9/11 as Tragedy: Terrorist Victory

Apparently, 9/11 was NOT a tragedy, and if you suggest that it was, the terrorists win. According to conservatives (supported by Mr. Semantics himself, Dr. Donald Douglas), the attack on 9/11 was a terrorist attack and "terrorist attacks are terrorist attacks," which presumably means we can't use any other word to describe them. So while Dictionary.com tells me that "tragedy" can refer to:

6. a lamentable, dreadful, or fatal event or affair; calamity; disaster: the tragedy of war.
[....]
3. A disastrous event, especially one involving distressing loss or injury to life: an expedition that ended in tragedy, with all hands lost at sea.
[....]
Note: In common usage, disasters of many kinds are called tragedies.

...none of this applies to 9/11, because it was a terrorist attack. And if you dare question the logic of that, then you're insulting the victims of 9/11, as well as the people who died in a war unrelated to 9/11. And the completely obvious reason for that is, of course, 9/11.

Blame Obama First

And who is the "source" of this horrible whitewash of 9/11 as "tragedy"? Who else: Barack Obama. Apparently, Obama was the first person to ever refer to 9/11 as a "tragedy," which he did in a column he wrote as an Illinois state senator on September 19, 2001.

And while most conservatives, including Doug Powers, only quote the part where Obama says that the 9/11 terrorists lack empathy (which conservatives all mock, as every sensible person knows that the "true" cause of terrorism is "evil," a term so well-defined that they never bother explaining it), here's what Obama wrote in the preceding paragraph which they never bother to quote:

Even as I hope for some measure of peace and comfort to the bereaved families, I must also hope that we as a nation draw some measure of wisdom from this tragedy. Certain immediate lessons are clear, and we must act upon those lessons decisively. We need to step up security at our airports. We must reexamine the effectiveness of our intelligence networks. And we must be resolute in identifying the perpetrators of these heinous acts and dismantling their organizations of destruction.

Indeed. So while Obama did lament the terrorists' lack of empathy, as well as suggest that we root out the cause of terrorism; he had already suggested that we increase security, fix our intel deficiencies, find the perps, and attack the organizations that caused it.

Yet somehow, out of all the conservatives I saw who quoted Obama's piece, none of them actually included the previous paragraph. Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd think they were some sort of monolithic authoritarians who only know how to attack what they've been told to attack, while ignoring anything that refutes their attack.

And because Obama suggested that there was some other solution to fighting terrorism beyond killing Muslims, it was the equivalent of an abused wife "telling everybody she needs to learn how to cook better." But in reality, we all know that if a wife is abused, she needs to kill her husband's relatives and neighbors, as well as anyone of the same religious persuasion as her husband and people entirely unaffiliated with her husband in any way. And yes, it's 2009 and people are still writing such insanities without any sense of shame.

Terrorism as Tragedy

Sadly, after Obama whitewashed 9/11 a mere week after the event, it appears his brainwashing has taken hold of others. Not only does the phrase 9/11 Tragedy bring up over 7 million hits on Google, but he was also able to force this Marxist construct on to Republicans, the true defenders of 9/11. Witness this disgusting whitewash of terrorism as tragedy.

"This is an American issue, and this is an American tragedy, and we should not politicize that, and we've been very successful in keeping it from being politicized over the years." New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sept. 11, 2008

"I, like all Americans, will never forget the defining moment of recent American history, the tragedy of 9/11." Senator John McCain. Jan. 30, 2008

"We can't do anything to rid ourselves of homegrown 9/11 con artists, but legal permanent resident aliens such as Kendall can be deported if convicted of crimes involving fraud or deceit in an amount exceeding $10,000. Kick them out and keep them out. These callous scavengers of tragedy don't deserve to call America home." Numbnut Michelle Malkin, July 16, 2003.

"I can imagine few sentiments more repulsive to our brave fighting soldiers and the victims of the 9/11 terror tragedy than to think the U.S. government deliberately allowed the events of 9/11 to occur." Senator Kit Bond (R-Missouri), Sept 4, 2009.

(To be fair, Bond referred to this as a "terror tragedy," which might be an acceptable term, as long as "terror" is used to modify tragedy. And note, it's offensive to the victims of 9/11 and our soldiers if you accuse the government of doing something wrong.)

And of course, Obama's powers at manipulation know no bounds, as President George W. Bush himself was inexplicably forced to refer to 9/11 as a "tragedy," not once, but twice during a speech to both houses of Congress on September 20, 2001; one day after Obama inflicted the world with this Marxist monstrosity.

Behold!

I thank the Congress for its leadership at such an important time. All of America was touched on the evening of the tragedy to see Republicans and Democrats joined together on the steps of this Capitol, singing "God Bless America."
[....]
I ask you to continue to support the victims of this tragedy with your contributions.

The horror! (But perhaps he was referring to the tragedy of seeing Congresspeople sing.)

Bush Hearts Muslims

Even worse, while some conservatives properly understand that Islam dictates that all Muslims must Jihad their way to world domination, Bush actually said things like:

The terrorists practice a fringe form of Islamic extremism that has been rejected by Muslim scholars and the vast majority of Muslim clerics, a fringe movement that perverts the peaceful teachings of Islam.
[....]
I also want to speak tonight directly to Muslims throughout the world. We respect your faith. It's practiced freely by many millions of Americans, and by millions more in countries that America counts as friends. Its teachings are good and peaceful, and those who commit evil in the name of Allah blaspheme the name of Allah.

Yes, even in post-9/11 2001, Bush was showing his Obama-influenced liberalism, which would explain why our bombs were unable to destroy terrorism forever. Obama is the root of all evil. 9/11