The Obama Reaction to 911

Excerpt from the New Yorker

Obama’s response to the event was published on
September 19th in the Hyde Park Herald:

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.
We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the
sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives
from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an
inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others.
Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the
desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to
a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a
particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or
fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and
ignorance, helplessness and despair.
We will have to make sure, despite our rage, that any U.S. military
action takes into account the lives of innocent civilians abroad. We will have
to be unwavering in opposing bigotry or discrimination directed against
neighbors and friends of Middle Eastern descent. Finally, we will have to
devote far more attention to the monumental task of raising the hopes and
prospects of embittered children across the globe—children not just in the Middle
East, but also in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and within our
own shores.