The attacks on America 10 years ago today are being marked by many memorial events today. US President Obama is visiting all 4 sites and here in the UK there are many ceremonies and special religous services.
I was in Italy at the time of the attacks, on honeymoon with Jeanette. As often is the case when on holiday, daily news wasn’t part of the routine but on that particular day we’d turned on the television in our hotel room and watched in disbelief and then horror at the unfolding events.
The changes in American politics since has been dramatic and (to me) unfortunate – Guatanamo Bay, State approved torture, rendition. A survey into attitudes ten years after the 9/11 attacks has found over half thought that torture of suspected terrorists was OK, and a similar number favoured “harsh interrogation techniques.” It seems the USA has become desensitised to violence and I wonder if there is a way back to being the benign world policeman that has helped keep the globe largely at peace since World War II. On a more hopeful note, the survey also found that 46 per cent of people felt torture wasn’t justified. I wonder what a similar survey of UK citizens would reveal.