmic neighbors and live eternally with nanoenhanced genetically engineered superbodies exploring the universe. (Scrolls will be opened) If any of this comes true, by all means, elect me as the second coming.

Ultimately I too was shocked by the events that happened. I watched the second plane smash into the second World Trade Center tower live as it happened, and I watched as the buildings collapsed. I instantly thought, that there would be a tempest of rage brought upon the entity that devised this, and that this would go down as America's "New Day of Infamy" In many ways it was surreal, like something seen on a Hollywood movie, or out of the plot of a video game. I was moved by the rescue efforts of individuals that demonstrated courage and bravery in the face of a disaster. This is where it starts, to clean up the devastation, and rebuild. There are some scenes that stick in my mind, like the EMS workers fighting the flying debris to rescue people that were injured.

I have a personal connection to these events to share. About 6 months ago I had a vivid dream about a great war. The dream showed me images of cities in ruin, people displaced and roaming for miles in groups. I saw images of charred corpses rotting on the ground. There was one image of what looked like a coastline besieged by a tsunami. Apparently a nuclear device had been detonated offshore. I remember walking over to a TV in a house during the dream, and there was a weather newscaster showing an image of the state, however he was talking about staying away from "contamination zones" and pointing out purple blotches on the map. I saw people inside of churches praying to God. One image I saw was that of the interior of some kind of ship, perhaps a naval submarine, where I saw men in military uniforms, and they were speaking another language, I couldn't quite tell, but it seemed like it was Indian (from the country of India). Judging from the technology I saw while moving around places in my dream, it looked like the not to distant future, however in the dream I knew I was in another time but I didn't have a date. I woke up with a very bad feeling about the future, and President Bush thinking, this was the guy that was going to lead us into another dark period like WW2 and Vietnam in the 20th century. A shudder went down my back as I reflected upon it, and subsequently I filed the dream away in my memory. It wasn't until recent events happened did the dream come back to haunt me again in a way that I could have never imagined. Is this the start of some kind of apocalyptic world war? Maybe this IS the third world war, but not in the way people imagined, a global offensive against terrorism.

The end result of September 11th's disaster could have a few outcomes depending completely upon the rationality of any potential parties involved in this "protracted war on terrorism" as Bush proclaimed. Muslims, and most of the Mid-East countries, are not all as enlightened in logical thinking, civil engineering, and rational science as many of the first world countries are. Detrimental emotions can be jolted easily because these people are most often poor, uneducated, and uncomfortable with their lives. Motivated terrorists managed to kill several thousand people already, without a single bullet fired, or a missile launched. United States political enemies like Iraq and militant Arab leaders, could very well continue a silent war turning our own infrastructure against us. There are many scenarios that could lead to further tragedy. I'm even wondering if all of these have been accounted for by the government. One thing I pondered after these events happened, was how easy it could be to get a job at a water treatment plant and poison the water supply, or worse yet, plant a bomb at a nuclear power plant and destroy it creating a Chernobyl-like situation with nuclear radiation drifting over our nation potentially killing millions. Other national symbols or political officials could be targets. Who's to say that a programmed devout Taliban or PLO member who managed to hide himself in the US won't strap C-4 to himself and get in close enough proximity to the president to blow him up? The FBI and CIA has managed to uncover a clear network of individuals who were involved with the incidents of September 11th, and there very well could be more of them blending in, until the appointed time when they become human guided bombs and missiles and create more devastation and horror. Our military can fight a war abroad, but are we ready to protect the nation against silent soldiers that do not distinguish between civilian, political, or military targets? Furthermore, the copycat factor remains for any deranged American criminal who wants to murder as many people as he can before killing himself just to have that kind of impact on people. Are we really safe? Have we ever been?

