"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'."
— Groucho Marx
Interesting piece. I can't even imagine the frustration to have foreseen the train coming and screaming, yet no one really heard.
I hope to G-d that the FBI has truly changed its focus to include the gathering and dissemination of intelligence, rather than just criminal investigation. I find it worrisome, though, because as a former federal employee I have seen firsthand how slow it is for change to take place in a big, bureaucratic organization.
And Pipes, as usual, is brilliant. There is so much to learn from this scholar and meticulous researcher who has made his life's work studying studing Islam and understanding the effects and threat of militant Islam.
I agree with him that it is so very important that we do not allow the mindset of pre 9/11 to seep back into our psyches -- because then we will be just as vulnerable again and ripe for more terrorist attacks.
People have a habit of becoming complacent and assuming that a lack of action means that the threat has disappeared. If we have learned anything it should be that this complacency is dangerous.
If you haven't already, read Zakaria's piece about the 9/11 Report in this week's Newsweek. It's a very good discussion abut what's been missing and what needs to be done.
4 comments:
Interesting piece. I can't even imagine the frustration to have foreseen the train coming and screaming, yet no one really heard.
I hope to G-d that the FBI has truly changed its focus to include the gathering and dissemination of intelligence, rather than just criminal investigation. I find it worrisome, though, because as a former federal employee I have seen firsthand how slow it is for change to take place in a big, bureaucratic organization.
And Pipes, as usual, is brilliant. There is so much to learn from this scholar and meticulous researcher who has made his life's work studying studing Islam and understanding the effects and threat of militant Islam.
I agree with him that it is so very important that we do not allow the mindset of pre 9/11 to seep back into our psyches -- because then we will be just as vulnerable again and ripe for more terrorist attacks.
Stacey
People have a habit of becoming complacent and assuming that a lack of action means that the threat has disappeared. If we have learned anything it should be that this complacency is dangerous.
Jack,
If you haven't already, read Zakaria's piece about the 9/11 Report in this week's Newsweek. It's a very good discussion abut what's been missing and what needs to be done.
I'll take a look at it.
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