On the Tenth Anniversary of September 11th

Since Monday, I've felt bombarded by news media about this anniversary.

This has left me feeling somewhat less sombre and respectful, and more annoyed.

It was a terrible disaster, and I have much sympathy for the many people who lost loved ones in it.

But for me, on the other side of the Atlantic, it feels more like a boundary. A point in time which people use not only as a common reference, but some use as a reason for their own purposes.

It was used to pass ever more draconian regulation "to deal with terrorism", which has then instead been used for entirely different purposes.

It was used by a particularly poor US President to invade Iraq - a country that none of the attackers came from, whose politics they disagreed with, and a country which represented no real threat to the western world. But did represent a threat to Saudi Arabia, which the attackers did come from, but which had close links to the US President.

I'm still not really quite sure how any of that makes sense.

It brought British politics to its lowest ebb in my lifetime, when the Right Dishonourable Prime Minister Tony "Liar, Liar, Pants On Fire" Blair told whopping great lies to his Parliament and his country so that he could send troops into a war of dubious legality.

It got men, women and children killed in that conflict. And the closest I can think of to a sane reason for the tens of thousands dead is that maybe it had a "honey pot" effect. But even then, I can't see that it was a worthwhile price.

It created massive profits for the companies that were involved in both the supplies for the war and in the "rebuilding" of Iraq afterwards.

It led to an attack on my own country - my own city - one foul morning. Home grown terrorist, reacting to the treatment of Muslims, carried out suicide bombings on London's transport infrastructure.

Which reminds me, Madrid suffered the same fate. And they didn't deserve it either.

All of these things happened because of the attacks on the 11th of September.

Let's go back to those home grown terrorists, reacting to the treatment of Muslims.

They've got a point. Since that fateful September day, Muslims have been vilified and scorned by some quarters. The stereotyping, the suspicion, the poor treatment that Muslims have had since - it's not pleasant.

And that comes from one of the most troubling things, the longest lasting things to come from that day ten years ago.

Today, the terrorists are not just people plotting to launch attacks.

Today, they are people drafting legislation, and the people reporting on these events.

I'm pretty lucky - in the UK, we're used to terrorism, and our reaction was more measured.

But when I look at US politics, and US reporting - the word "terrorist" seems perfectly applicable to some of those that have held power, and to those that reported on it.

They seek to bring about changes by creating fear in the population.

It's worth remembering that last year, in the US, there were more incidents of domestic terrorism than of Islamic terrorism. Those bombing reproductive health clinics, or attacking those that work at them - they are terrorists. Those who attack research facilities in the name of animal rights, or attack workers at such facilities - they are terrorists.

And yet people are afraid of Muslims. As if all Muslims are terrorists.

For me, September the 11th 2001 wasn't just a dark day due to the loss of life. It was also a dark day due to the massive loss of sanity and reason.

Here's to valuing liberty, reason and safety - for all, regardless of creed. In memoriam for all that have died or been injured on and since September 11th, 2001 because of it.

For the sake of the future, we must admit our mistakes and not repeat them.