A SEPTEMBER 11th AFTERTHOUGHT

Servicemen and women from every branch of the military will confirm an unspoken, though nearly universal desire – if one has to make the ultimate sacrifice, let it not be made in vain.

I spent this past September 11th pondering that desire, not for the 2,819 innocent Americans who lost their lives in that horrific tragedy, not for the thousands more who lost a relative or friend that day, not for our cherished country, but for the 19 suicidal soldiers of al-Qaida who visited their destructive hatred upon our nation's shores. Did they die in vain?

Some people claim the U.S. was attacked because al-Qaida hated our liberties, but instead of responding to their attacks with an overwhelming reaffirmation of personal freedom, we systematically, and often cheerfully, surrendered our rights in the name of maintaining public safety. Twenty years ago, submitting to a search of one's body to gain admission to a public building would have been viewed as an intolerable invasion of an individual's liberty. Today, people are glad to be searched.

Others claim that the al-Qaida attack was motivated by their hatred of our society's tolerant attitude, but instead of meeting their attack with an unwavering defense of religious freedom for all, hoards of angry American mobs protest the construction of a mosque blocks away from Ground Zero, and a venomous preacher attracts world attention by pledging hatefully to burn the Quran.

Still others claim that al-Qaida attacked us because of our wealth and our generosity, but instead of holding true to those noble words inscribed on the Statute of Liberty – "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.." we treat our immigrants as scum-of-the-earth criminals, and seek to choke the very breath of freedom from their bodies.

Finally, some insist al-Qaida attacked us over their hatred of our principles and values, but instead of holding steadfast to them, we responded by declaring war against a nation not responsible for the 9/11 attacks, tortured our prisoners and abandoned the very rules of law we claim to hold most dear.

Looking back, I wish I could claim those 19 angry soldiers of al-Qaida died in vain, but I can't.

We only have ourselves to blame.