Nine|Eleven

As I reflect on the tragedy of 9/11, I can’t help but remember the ominous warning of Osama bin Laden in 2004, "We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah."

The question still stands: Did bin Laden win?

The United States’ ever-increasing total debt is nearing 55 trillion dollars; US unemployment is approximately 9%; the infrastructure, education system, and healthcare system of this country are seriously underfunded and are dragging the US down in the international race for leadership. The difference in the standard of living from September 11, 2001 to September 11, 2011 is astounding. Over 10 million homes have been forclosed upon during the past three years alone; real wages are down; more people are homeless, imprisoned, and ill today compared to a decade ago—all indicators seem to sing the same tune: Americans are suffering.

It looks like Osama laid a trap, warned Americans of it, and the US responded by brazenly stepping right into it.

I attribute the rise of China partially to the US defense spending in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The stated purpose of these costly endeavors was to "fight terrorism," like the kind bin Laden orchestrated against the US a decade ago. Even though tensions have been high between China and its competitors and traditional enemies, China has managed to stay out of costly military action. Rather, their defense spending (second only to the US) is focused on R&D, creating more high skilled jobs at a fraction of the cost. The United States has tangled itself in a web of military obligations, for which it has had to borrow gross sums from (low and behold) China. If the US had instead focused on education for the past ten years, we might have had a new workforce that could compete with that of China, which might have counteracted the oppressive force of national debt and recession.

I suppose the US Defense Department has one recent “victory” that cannot be over-looked. They did find and kill Osama bin Laden. Unfortunately, his plans are already in motion, and sometimes it seems that our leaders are hell-bent on carrying that plan out to completion.

Sources: 

http://articles.cnn.com/2004-11-01/world/binladen.tape_1_al-jazeera-qaeda-bin?_s=PM:WORLD

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_budget_of_the_United_States

http://www.housingwire.com/2011/01/12/foreclosures-reach-record-high-in-2010-realtytrac

http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/how-serious-chinese-challenge-part-i