Remembering 9/11

The anniversary of 9/11 is, of course, a somber day. But Jonah Goldberg's column is most astute: Why, in the press, is it presented as appropriate to remember 9/11 only with sadness, while it's perfectly OK to remain outraged about, say, Hurricane Katrina?

Six years ago today, on a bright blue sky day like the one here in California, innocent Americans were senselessly murdered because Islamofascists hate this country and all it stands for. We went after them in Afghanistan -- and took on Iraq, because according to the best intelligence from around the world, Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction that could be passed on to terrorists like Abu Musab al Zarqawi, an Al Qaeda who had been given refuge in Iraq.

Today, al Zarqawi is dead, thanks to our efforts, and so is Saddam Hussein. We are fighting a difficult battle in Iraq, but there is reason for cautious optimism. Above all, the American homeland hasn't been attacked in six years -- a feat that few would have believed possible six years ago tomorrow.

Those are reasons for some grim satisfaction . . . and continued resolve not to make the deaths of those on 9/11 meaningless by forgetting the lesson that terrible day taught us. If there's a reason for sadness (apart from the loss of life) today, it's because so many -- especially in the Democratic Party -- have sought preemptive defeat in Iraq and effectively denounced the war on terror as nothing more than a bumper sticker slogan.

It sure didn't feel like a bumper sticker on 9/11/01, and it shouldn't be treated as one today. If any good at all can come from the attack six years ago, it should be that it hardened American resolve to fight the forces of aggression, hatred and tyranny, especially when they threaten our people.