What the World is Saying

I'm always curious to learn how other countries' news outlets cover major events here in the States. 9-11 is the biggest news story ever and I'm saddened, though not surprised, by the dismissive tone take on by some members of the world press on this sad day.

Le Monde, a leading French daily, offered an account (bilan, circled in the picture above) of the five years since 9-11, which have been marked by "security fever in the United States."

The paper's readers chimed in on a chat room in response to the query "Does 9-11 Still Dictate International Relations?" In spite of that snarky headline, most readers stated that 9-11 is just the beginning of worse things to come and brought up other reasonable concerns that are tied to safety, politics and economics. The issue of whether 9-11 has or should put the brakes on globalization was brought up, and one reader said that the world community can't let this happen.

Another reader asked if 9-11 brought people together - the response was that the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the USSR was a truly unifying event, while 9-11 has deepend the schisms of global politics.

El Pais, the leading newspaper in my mom's hometown of Cali, Colombia, offered a brief analysis of the post 9-11 world by a college professor named Eugenio Gomez. In his view, the clash of civilizations hit its climax on 9-11 and the Bush administration has done little to mend fences or build consensus on who the U.S.' enemies really are. I guess I can agree with that. Another editorial in the paper highlighted that more people have died in the subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq while Osama is still at large. Not much to argue there.

I just wish the paper would have acknowledged that a few Colombians actually died in the attacks, and they were people who came to this country to support their families back home. These perished individuals were contributing to the Colombian economy and to the well-being of its citizens, a nod to that would have been appropriate.

It's no surprise, though, that the terrorists at Al Jazeera make no qualms about their belief that we got what was coming to us on 9-11.

In addition to the stupid comments posted by its terrorist readers (many of whom posted from Western European countries), saying things like the Jews blew up the Towers, bla bla bla, the network's article offered these choice observations:

-- Five years after the tragic event, "cracks" are beginning to appear, with many analysts and political experts questioning the official story about 9/11 and suggesting that the collapse of the World Trade Center was apparently not as straight-forward as it was made out to be.
**WHO ARE THESE ANALYSTS AND "EXPERTS?"

-- Not the U.S. government stands out for the modern monuments to injustice, epitomized by the Abu Ghraib prison, the secret jails run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Guantanamo detention camp that was established following September 11 attacks.
** AND NOT ONE MENTION OF THE INNOCENT CIVILIANS, PEACEWORKERS AND JOURNALISTS THAT HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED AND BEHEADED BY AL QAEDA

-- The numerous conspiracy theories that had emerged since the tragic events took place, all questioning the claim that the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon building were carried out by a handful of young Arabs and Muslims are backed up by even more convincing evidence and a better understanding of why the attacks actually took place, and new voices are beginning to doubt the official story of what happened on 9/11.
** HUH?? THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT A HANDFUL OF YOUNG ARAB MEN, THE SAME ILK THAT IS WANDERING THE STREETS RIGHT NOW DEMANDING RIGHTS AND UNDERSTANDING WERE THE MASTERMINDS OF THE 9-11 ATTACKS.


-- The ensuing War on Terror is much more than an honorable mission to spread freedom and democracy as the American President claims, but a strategy to have American military bases stationed in most of the Middle East countries, and part of a wider plan to extend influence in the region and boost the U.S. hegemony in a way that facilitate laying hand on the Arab and the ME states’ riches. It’s becoming increasingly urgent that all of this be put an end before more innocent lives are lost. As the saying goes, you can't fool all the people all the time.
** WE COULD LEAVE IRAQ TOMORROW AND THESE PEOPLE WOULD STILL HATE US; THEY WILL ALWAYS FEEL OWED SOMETHING FROM US; THEY ARE MORE TROUBLE THAN THEY'RE WORTH...SEND AN A-BOMB THEIR WAY.