The Des Moines Register has an editorial on the 9/11 commission that finally echoes what I've been hearing from individuals all along:



"There's little profit in pointing fingers over what anyone should have known or might have done, with the benefit of hindsight. The purpose of the 9/11 commission is not to assess blame but to identify what procedures might be put in place to foil future plots. . . . The challenge is to find ways to make sure that future presidents do know that an attack is planned, or at least have a better chance of knowing. So who's to blame for 9/11? The terrorist organization al-Qaida and the hatred that spawned it. The blame need not be spread any further."



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Well said. Of course. reality looks a lot more like this chart I posted earlier. One good thing I saw come out of 9/11 was a temporary realization on the part of the politicians that they would have to actually stop carping and act for the greater good of the country for once. The political game-playing crept back in slowly, but three years later we're back to full force. I do appreciate the great debate, and I understand that corruption is discovered when different perspectives collide, and change is created when once-radical ideas gain acceptance through discussion. But sometimes it seems as though the shrill dissonance drowns out any rational voices in the clamor.



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