"I hope you understand that it was a very difficult time. We were all so terrified of another attack on the country."

- Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in response to a question from Misha Lerner, a fourth-grader at the Jewish Primary Day School of the Nation's Capital on May 4th, 2009.

___ 

I still vividly recall my own emotional responses to the 9-11 attacks. They were, in sequential order,

• shocked disbelief;
• aghast/horrified at the primitive brutality and its consequent mass carnage;
• dismayed/sad;
• concerned;
• angry.

At no time, however, during or after the dastardly events of September 11th, 2001 did I ever feel "terrified." Not once. Ad nauseum Be-Very-Afraid / CODE BROWN (but, get out there and shop) appeals notwithstanding. But, since the goal of terrorists is to render people terrified, at least with respect to the Bush administration, it was apparently Mission Accomplished.

The week following the attack was eerie and surreal. I live in Las Vegas, where the sky is routinely filled with an endless procession of aircraft Bringing In The Sheep for wallet shearing. On September 12th, my father keeled over in cardiac arrest at home in Palm Bay, Florida, and was paddled back by EMTs, after which he was hustled off to the ER at Holmes Regional Medical Center.

"Ma, there's no way I can get there now. Everything's shut down, nobody's flyin'."

Our skies were silent and vacant for a week. Very strange. 

(Pop survived, btw. Seven subsequent years in a nursing home with increasing dementia. He died a year ago today, here in Vegas. I moved them both here in 2007. I just got back from sitting with Ma at supper.)

A couple of thoughts occurred to me in short order. First, it soon looked as though we'd been the victims of The Mother Of All Sucker Punches, the most cost-effective attack against us in our history. I still don't put much stock in these "Inside Job" theories. It just looks like we got clocked while not paying attention ("Who could have imagined...?" another Condi classic).

Second, given that I live in the 24/7 epicenter of Infidel carnality (and contra-Allah "immoral" indulgence more broadly), that Vegas might present an obvious, juicy future target did not escape me. 'Yeah, a friggin' nuke suitcase dirty bomb. Simply render the valley uninhabitable. That would totally suck. I would be so screwed, financially.'

• concerned

No, I never got to "terrified." (but, in fairness, like John Yoo and Jay Bybee, neither was I ever proximate to an imploding skyscraper into which a Jihad jet had just flown). I'm stuck with "dismay" and "anger." And angry in particular that much of my anger has to be focused on those in charge of my federal government at the time. That our previous senior federal officials would now try to have us believe that their individual and aggregate subornation of torture and other war crimes was driven by being "terrified" simply doesn't get past the open mic night laugh test. Rewind back to the 2001 change of administrations. Recall. The Return of Honor and Dignity to The White House. Recall. The Adults Are Now In Charge. Recall the Stern Visage of the bullhorn wielder-in-Chief, Mr. "Bring 'em On." Recall Mr. Dark Side five-deferments Cheney.

I am not laughing. I am angry. Now, of course, the hapless Dr. Rice was obviously just tactically trying to push the more easily pushed "terrified" sympathy buttons of 4th graders as she poignantly attempted to walk back her absurdly flustered Nixon/Frost "by definition" comments at Stanford the week before.

 It doesn't wash, Ms. Rice. Moreover, that you were ostensibly so easily "terrified" ought have disqualified you from senior federal service.

With respect to this whole post hoc torture dustup, some 15 months ago I posted a blog article entitled "Catachresis," in which I noted:

What about the ostensible omnipresent "threat"? I, for one, will stipulate that it exists -- in the sense that we can assume that these bin Laden types would love to hit us again, and are working on it (though I would take issue with hyperbolic assertions of "grave," and"existential"). But when the administration vaguely asserts that their murky "enhanced interrogation" methods have "prevented numerous post-9/11attacks," I require specifics. Which, conveniently, will never be forthcoming. We are supposed to take it on faith. Among other apologies is the inevitable well-worn "we-cannot-risk-revealing-source-and-methods."

 Well, though, Mr. Cheney would apparently now have the CIA reveal some selected classified torture "efficacy" reports purporting to justify his own guiding-hand subornation of war crimes.

Ms. Rice alludes to her being "so terrified." Jay Bybee is Really, Really Sorry That Others Misused His OLC Memo. He Was VERY Busy At The Time And Under A Lot Of Stress. And, did I mention that he'd once been a Scout Cubmaster?

•  dismay;
• anger.

Maybe I'll write more. Gotta stop for now. BP rising. Where's my lisinopril?

I may have to re-do/update this old Photoshop I did back when Ms. Rice was stonewalling the 9-11 Commission. Right-click the image to open at a larger size.

NOTE: I apologize for the embedded ad below, now forced on us on June 25th without advance warning by Salon.com. Not my doing, and not within my power to delete.