War Is Not the Answer

Today is the third anniversary of the day that changed all our lives. Some of us were affected more than others, of course, but I believe that everyone's life has been touched in one way or another. Sometimes in very indirect ways.

I was in New York City on September 11, 2001. I still lived there during the first two anniversaries. So it feels a little weird to be away from New York on September 11 for the first time since 2001. As a matter for fact, this is my first September 11 away from New York since 1996. I'm sure that some of that plays into the unusual feeling I'm experiencing today.

More upsetting, however, is the evergrowing number of fatalities in what I believe, like so many others, is a misdirected war or terror. I was very pleasantly impressed to hear this morning that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the agency that runs the site of the World Trade Center, is suing Saudi Arabia for that countries involvement. How ironic that the Bush administration has done nothing but appease the Saudis regardless of the fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers from 9/11 were Saudi nationals. Incidentally, never forget: none of the hijackers were Iraqi.

Starting today my blog will display a body count meter from the so-called war on terror in Iraq, courtesy of antiwar.com and IraqBodyCount.org, as well as a cost of war estimate from costofwar.com.