Do we ever ask ourselves, "why did they do it?" These young men, literate, technically savvy enough to drive a plane into a chosen target, did they do it for the stock answer: the promise of 77 or however many virgins in Allah's heaven?

They were members of Al Qaida.  For years before 9/11/2001 Osama bin Laden had been fulminating at the unholy alliance of the U.S. and Israel. Israel had been deliberately founded to drive out the native Palestinians [see, if you can find it, Palestine the   Reality,  by J.M.N. Jeffries, Longmans, Green and Co., London, 1939(!)]. These members of Al Qaida were out to punish us for this alliance.

The lesson was lost on us; our grief for those thousands of lives snuffed out was too great for any lessons. But with the passage of time, perhaps we can take a deep breath and ask ourselves: why did they do it?

 Shortly I shall publish here an essay on myth and reality in Palestine that will shock and, I hope, enlighten  you.