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World remembers 9/11 but many not crying
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Mon Sep 11, 9:43 PM ET
By ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press Writer
| 2006 |
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The nations of the world joined Monday in solemn remembrance of Sept. 11 -- but
for many, resentment of the United States flowed as readily as tears.
| Resentment of the United States is rampant and flows "as readily as tears" on 9-11 of any given year as well as on any other day of the year. But the journalist here is shamelessly associating this truth with solemn remembrances held throughout the world to honor the dead of 9-11.
When there's no controversy, the press will create one. This story has been distributed globally, and I found it posted on news services from the Far East to Europe! In fact, the implied connection is false and the device used is the juxtaposition in a single sentence of two disparate and in fact incomparable sources or venues, to wit: "The nations of the world" (very specific, we can list them) vs. "[for] many" completely general; who? we wonder ... the fact is the journalist has no specific information.
NO, I take that back, she found an anti-American protest in Hugo Chavez' Venezuela (later in the article, she sheepishly mentions it) ... well there's got to be one protest somewhere in the world, or no story! |
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Critics say Americans have squandered the goodwill that prompted France's Le
Monde newspaper to proclaim "We are all Americans" that somber day after the
attacks, and that the Iraq war and other U.S. policies have made the world less
safe in the five years since.
| This convoluted sentence puts out the idea that we had the sympathy vote back when we were attacked and then blew it when we struck back! Now people don't feel sorry for us any more ... we have squandered the goodwill! |
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Heads bowed in moments of silence for the 3,000 killed in the attacks on New
York and Washington — while the No. 2 al-Qaida leader issued new warnings in a
videotape. And dissident voices said the world has traded in civil liberties and
other democratic rights in its war on terror.
| Here the writer conjures up an image in which the power is given to al-Qaida, while we bow our heads, and then implies that we are to blame for poor al-Qaida still being mad at us. |
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In Europe, where Islamic terror has struck twice since 9/11, in the Madrid train
bombings and the London transit attacks, the silent tributes were tinged with
doubts and recriminations.
| Here the reporter admits noone said anything controversial to her in these venues, but she could sense their awareness of our inherent blame, anyway. |
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Even German Chancellor Angela Merkel — an advocate of repairing ties with
Washington that were frayed under her predecessor Gerhard Schroeder — had veiled
criticism of the United States, saying: "The ends cannot justify the means."
| Here the reporter really trumps it up. To read this makes it sound like the Chancellor gave a speech today (9/11) using these words to criticize US policy generally ... actually, it's more "veiled" than that. The words quoted were first reported 9/9 and were actually said, by the Chancellor, about the CIA imprisonment that President Bush brought to light in his statement a few days ago. |
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"In the fight against international terror ... respect for human rights,
tolerance and respect for other cultures must be the maxim of our actions, along
with decisiveness and international cooperation," she said.
| If you were paying attention, this sentence might have raised a red flag about the previous paragraph. It would be as if the Chancellor, an educated woman, was saying that in responding to mad-dog fascist terrorism, at the policy level, we need to above all show respect for their culture and respect their human rights. After all, their respect for our culture is why they are willing to blow up small children (who apparently have no human rights). |
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The international landscape has changed irreversibly since terrorists hijacked
four airliners in 2001, crashing two into the World Trade Center, one into the
Pentagon and another into a Pennsylvania field.
| Zzzzzzz. Filler. |
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Adding to the global jitters, a senior al-Qaida leader issued a new warning.
| What global jitters? The syntax here implies this is a fact, well established earlier in the article, through careful logical reporting of hard facts ... actually, nothing has been established in the article so far except that the journalist can weave negative impressions out of the air, and doesn't respect the intelligence of her readers. |
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"You gave us every legitimacy and every opportunity to continue fighting you,"
said Ayman al-Zawahri, addressing the United States. "You should worry about
your presence in the (Persian) Gulf and the second place you should worry about
is Israel."
| OK, let's give the mad dogs some airtime ... as if there was something we could have done to change their minds about continuing to attack us! But we blew it, we behaved badly and now they're going to have to keep on sending in their expendable drones (another human rights statement on their part) to try to hurt us. |
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Another video posted on the Internet by al-Qaida showed previously unseen
footage of a smiling Osama bin Laden and other commanders in a mountain camp
apparently planning the Sept. 11 attacks.
| Wow, "previously unseen footage", like when Hollywood releases the DVD! |
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Allies in the U.S.-led war on terrorism renewed their resolve Monday to fight
fanaticism, while skeptics countered that they can no longer follow a superpower
they say has relinquished its right to lead.
| Here again, like in the first paragraph: "Allies" ... we all know who they are; they all renewed their resolve to fight fanaticism ... vs "skeptics" (who?) ... I guess we know who they are, too (looking forward to the next several paragraphs): the French left wing rag "Le Monde", Hugo Chavez' corrupt Venezualan tyranny, and ... and that's it? But wait a minute, if she's forced to use such obvious examples, here (and you can bet if there were more mainstream components they would have been used in the story instead of these), then possibly there is not this huge erosion of "global" support that the writer is trying to report! |
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"Right after Sept. 11 the world was united with Americans. Their moral
leadership was unquestioned," Pawel Zalewski, head of the Polish parliament's
foreign relations committee, wrote in the Gazeta Wyborcza. "However, this strong
moral authority was abused as a result of the Iraq war."
| These remarks are difficult to interpret, from a statesman, given the political situation in Poland, with right-wing extremism (anti-semetism) gaining a foothold in the government, and the Russians warning them not to participate in the U.S. Missile Defense system. |
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Exactly five years after its message of solidarity, Le Monde titled its lead
editorial "The Mistakes of Bush."
| So?