Terrorism and ignorance is a horrible thing, and does nothing to promote the good constructive aspects of society. It is like a virus of this planet, and it must be irradiated before it does greater damage to the body of this entity, the peaceful free nations of the world. Muslims are not to blame, rather ghosts from the 20th century and prior times are lingering. There are people afraid of progress, and disdain the world superpower that the United States of America has become. We are the shining banner of freedom; we are the police of the world, and the hope of many people. At this point in time, everyone's best bet here in America, is to remain optimistic, to go about your lives normally, and just keep an eye on things. I hope that my worst fears aren't made manifest and this "protracted war" doesn't undermine a vast amount of American and Muslim lives. The way I see things though, once terrorism and groups who breed these kinds of people are destroyed, we will have no more enemies. Since the fall of communism, Europe has become much like the US, and prospered. Once the face of the Mid-East is so radically changed from the ravages of war, it will likely, with US and Allied Nations help, be revitalized and reborn, and the anarchy of the past will give way to the order and hope of the future. I tell you this, once the ignorance of the past is buried, there will be vast changes on this planet, in the coming centuries our species will embark its greatest undertaking.

___________________________________________________________________________________ Addendum: As it turns out, the Nostradamus quatrain was a fake that was circulating around the internet, and in fact was not true or taken from his actual quatrains.

This one blows my mind, but on 9/11/02, exactly 1 year from the day the events transpired the New York Pick 3 Lottery Numbers were 911. Was that fixed, an amazing coincidence, or some kind of message from another level of reality in remembrance of the events of September 11th?

As we all know President Bush went ahead with his plan to attack terrorism at the source and invaded Afghanistan to rout out the Taliban and Al Qaida, as well in April of 2003 he invaded Iraq as a bonus in search for Weapons of Mass Destruction that the US claimed he was hiding from UN inspectors. The United States acted unilaterally without UN approval on a pre-emptive war on Iraq despite the fact Iraq had not invaded or declared war on any country at that time. The US enguaged in a tactic to open the war that was designed to have psychological impact, that being "Shock and Awe." Utlimately this was designed to be a quick and decisive strike to weaken Saddam Hussein's military and command structure. As it were Saddam Hussein managed to put up some level of resistence however it was largely ineffective and many of his troops defected or retreated from their posts. The American War Machine was far more powerful than the Iraqi army. The mission was later renamed euphamistically "Operation Iraqi Freedom." after George W. Bush declaired an end to active combat in Iraq from an Air Craft Carrier, however more American soldiers were lost after Bush's declaration in the ongoing military presence than before, and the resistance to the American occupation of Iraq continues to maintain itself even regrouping and is resulting in more deaths of Americans, foreign nationals, Iraqi Civilians, and aid workers.

Over 7000 Innocent Iraqi Civilians have been lost due to the American Invasion and during the subsequent occupation. The military always categorizes such deaths euphamistically as "collateral damage." and "acceptable ratio of hostile to civilian neutralization."

No weapons of Mass Destruction were ever found in Iraq, so Saddam in actually never lied about not having them, and the UN had never found such weapons prior to the war giving the US lack of efficent cause to enguage in the war. There's a good bet that Saddam was so reticent about allowing inspections because his neighbor and past enemy Iraq could possibly use the information gained from those inspections and discovery of the lack of any active WMD programs and delivery systems to a tactical advantage.

Bush, the Military Industrial Complex, and members of his cabinet used the grief and events of September 11th to write the United States a license to hunt down Saddam Hussein and finish off what his father had begun over a decade before even though Saddam Hussein was not the mastermind who orchstrated the terrorist plot of September 11th, although I'm sure considering his previously expressed hatred toward the United States and its government that he didn't shed any tears. George W. Bush has many personal stakes in the oil industry as well, and many of his largest campaign finance contributions come from energy or oil related companies. As much as there will be Republican pundits who claim otherwise, the potential for gainable profit for those companies by rebuilding Iraqi refineries and gaining control of that country's oil supply during a US Military occupation was weighing heavily on many of Bush's decisions.

President George W. Bush granted 87 Billion Dollars toward the Iraq rebuilding effort, on top of the cost that has already been spent to begin the war and subsequently occupy the country. The United States faces its largest fiscal budget deficit in recorded history.

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