THIS DAY – AT 8:59 A.M. ET:  It is September 11th.  Like December 7th, this date is etched in the memories of Americans. 

Our first post this morning, about Iran's nuclear program, brings home to us of the cost of averting our eyes from international threats.  In watching a commemorative program on the 9-11 attacks a few nights ago, I was reminded of how unprepared we were for terrorist attacks on that scale – not only physically, but psychologically.  A former Air Force senior officer appeared on the broadcast to recall that, after the first plane hit the first tower in New York, the worst scenario he could think of was a serious airliner accident.  No terror thoughts at all.

I'm afraid his thinking is being repeated today.  Throughout the U.S. government, on orders from the Obama administration, training manuals are being purged of references to Islamic extremism.  The left, and its allies in the universities and the press, regularly tell young Americans that our "policies" brought about the 9-11 attacks.  And it is currently accepted wisdom in much of America that President Bush went too far in fighting back after 9-11.  Although we suppressed the Taliban in short order in Afghanistan under Bush, it is now back and poised to reassert power once we leave that country...on a timetable provided by Obama to our enemies.

I'm afraid we're also seeing a recurring problem in American policymaking – the politicization of intelligence.  You know we're in trouble when a major intelligence official appears before a Congressional committee and announces that the Muslim Brotherhood is a moderate organization.  Self-delusion is so comforting, especially when it protects one's career. 

We will have moving commemorations today.  The right words will be spoken.  But in Washington, and in our political system, there are those working to make us avert our eyes once more.  Many had their ideas drummed into them by the intellectual leftovers of the 1960s. 

Today's commemorations should force us to realize, even more, the urgency of changing our national direction, unless we're prepared to be ruled who those who believe that the greatest issue facing America is free contraception for college students. 

September 11, 2012