Later in the article, the French President issues a message to Bush of his nation's "friendship" in the fight against terrorism. Le Monde gets the headline, and the French President is buried in the back pages ... go figure. |
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In Caracas, Venezuela, about 200 marchers protested what they called
"imperialist terrorism" carried out by the United States since the 9/11 attacks.
Demonstrators — many of them supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and
some of Arab descent — carried Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian flags. Many
criticized the U.S. invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.
| This paragraph is immediately followed by expressions of gratitude by the Iraqi government ... must be an oversight(!) ... Afghani thanks appear at the end of the article. |
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Iraqi President Jalal Talabani wrote President Bush on behalf of the Iraqi
people, expressing condolences to the families of Sept. 11 victims.
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"On this sad and memorable day, I would like to reiterate the gratitude of the
people of Iraq for the people of America and for your leadership," Talabani
wrote. "The people of Iraq will never forget those who helped them in getting
rid of the most brutal and terrorist regime of Saddam Hussein."
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New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark joined many when she said: "No, we're
not more secure since 9/11."
| To put it in context, here's the full quote as reported in the International Herald Tribune: "No, we're not more secure since 9/11 ... Iraq was not a haven for terrorists prior to the war there. It certainly is now."
Now the shortened version in the present article can be taken, as the author intends as criticism of US Policy. Actually, though, it's just a statement of opinion that many, possibly including the Bush administration, might agree with, and imputes blame for this situation to noone in particular. The full quote, on the other hand, throws an interesting light ... because it is the lack of Iraqi opposition to our involvement there, that has resulted in such a concentration of imported terrorists; haven implies safety, and I doubt the foreign terrorist element in Iraq feels safe. On the other hand, there certainly are a lot of them these days! And their population level in Iraq is in direct proportion to the desperation of their leaders.
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Clark said more should be done to reach out to moderate states and leaders in
the Islamic world to encourage understanding between different peoples, and to
help end the sense of alienation and exclusion among some young Muslims that
fuels extremism.
| Sounds reasonable. |
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In Europe, bells tolled in Rome's city hall square. Bouquets of white roses and
yellow carnations were piled in a memorial garden in London where the names of
67 Britons killed in the New York attacks are inscribed. Relatives tearfully
remembered their dead.
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"It doesn't get any easier, but our minds are much calmer, and we can think
through all the events without being flooded by tears and sadness," said Adrian
Bennett, whose 29-year-old son, Oliver, was killed.
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At a 38-nation Asia-Europe summit in Helsinki, Finland, leaders stood in silence
in a circle. The stock exchanges in Nordic and Baltic countries observed two
minutes of silence to honor the victims.
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French President Jacques Chirac, in Helsinki, reiterated in a written message to
Bush his nation's "friendship" in the fight against terrorism.
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A week after the Sept. 11 attacks, Chirac flew over the World Trade Center site
— the first foreign leader to pay personal condolences. That solidarity quickly
dissipated into rancor in the buildup to the Iraq war, when Chirac led
opposition to Bush's plans.
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Israel's Haaretz daily expressed disappointment and cynicism in an op-ed piece
that said: "This is Sept. 11 five years later: a political tool in the hands of
the Bush administration."
| This seems out of context, then you realize: oh ... it's the press. |
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In Southeast Asia, U.S. and Philippine troops fighting Islamic extremists in the
jungles prayed for peace and safety. Other remembrances took place in Japan,
Australia, Finland, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia.
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Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who won the country's first post-Taliban
election, expressed the appreciation of the Afghan people to the U.S. for the
"sacrifices of your sons and daughters" in rebuilding his country. But in the
Afghan capital, many residents said they had not seen much improvement since the
U.S.-led invasion that toppled the Taliban for harboring bin Laden.
| Now this is an interesting counterpoint to the Afghan President's thanks ... you know it's been taken out of context. If any such thing was really said at all, the reporter isn't distinguishing it with quotation marks. One wonders about this lack of improvement. Is it the virtual enslavement of women or the public floggings that they miss? |
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Despite about 20,000 U.S. forces fighting al-Qaida and Taliban fighters in
Afghanistan, and about the same number of NATO troops, and billions in aid, the
Taliban resistance has shaken the country, while corruption has stymied
development.
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In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer led a solemn military
ceremony outside the alliance's headquarters to remember the victims of 9/11. A
lone bugler played taps while a ceremonial guard, drawn from each of the 26 NATO
member nations, lowered national flags to half-staff.
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"Terrorism remains a threat to all of us ... this is why we are in Afghanistan,
the cradle of 9/11," de Hoop Scheffer said, calling on NATO nations to
"strengthen our alliance politically and militarily to meet this new scourge."
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